Bowl season is almost here. Conference championships for the 2023 wrapped up this past weekend, and next weekend will kick off a three-week stretch that will be jam-packed with 41 total bowl games.
But in the current age of college football, bowl opt-outs for players who are regarded as high level NFL Draft prospects have become the norm. In fact, we've already seen a handful of notable players across the sport already announce that they will not be playing in their team's respective bowl.
However, as the Louisville football program could be one of a few Power Five teams to not have this problem. As they prepare to face USC in the Holiday Bowl, head coach Jeff Brohm believes that the only thing that will sideline his players for the game are injuries, and is not expecting many opt-outs for the bowl, if at all.
"I don't think, as of right, no one has opted out for the game," Brohm said. "I know Jawhar Jordan and Ben Perry got nicked up in the last game, and will be game-time decisions for the bowl game, even with this type of rest. Austin Collins had an appendectomy, and we're trying to get him back for the game if he's possible. Some things like that, but as far as opting out, everyone I think is ready to play, and they want to play, and are looking forward to playing this game."
As many fans of college football know, the main reason for bowl opt-outs is so players can preserve their health ahead the NFL Draft, and not have a potential major injury impact their draft stock. It's a trend that started gaining steam in early 2016 when Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith suffered a knee injury in the Fiesta Bowl, and really got kicked off later that year when Stanford running back Christin McCaffrey opted out of the Sun Bowl.
It's not that Louisville doesn't have NFL-caliber talent on their roster. Players such a running back Jawhar Jordan, wide receiver Jamari Thrash, defensive end Ashton Gillotte and cornerbacks Quincy Riley and Jarvis Brownlee Jr. could easily hear their names called early in next April's NFL Draft.
Ever since Louisville returned from Charlotte after playing Florida State in the ACC Championship Game, the players have had a bit of a break away from football, where they haven't had to focus on those potential decisions, or even game prep and practice. Brohm doesn't rule it out completely, but he believes that the decision from certain players to go pro or return for another year will be made after the Holiday Bowl.
"Right now, these guys are taking a break," he said. "They haven't made those type of decisions. I think they're probably gathering information between last game and now, and even going forward, to make the best decision for them. I'm sure some of that could happen. I would anticipate, if it does, it happens after the bowl game. We'll go from there.
"But in the end, we want to give our guys the best information we have. Obviously, we'd love for all of them to stay and play. But if it's a great situation for them to pursue their dream, we'll support them 100 percent."
One reason that Brohm believes that Louisville won't see an influx of opt-outs is because there is already a precedence here with the current team. Safety Cam'Ron Kelly announced earlier this week that is declaring for the NFL Draft, but would be playing in the Holiday Bowl before heading to the professional ranks.
Plus, not only does Brohm think that bowl games are important to the schools and their fans, they're potentially an important tool for scouts. If an NFL prospect ends the season with a good performance in a bowl game, that will only further increase their draft stock.
"I think this game, in my opinion, is an important game just to show what you can do, and to go out there and play a really good football game," he said. "A lot of these guys will play in a Senior Bowl or an East-West Shrine Bowl, so there's more football to be played. I think they understand, to get another really good game on film where they play well, can be beneficial. I believe scouts and teams look at that.
"Without question, you're going to have a few top draft picks that may opt out for obvious reasons. But there's others that want to improve their stuff, and you definitely can in a bowl game against good competition when you're the only game on TV. I think that easily can happen with a lot of guys on our team."
That being said, Louisville's roster will inevitably look a tad different when they face USC. The Cardinals have already had eight players enter the transfer portal, and it's very likely that more will enter by the time kickoff against the Trojans comes around
While Brohm has mentioned the importance of getting younger players live in-game reps as a result of the portal thinning the roster a touch, he's still very much in win-now mode, and wants to lean on the players that helped get them to 10 wins in the first place.
"I think we're gonna play the game to win," Brohm said, "We always do, and that'll be the philosophy. We'll do that in the first game of the year, last game of the year and bowl agme. Now with that said, the roster will be slightly different, without question. You could see some younger and new guys emerge with playing time, and we're definitely open to that. We'll gauge where they're at this month in practice.
Kickoff is set for Wednesday, Dec. 27 at 8:00 p.m. EST from Petco Park in San Diego, Calif.
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