FSU players opting for NFL Combine preparation over Orange Bowl a blessing in disguise
By Kelvin Hunt
I despise reliving the pain of FSU football players and fans after getting snubbed by the College Football Playoff Committee in December. The program went from its highest high in quite some time to the lowest low in about 12 hours. They were the first undefeated Power 5 conference champion to get left out of the College Football Playoff. The consolation prize was playing the back-to-back defending National Champions who had lost in its conference championship game. It was a lose-lose situation for the FSU team. They had just been told the first 13 games meant nothing, so why should they risk playing another game that meant nothing? If they won, nobody would have given them credit, as it's customary for the media to create narratives when SEC teams lose their bowl games.
They wouldn't get crowned National Champions, and nor would FSU go the corny UCF route and try to claim one. Non-FSU fans were unaware how many players had been playing hurt in the latter part of the season. Several players missed games or played limited reps, and almost all have a future in the NFL. Why risk playing and getting injured further with nothing to win and jeopardize a shot a big-time money? If some of those players had played, there's a good chance they would not have provided the performances we saw at the NFL Combine a few days ago. FSU football was all the rave this past weekend, as Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Trey Benson, Johnny Wilson, Jarrian Jones, Renardo Green, Jaheim Bell, Keon Coleman, and Renardo Green did their thing for the world to see.
Those players doing what they did and shining the lights so bright on the FSU program did more for the program than had they played in that Orange Bowl. I wrote about how the program will and has benefited already from their NFL Combine performances. I know a small minority of FSU fans were disappointed they opted out of the Orange Bowl, but it was the right decision after what happened to them. That decision allowed them to perform at the highest level possible, and the program will reap the benefits from the positive publicity when they hear their names called next month.