So Eskridge went 0 for 7 rounds

[OttoMets]

Has a Cuse 5th year eligible kid who was a starter ever not got into grad school? Even if he had a 2.1 GPA I bet they would find him a spot in grad school.

Yeah, no athlete with eligibility on the table is getting shut out of a degree program.

 

[CusefanATL]

My point is that it's none of our business. Having an opinion is fine - I just choose to draw the line. I don't judge what people do with their money or livelihoods. Circumstances are too varied. We don't know about 8 out of 10 factors.

I just root for the kid and root for the team.

which is fine. but no one is chastising the kid. they are saying they dont agree with the decision.

no one agrees with the decision.

he grew up borderline homeless. im sure he'll survive - but it wasnt the smart decision. thats all that needs to be said.

 

[TheCusian]

which is fine. but no one is chastising the kid. they are saying they dont agree with the decision. no one agrees with the decision. he grew up borderline homeless. im sure he'll survive - but it wasnt the smart decision. thats all that needs to be said.

I really am trying to let this go . My point is that it's impossible to say how smart it is or isn't until you're him.

Example: out of college I turned down the opportunity to go to NYC and get into a design firm or publishing to be a youth pastor for 8 years. If you look at the financial side of things, I made a horrible choice. But that's not why I did it. It made sense to me and I have zero regrets.

Anyone can look at FA money and then 1-2 round money and say "that wasn't smart"...

 

[KaiserUEO]

I really am trying to let this go . My point is that it's impossible to say how smart it is or isn't until you're him.

Example: out of college I turned down the opportunity to go to NYC and get into a design firm or publishing to be a youth pastor for 8 years. If you look at the financial side of things, I made a horrible choice. But that's not why I did it. It made sense to me and I have zero regrets.

Anyone can look at FA money and then 1-2 round money and say "that wasn't smart"...

apples and oranges. good for you though, obviously it was rewarding in other ways that were important to you.

maybe eskridge had enough of football and school. maybe he said ' it. im done with this shlit, but will give the NFL a shot'...before he becomes a youth pastor or something.

we dont know, we have that luxury of not knowing.

and its that luxury, that people arent honest with themselves about.

you have to realize that most here arent honest with their opinions, (not bayside in this thread, i think his point is lost) and they need to realize that rooting for Syracuse Athletic teams, unless you have a family or a true friend connection...makes it just like the pros, you are rooting for laundry.

and the players...are cattle.

cattle who are bred and grown on campus to get us Wins.

whent the cattle dont grade out to the standards we need them at, we get pissed. when the cattle leave the farm, before providing us with enough Ws, we get pissed.

we as fans, with no real connetion...have the luxury to think that way.

everyone does it, not everyone admits it.

we would rather help tape a knee at halfitime and send a guy back out, then sit up all night with a concussed player, making sure nothing worse happens.

getting into discussions about this are useless, the uniform threads are more productive use of time for at least they have potential to help lead someone (ahem) to the light...

 

[TheCusian]

apples and oranges. good for you though, obviously it was rewarding in other ways that were important to you.

maybe eskridge had enough of football and school. maybe he said ' it. im done with this shlit, but will give the NFL a shot'...before he becomes a youth pastor or something.

we dont know, we have that luxury of not knowing.

and its that luxury, that people arent honest with themselves about.

you have to realize that most here arent honest with their opinions, (not bayside in this thread, i think his point is lost) and they need to realize that rooting for Syracuse Athletic teams, unless you have a family or a true friend connection...makes it just like the pros, you are rooting for laundry.

and the players...are cattle.

cattle who are bred and grown on campus to get us Wins.

whent the cattle dont grade out to the standards we need them at, we get pissed. when the cattle leave the farm, before providing us with enough Ws, we get pissed.

we as fans, with no real connetion...have the luxury to think that way.

everyone does it, not everyone admits it.

we would rather help tape a knee at halfitime and send a guy back out, then sit up all night with a concussed player, making sure nothing worse happens.

getting into discussions about this are useless, the uniform threads are more productive use of time for at least they have potential to help lead someone (ahem) to the light...

I agree with some of this. I don't feel like I root for laundry. But I can see that side of the argument. For me - I read a lot about these guys (where they come from) and follow some on twitter. My kids get high fives from them at games and other events. So, I value the kid as much as the win. Maybe that's a fault of mine. But I'll roll with it .

I agree fully that this conversation has run it's course.

 

[Millhouse]

Yeah - def wish they'd think of us fans and not their livelihoods.

dreadful post

being a ufa is not great for your livelihood

basketball's different, you can make a lot of money playing in a hundred different countries

 

[RF2044]

These guys should also do their homework while they "chase their dreams." We're losing kids in hoops to second round and maybe worse and now a guy like this goes undrafted.

Great post.

 

[TheCusian]

dreadful post being a ufa is not great for your livelihood basketball's different, you can make a lot of money playing in a hundred different countries

Did he know he was going to be a ufa when he declared? Also - if most had him graded out as 3rd round or lower there's a high chance he'll stick. Same with Hickey.

That's about all the info we are privy to. For him - that risk was worth it. Who am I to judge?

 

[OttoMets]

Did he know he was going to be a ufa when he declared? Also - if most had him graded out as 3rd round or lower there's a high chance he'll stick. Same with Hickey.

That's about all the info we are privy to. For him - that risk was worth it. Who am I to judge?

You're a reasonable and well-educated person, I think. Should make for a pretty good judgment.

I hate this increasingly-popular "who am I to judge?" sentiment on here. We might not be fully knowledgeable about kids' personal lives (and we shouldn't be), but I would hope that most posters on here have better (and less biased) judgment than 20-year-old kids whose motivations are often colored by the promise of money.

 

[Millhouse]

Did he know he was going to be a ufa when he declared? Also - if most had him graded out as 3rd round or lower there's a high chance he'll stick. Same with Hickey.

That's about all the info we are privy to. For him - that risk was worth it. Who am I to judge?

if you leave early to be a UFA, you didn't do your homework. whoever graded him at 3rd round was clearly way off.

 

[TheCusian]

if you leave early to be a UFA, you didn't do your homework. whoever graded him at 3rd round was clearly way off.

The general consensus was that he'd be drafted. Most everyone thought that. That's not a kid not doing his homework.

 

[JHarris44]

I don't believe the "who are we to judge" sentiment is overblown at all. There are so many factors that we don't know about ranging from family to finances to educational to health to team standing at Syracuse, etc, etc. IMO, Eskridge most likely sticks on a practice team earning 100k in the same ilk as Jerome Smith last year. Just reading the little tidbits made public about Eskridge's personal situation, it sounds to me that he can develop more as a football player, weight room guy, and adult making 100k/yr than he would by returning to Syracuse. Who knows, maybe he gets hurt again next year and isn't drafted at all - and teams give him the old tryout at mini camp cup of coffee rather than a preferred UFA deal.

 

[TheCusian]

You're a reasonable and well-educated person, I think. Should make for a pretty good judgment. I hate this increasingly-popular "who am I to judge?" sentiment on here. We might not be fully knowledgeable about kids' personal lives (and we shouldn't be), but I would hope that most posters on here have better (and less biased) judgment than 20-year-old kids whose motivations are often colored by the promise of money.

Thanks. Well sure I could have an opinion based on my experiences. I grew up in Eastwood. Not Miami. I was never homeless.

I also have opinions on what kind of player he was and will be. I'll freely share those. I just don't want to make assumptions about kids making decisions on their futures. It's their lives, they take the risk - and pay the penalty or receive the reward. Not my place to offer commentary. Others can and will.

 

[Scooch]

Here's what I'd like to add to this thread...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question#Modern_usage

 

[SWC75]

Again, all I said was that players should have the option of returning to campus if they still had eligibility to try yo improve their draft status. It was not about whether they had a responsibility to the school or fans to do so or that the fans should determine what he should do, etc. etc.

On to other things.

 

[timkay99]

I'm suggesting a change in NCAA rules, so of course I'm "arguing with the NCAA".

My point is that a pay for play program HAS to be in place before what you are advocating for can be done the right way without putting kids in debt.

 

[BlazeOrange]

My point is that a pay for play program HAS to be in place before what you are advocating for can be done the right way without putting kids in debt.

The combine has limited space and is already invitation only. As noted above, a return clause would result in tons of underclassmen declaring each year, much more than the NFL can (or would care) to accommodate. So their interviews/evaluations will primarily be at their school's pro days which can be done at little to no expense to the student athletes.

The problem not really discussed yet deals with the preparation for the combine/pro day/whatever. It's pretty common for seniors to take the semester off to train, which isn't a big deal since they don't have eligibility to protect and many already graduated anyway. Underclassmen who hope to continue playing if not drafted don't have that option. So they may not produce their peak measurables for the scouts. This shouldn't matter for the elite prospects, but would impact borderline players. Which could be a good thing since another year of seasoning would probably benefit them.

Or the NFL could just do something like the NHL and draft the rights to players while they are in college. Would just need a mechanism to handle if the team/player don't agree on when he can leave school.

 

[SUFan44]

The general consensus was that he'd be drafted. Most everyone thought that. That's not a kid not doing his homework.

"Most people" may have thought that, but clearly not the people that mattered. And if I was watching college football (which I do, from time to time) and somebody asked me about Durell Eskridge, I'd say he is an average safety on a bad team in a great conference. And going undrafted is what most average safeties on bad teams in a great conference do.

You mention Hickey in a previous post. He was a 5th year senior. He didn't have a choice to come out this year or not. Eskridge had another year of eligibility. Huge difference.

Again, not trying to kill the kid. He made a decision and he felt it was best for him. I'm not going to sit here and say I know everything in the kid's life, but in terms of future earnings potential as it relates to football, it was not the optimal move. And I could have made that call in November.

 

[TheCusian]

"Most people" may have thought that, but clearly not the people that mattered. And if I was watching college football (which I do, from time to time) and somebody asked me about Durell Eskridge, I'd say he is an average safety on a bad team in a great conference. And going undrafted is what most average safeties on bad teams in a great conference do. You mention Hickey in a previous post. He was a 5th year senior. He didn't have a choice to come out this year or not. Eskridge had another year of eligibility. Huge difference. Again, not trying to kill the kid. He made a decision and he felt it was best for him. I'm not going to sit here and say I know everything in the kid's life, but in terms of future earnings potential as it relates to football, it was not the optimal move. And I could have made that call in November.

Hickey came back when he could have entered the draft - and didn't get drafted somehow. Did it cost him money? Who knows. And that's really the point. You don't know that it cost Esk money. My point is that it's really a personal decision.

If either player had consulted with me (for some insane reason) - I wouldn't make a glib proclamation or state my opinion. I'd interview them, make lists, do research. Their situation + outside opinions of NFL people + historical data = maybe an informed opinion. As it stands as a measly internet board member I have like 1/10 of that info at my disposal.

 

[PhatOrange]

So none of Marrone's recruits were drafted? Interesting.

I wonder how many 8-4 / 9-3 or better teams don't have a player drafted?

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Which is not what I was talking about.

I was talking about how he should have the option of returning to school to play football for the additional year he still had the eligibility for to improve his draft position.

So which of our new players would lose his scholarship to accomodate him.
It would seem to be a waste of his time to try to improve his draft position, given that he has none.
It's the rules. He made a choice. Love with the results. Life goes on. Go get a job like others who leave college.