Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey, LSU’s Leonard Fournette To Skip Bowl Games

Up until about Friday evening, all public records seemed to indicate that Christian McCaffrey would be playing with Stanford against North Carolina in the Hyundai Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas on Dec. 30.

Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey, LSU’s Leonard Fournette To Skip Bowl Games

The 20-year-old running back, who announced his intention to enter the 2017 NFL Draft two weeks ago, said he looked forward to one final opportunity to play with his Cardinal teammates.

“I’m really focused on UNC,” McCaffrey said on Friday. “I just wanted to make the announcement to get it out of the way. I’m just focused on UNC now.”

However, something must have changed in the 50 hours between then and his early Monday morning tweet, in which he dropped this shocking piece of news:

McCaffrey’s announcement came just three days after LSU rusher Leonard Fournette revealed he would be skipping his own bowl game, the Citrus Bowl, which the Tigers will play against the Louisville Cardinals in Orlando, Florida on Dec. 31. Fournette also cited his NFL draft prep as his reason for skipping LSU’s bowl game.

It remains uncertain whether McCaffrey was influenced by Fournette’s decision– Stanford provided only a brief statement of support from Coach David Shaw. Nevertheless, it should be stated that Fournette continues to heal from an ankle injury, while McCaffrey was also hurt earlier this year.

Allowing either player to participate in one more game could be risky, as demonstrated by Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith’s knee injury in last year’s Fiesta Bowl.

The Cardinal will surely be losing a great player in McCaffrey: his 6,191 all-purpose yards since 2015 are the most by any player over a two-year stretch in FBS history.

McCaffrey clearly seems confident that he has matured during his time at Stanford.

“I was a curious kid, very quiet,” McCaffrey said. “That’s how I was when I came here. I really just wanted to put my head down and get to work. [Looking back] I would have just told myself to relax a little more and know that everything is going to be OK, because I was pretty stressed when I came here. I didn’t know what to expect, just like any new college kid, but it all ended up OK.”

His and Fournette’s decisions unsurprisingly drew some criticism from both NCAA and NFL members. Ezekiel Elliott, a Dallas Cowboys running back who was drafted as a first-round pick earlier this year out of Ohio State, was among those critics. Elliott said he would give anything to have a final chance to play alongside his college teammates.

If McCaffrey and Fourntte truly feel that performing in their respective Bowl games would ultimately hurt them more than help them, then more power to both running backs in making such an unexpected, controversial decision.

BERKELEY, CA – NOVEMBER 19: Christian McCaffrey #5 of the Stanford Cardinal runs with the ball against the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium on November 19, 2016 in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)