It’s a growing trend in college football for star players entering the upcoming NFL Draft to decide not to play in the final bowl game with their team, electing instead to protect their draft stock by not risking an injury in the game. And it looks like one Big Ten star quarterback is going to do just that ahead of his bowl game.
According to a report from college football insider Pete Thamel of Sports Illustrated, Purdue Boilermakers star quarterback Aidan O’Connell is expected to opt-out of his team’s appearance in the Citrus Bowl.
Source: Purdue QB Aidan O'Connell expected to announce today that he's skipping the Citrus Bowl against LSU. He'll be heading to the NFL draft.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 15, 2022
“Source: Purdue QB Aidan O’Connell expected to announce today that he’s skipping the Citrus Bowl against LSU. He’ll be heading to the NFL draft,” Thamel said in a Tweet on Thursday morning.
While this move isn’t exactly unexpected as this sort of decision is becoming common across college football, it is still a huge move and the college football world had plenty to say about it on Twitter.
LSU will be facing a Purdue team without its head coach or starting QB in the Citrus Bowl https://t.co/4HBZXOJq4X
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) December 15, 2022
“LSU will be facing a Purdue team without its head coach or starting QB in the Citrus Bowl,” SEC Mike said in a Tweet.
6 years ago we thought it would be the mega first rounders sitting out. now 6th rounders are doing this. incredibly tragic for players and fans alike.
— Gus (@WashedUpTweeter) December 15, 2022
“6 years ago we thought it would be the mega first rounders sitting out. now 6th rounders are doing this. incredibly tragic for players and fans alike,” notorious Ohio State Twitter personality Gus said.
a bummer but understandable – Bowl season has not evolved to account for the monumental cfb changes over the past (and next) decade, which have relegated Bowls to glorified scrimmages 6+ weeks after most seasons end. https://t.co/QqGYnH0c6Z
— Aneesh (@aneeshswamy) December 15, 2022
“a bummer but understandable – Bowl season has not evolved to account for the monumental cfb changes over the past (and next) decade, which have relegated Bowls to glorified scrimmages 6+ weeks after most seasons end,” Aneesh of Boiled Sports said in a Tweet.
Purdue already without its head coach, now will be without it’s starting QB for the @CitrusBowl. https://t.co/jHPRQA0M36
— Matt Murschel (@osmattmurschel) December 15, 2022
I don't condone wagering on sports but if you happen to partake, I would put the mortgage on LSU. https://t.co/PlaVApB1MA
— Robby Donoho III (@RobbyDonoho) December 15, 2022
With head coach Jeff Brohm also leaving before the bowl game, it’s safe to say Purdue will be a shell of itself in the Citrus Bowl.
