I understand it, but if I’m completely honest I don’t really like it.
In Tillman’s case, it is easier to take because of his lingering injury. I’m not a “hater” of players who opt out, but it does seem somewhat like quitting on the team to me.
I guess it makes me look like a jerk, but I don't really think it should be viewed as acceptable. I'm not a fan of it in any way, shape or form. I hear the argument "what if they get hurt in the bowl game?" And that's true. But what if they get hurt in a regular season game? Once Tennessee lost to South Carolina and was knocked out of the playoff hunt, was the Vanderbilt game really any more or less important than a bowl game? Once a team loses 7 games and is mathematically eliminated from bowl eligibility, is it acceptable for players to sit out the rest of the season? Because I think that's where we're headed next. Heck, we're already there. So much talk about expanding the playoffs because bowls have become unimportant ... yet Ohio State is without a key player for the playoffs because he opted out. It's not okay. What would we think of a high school player who opts out of his senior season after receiving a P5 offer? He would be viewed as quitting on his team, and rightfully so.
(I also see people saying that players shouldn't be expected to be loyal to the team when coaches aren't loyal. I agree that both should be held to the same standard. Coaches who take a job at another school should be expected to have enough integrity to stick around for the bowl game and finish what they've started.)
Bottom line: We as a society have stopped holding people to any sort of standard and that manifests itself in college football. Players today are a different breed — all about themselves, not about the team or the school at all. Can you imagine Peyton Manning opting out of the Orange Bowl 25 years ago to avoid getting hurt and costing himself a shot at being the top player taken in the draft? No way he would've even considered it — and he actually had a legitimate excuse (was far less than 100% for that game).
