Nobody ending season early
Badgers all playing in Cotton Bowl
Madison — Michael Deiter understands both sides of the debate.
Wisconsin’s redshirt sophomore center is aware three running backs — LSU’s Leonard Fournette, Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey and Baylor’s Shock Linwood — have decided to skip their team’s bowl game to prepare for the 2017 NFL draft.
How would Deiter react if a teammate announced he was skipping UW’s Cotton Bowl matchup against Western Michigan to prepare for his professional career or to avoid the risk of injury?
“I don’t know if anyone would necessarily have a sour taste toward a guy who did that,” he said. “You would just have to sit and think that maybe it is the best option for that guy. Maybe it is the smartest move for him, that he wants to solidify his (draft) spot.
“But on the other side, there is something about being in college and playing with these guys who will be your friends forever that is special.
“That is definitely not an easy decision and you can’t
judge the person on the decision they make.”
No UW players, either seniors preparing for their final game or redshirt juniors mulling entering the 2017 NFL draft, plan to skip the Cotton Bowl.
That includes redshirt junior offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk, who suffered a hip injury early in the season and likely will have surgery after the bowl game.
“I think it says a lot about Ramczyk and how much he cares about the guys on this team,” Deiter said.
Senior tailback Corey Clement teased a member of UW’s athletic communications staff not to worry, that he was in the Cotton Bowl.
Fifth-year senior quarterback Bart Houston turned comic when asked if he planned to play in the Cotton Bowl.
“I’m not going to Christian McCaffrey this one,” he said, laughing.
UW has had several high-profile players who could have elected to skip their final college game to prepare for the pros.
Three that come to mind are tailback Ron Dayne, offensive tackle Joe Thomas and tailback Melvin Gordon.
Dayne was the 1999 Heisman Trophy winner and a projected first-round draft pick when he rushed for 200 yards and a touchdown in UW’s 17-9 victory over Stanford in the 2000 Rose Bowl. He was named Rose Bowl MVP for the second consecutive season and was taken in the first round of the draft, No. 11 overall by the New York Giants.
Joe Thomas was a junior in 2005 and could have turned pro early and been a first-round draft pick.
He started at offensive tackle and played defensive end in the 2006 Capital One Bowl. Thomas suffered a torn ACL in UW’s 24-10 victory over Auburn but returned to UW, started 13 games for a team that went 12-1 and was taken No. 3 overall in the 2007 NFL draft.
LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell went No. 1 overall to the Oakland Raiders and was a bust. Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson went No. 2 to the Detroit Lions. Johnson was a six-time Pro Bowl pick in his nine seasons with the Lions before retiring after last season.
Thomas has made the Pro Bowl in each of his first 10 seasons and reportedly has never missed a snap for the Browns.
Gordon had already rushed for 2,336 yards in 2014 as UW prepared to play Auburn in the 2015 Outback Bowl. UW’s Barry Alvarez, serving as interim head coach in the wake of Gary Andersen’s departure, was incredulous when asked if Gordon would skip the bowl game.
Gordon said he had no intention of quitting on his teammates and rushed 34 times for 251 yards and three touchdowns in UW’s 34-31 overtime victory.
He was taken in the first round of the 2015 draft, No. 28 overall, by the San Diego Chargers.
“I don’t think anybody would do it here because of the bond we have,” Houston said. “And this is a big-time bowl. Why would you skip out on your last bowl game? I don’t think you can miss the last game of your career.
“I don’t see how somebody could skip out on their last game as a Badger and still walk around here with a straight face.”