Kamari Lassiter explains why it was important for him to play in Orange Bowl
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Georgia cornerback Kamari Lassiter has an NFL Draft decision to make.That’s something he’ll do after Saturday’s matchup with No. 5 Florida State however, not before. For Lassiter, it was important that he finished things out the right way.
“For me, it was pretty simple,” Lassiter said. “I’ve always been taught, if there’s a game on my schedule and I’m able to play, I should play. I love my teammates, my family, my coaches. It was pretty simple for me.”
“I was always under the impression of if I was physically able to play, I was going to play,” he added. “It wasn’t really a big question or anything like that. It was just a matter of time, to when’s the game?”
Lassiter, who projects to be one of the first cornerbacks off the board coming in at No. 4 according to Mel Kiper Jr., said he has not made a decision yet and will talk things over with his family once the season is complete.
An All-SEC selection by the league’s 14 head coaches, Lassiter started all 13 games up to this point for Georgia. He ranks fifth on the team in tackles with 37 total stops including 3.5 for loss. Lassiter had a season-high five stops in three separate outings, doing so versus Vanderbilt, Florida and Ole Miss.
Lassiter isn’t the only Georgia player that faces a draft decision that’s expected to be suiting up. Both Javon Bullard and Sedrick Van Pran do too, and both were with the Bulldogs when they got off the plane Tuesday night.
“Yeah, I’m playing. I want to finish what I started,” Bullard said. “As far as decisions, it’ll be said when things are said. I don’t really want to speak on that, but with the game, I’m all in. I’m playing. I’m going to finish it out with the guys … Nobody got together, nobody had any secret meetings. We know how much playing means to us, and we want to finish the season on top. We want to go out with a win. We want to do what we said we were going to do, go out on top and finish what we started.”
“It wasn’t a decision I had to make. This is the last opportunity I get with my brothers. I want to enjoy it,” Van Pran added. “In all honesty, I just genuinely enjoy being around the guys. There’s a love and connection with the guys you’ve been around for three, four years. When you’re around somebody basically every day for that amount of time, you start to build a bond with them. If you have one more opportunity to go out there and put it all on the line, why not?”
On the flip side, Florida State has had several players announce their intentions to enter the NFL Draft and opt out of the Orange Bowl. That’s a decision that Lassiter said every player has to make personally.
“Whenever you get to this part of the season, guys have already put their body on the line and put a lot on the line up to this point. The goal for most teams in the country is to be in the College Football Playoffs, so whenever you don’t make it, it is kind of heartbreaking,” Lassiter said when asked about opt outs and how bowl games should try to fix the issue. “Then, at the same time, you have to make personal decisions for yourself. A lot these guys, the dream is to play at the next level. Sometimes, some situations call for you to make a business decision and get ready for the next level. And then some guys just want to be able to play one last time.”
Georgia, 19.5 point favorites per VeagsInsider, and Florida State kick off from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. ET. Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer and Katie George will be on the call for ESPN.
