Bateman opting out of 2020 Football Season

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I will be utterly shocked if there's an entire season for him to opt out of at this point.
 

tikited said:
Not a great way to start the day for a Gopher fan. 1st rounder will be nice though.
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Yeah, it's been awhile since the Gophs have had a 1st rounder and I hope it gets more common. Maroney picked #21 in 2006 and Middlebrooks #24 in 2001 were the most recent.
 


I wonder how Morgan (really) feels about all this.
 

PMWinSTP said:
I replied directly to what you posted. You are more worried on how it might look for Fleck personally and not the team and University?

It would say a lot about the staff if losing this one player means Gophs drop off a cliff, and rightly so.
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Had zero to do with Fleck personally, and it’s hard to take it serious that you genuinely misinterpreted it as that.

I only referenced Fleck in as much as he is our program and his record is our record.


As I said in the posts, which you clearly didn’t read, if Bateman and Morgan both opt out ....
 


Some guy said:
We had two receivers of that caliber on the team last year. So at least 2 in a generation
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Agree to disagree, Tyler was drafted 161st, They are talking about Rashod being a first/second round guy. Love them both, but in two years of highlights I don't see the drops with Rashod that plagued TJ through his career. We will never know what could have been, so TJ's stat line as a gopher will never get challenged like i think it would have with just one more season of Rashod.
 

Gopher028 said:
That was my initial response too...I was so upset and pissed off.
but so many athletes opting out, in every league. Covid has just screwed everyone so bad.
Likely won't even be a season...
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How can your initial response to be to call a kid who gave the U so much a "coward" and a "piece of sh*t"??? Get some perspective, man.

Sure, we are all bummed we don't get to see him play for us again, but there isn't one person in here who - if they stood to make many millions as a 21-year-old - wouldn't take the opportunity to go prepare ourself with elite training to maximize our potential. Factor in all the COVID uncertainty and it makes complete sense.

But anyone who is attacking a kid for selfish fan reasons because he makes a decision to solidify his family's future has lost the freaking plot.
 

I think there's little chance that a full (10 game) season will get played this year. If they start playing at all, they'll shut it down 4 or 5 games into the season when outbreaks happen. They should just cancel the season now - football is too much of a close proximity/in-your-face game and there's no way that 100+ young men on every team will take the proper precautions. Baseball is much more distanced and they're getting a rash of cases and may not get through their massively shortened season.

I'm happy for Rashod. Yes, I really wish I could see him in a Gopher uniform for another season, but he needs to do what's right for him and this really is the best thing.
 




Ouch. Definitely puts a damper on the excitement. Good luck to him, though
 


Long term effects of the COVID 19 is what I'd be concerned about. Bateman I'm guessing too is concerned about that as there has been reports of lung issues down the road. What good is a wide receiver who has lung issues or some other unknown issue at this time? This is issue is more damming than what people realize.
 




LakerFan said:
Agree to disagree, Tyler was drafted 161st, They are talking about Rashod being a first/second round guy. Love them both, but in two years of highlights I don't see the drops with Rashod that plagued TJ through his career. We will never know what could have been, so TJ's stat line as a gopher will never get challenged like i think it would have with just one more season of Rashod.
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I judge people’s college worth based more on their college production and impact more than draft position and nfl career.

Tebow flaming out doesn’t make him less of a college player
Alvin Kamara blowing up doesn’t make him a great college player


I do think Bateman is better than Johnson by a small amount.
 

KoolAid said:
This is an interesting thought. I mean, you live like royalty on campus (except there is no campus life this year) or you take a working man’s approach and make this your full-time job out in Cali (or where ever he is)

Do we really think he’s able to start collecting money now? That’s a pretty big incentive for a 20 year old kid. What would an agency realistically be paying him? 10-20 grand a month to train? Interesting
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Why wouldn’t an agency pay him. He is a guaranteed money maker next sprint unless the NFL folds.

Don’t know what the number would be but there is zero doubt an agency will pay for training for him. And probably give him health benefits and some cash.
 

This seems like a no brained for someone his caliber. He is going in the first round. Millions at stake if he gets hurt in a shortened or possibly non existent season. If this were my son and he had a chance to change his life for himself and his future generations because of the money he will make I would advise him to do the same thing.
We need to face that athletes and they way they do Businuess is changing. More and more of this will happen, and it is smart for a young man to make this decision. No one can ridicule him for making a wise and thought out decision to make his life potentially better in the long run.
Congrats Mr Bateman, your hard work is being realized now.
Gopher fans this is exactly what we want. Players that are good enough to do this. Players see this and see the support from P.J. and will want to continue to come here, where their dreams come a reality. Gopher fans. This is a good thing. We have players ready to be the next Johnson and Bateman. Watch. They will emerge.
 

MplsGopher said:
Had zero to do with Fleck personally, and it’s hard to take it serious that you genuinely misinterpreted it as that.

I only referenced Fleck in as much as he is our program and his record is our record.


As I said in the posts, which you clearly didn’t read, if Bateman and Morgan both opt out ....
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I asked if it was sarcasm. You chose to word it the way you did, that's not my fault.
 


GL in NFL Rashod!

Next man up! Biggest bump ups IMO will be Ibrahim (And other RBs) as well as Tight Ends. Still PLENTY of options on this offense.

Dealing with adversity, like NFL draft guys, is how you become a big time team consistently
 

Spoofin said:
1. This sucks - for the Gophers and the Fans, but RB13 is doing what he thinks is best for himself and that is all we can expect. I wish him nothing but the best - hope he is a 1st round pick, and will most likely buy a Bateman Jersey when he lands in the NFL (to go with my Gopher Bateman Jersey).

2. mjfelton15 is a poor poster. He is very naive and says some really dumb things. Nothing he posted here should have got him banned.
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🤔
 


Some guy said:
There’s at least a 50% chance of no football being played.

I’m sure teams are going to pass on his talent to draft a guy clearly worse because he opted out of going to a college campus during a pandemic
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I’m afraid the chance is much higher than 50%. Momentum is quickly moving in wrong direction.
 


My opinion...If there's no Covid, he is still here. Covid has definitely been screwing up peoples' short term and long term plans and as we know, trying to figure out what is going to happen with this virus is a crapshoot and a deluge of "we don't know". So, in that respect I don't blame him for the decision he has made, and I think if there even is a season this fall, it will be just a shell of what it should be.
Best of luck, Rashod! You played a huge role in bringing back Gopher football fans and it will never be forgotten!
 

skiumah1 said:
GL in NFL Rashod!

Next man up! Biggest bump ups IMO will be Ibrahim (And other RBs) as well as Tight Ends. Still PLENTY of options on this offense.

Dealing with adversity, like NFL draft guys, is how you become a big time team consistently
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It's Nnamdi Adim-Madumere time!...(I guess).
 

scools12 said:
This isn’t that surprising given the uncertainty surrounding public health and whether or not a season will even be played this fall.

If the season is moved to the spring more of the top players with a first round or second round NFL draft grade will be opting out.
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Very true, if the season is moved a ton of top guys who don't have a lot to prove will opt not to play in order to get ready for the NFL as it would be almost certain that the NFL would not alter its timelines a ton to accommodate a late college season.

2020 was going to be his final season here no matter what so while it sucks that he is opting out of whatever mess this season ends up being, I can understand the decision on some levels.

Unfortunate as Gopher fans that we won't get to enjoy one final go around in Maroon and Gold but wish the kid nothing but the best at the next level and hopefully he tears it up in the NFL as that would be great publicity for the program to have an elite WR playing in the NFL.
 

mjfelton15 said:
What an effing coward. Good riddance dude. Stupid POS
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Yuck. I mean, I do think the reaction to Covid is overblown, but still...yuck. His choice to play or not and we can’t possibly know all the factors that went into this decision. It does suck for the team, but I will choose to remember his great moments here.

Next man up!
 


I will add my best wishes to Bateman, thanks for being a Gopher. With the uncertainty of the season taking place at all, can't blame him one iota. If he's not a Viking, I hope he gets taken by a non-NFC North team.
 

Ope3 said:
Umm, the derogatory statement directed at Bateman was indeed ban worthy. No question.
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Do you think he knows the definition of naive?

May need to bust out the old red dictionary and look at a sentence w a context clue.
 

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