Alejandro Avila
Videos by OutKick
Some athletes are looking at longevity in sports not by how fast they heal, but how often they get hurt. Jaydon Blue is embracing this approach at a very early age, choosing to forego his final year of high school football at Klein Cain High School to prepare for his next step: running back for the Texas Longhorns.
Blue announced his decision on Twitter:
“After countless hours of evaluation, I have made the decision to forego my senior season of high school football … This has been a very difficult decision for my family and I.”
Jaydon also provided some insight behind the decision:
“Football is a brutal sport, and the wear and tear associated with the RB position is undeniable,” added Blue. “I plan to take this time to focus on my academics while enhancing my off the field training/rehab regimen. This is a strategic and conscious effort to ensure that I am prepared to perform at an elite level at the collegiate rankings during the 2022 season.”
While Blue’s outlook toward preparing for college football sounds reasonable, the opt-out trend in sports may soon be an issue for teams and college programs and may encourage many others to miss out on developmental years.
In terms of effect on evaluation, the stigma of taking time off the field no longer appears to be an issue for recruiting. Blue will still be able to join the Longhorns in the upcoming season.
A number of college football players that opted out of the remaining season last year to prepare for the NFL Draft went early in the first round. Anyone who heard analysis of JaMarr Chase, Micah Parson, or Rashawn Slater may have caught a mention of their opt-outs, but the analysis remained focused on their production in seasons past.
Whether through scheduled time off, cryo chambers, trendy diets, or Alex Guerrero’s mysticism, today’s athletes are focused on reaching long, sustained careers.
Availability is especially important for a running back’s career and pay. Jaydon Blue and other running backs from the next generation of football now have the opportunity to prove that preparedness and health can translate to longevity.
In his final season at Klein Cain High School, Blue ran for 2,155 yards and 30 touchdowns.
Heck, the 49ers just took a qb that didn’t play last season essentially…and I think this is going to blow up. NFL talent will sit out at the Michigans and Oklahoma States if they don’t feel like championship is a realistic opportunity. Now Bama actually had some top players play their Senior seasons instead of going pro after junior year…but watch, the NFL may have opened pandora’s box by not worrying about players sitting out. I realize covid was the excuse given, but here we see the new reality. Sitting out bowls will turn into sitting out most of the season.
Hmmm
Big things happening at UT (the real one, sorry Tennessee) , nothing new. Hook em
Where have I heard this before? Oh that’s right your d bag QB after a Sugar Bowl win. UT the biggest egos with the least return. Yawn.
BIG XII, please make all those other schools stop doing the “Horns Down” hand sign, it hurts our feelings!
Being a pussy is the new normal.
Nailed IT!
Yes agreed. Who the fuck doesn’t want to play their senior season of high school sports. This is so lame and soft.
This guy must think big time college football programs only recruit one RB
This is why HornsDown sucks. Everyone thinks its just a bad coach and a good one will fix it. No!!! There is something bad wrong with the kids going to UT. I don’t know what it is. But they are just not an elite program. It’s deeper than just a coach.
Oh but ask any HornsDown fan and they will tell you how awesome their program is and how many 4/5 star players they have.
Yeah right. Only UT recruits. The kid has like 35 offers including virtually the entire SEC, Ohio St and ND. Just wait, this will become a trend and is the next logical step from so many college opt-outs. I don’t like it but I think it will become a thing.
The man has just the one body. Not 3.
So I understand his desire to want to lock up his position at the next level. But if this becomes rampant across football then we are going to see a bunch of 2nd and 3rd stringers playing because the good players are sitting out… that’s a yikes
One of the “new norms” and I hate that phrase if the Wuhan . Society increasingly has decided to forgo risk at any cost.
Now you see why so many blue-chippers go to Bama–great coaching, limited wear and tear and pipeline to NFL.
This will be a fad. Cream rises to the top. If players are sitting out high school seasons to prepare for college, and college seasons/bowl games to prepare for the NFL, it will come full circle. Might happen for a few years post-COVID, but players will realize they have more to gain by playing than sitting out (or at least the really good players). To say this will have a major impact on mid-tier college teams (like Oklahoma State, Florida State, etc.) I think is an overreaction. Sitting out only makes sense for a select few people, and I think players will realize that after this experimental phase is through.
Countdown until the first Sophomore sits out 2 seasons of HS ball.
All this will do is delay colleges making offers.