With The First Pick
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Saquon Barkley Open to Missing His Bowl Game

By Carl Cockerham

Jan 2, 2017; Pasadena, CA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley (26) is defended by USC Trojans linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (42) in the second quarter during the 103rd Rose Bowl at Rose Bowl. USC defeated Penn State 52-49 in the highest scoring game in Rose Bowl history. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 2, 2017; Pasadena, CA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley (26) is defended by USC Trojans linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (42) in the second quarter during the 103rd Rose Bowl at Rose Bowl. USC defeated Penn State 52-49 in the highest scoring game in Rose Bowl history. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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After watching Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey skip the bowl games and become top-10 picks, Saquon Barkley may follow suit.

The running back position is back as Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey went in the top 10 of the draft. They both did so after skipping their respective teams’ bowl games to avoid injury. No one on a football field is more at risk for an injury than a running back.

So seeing Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith go down in a bowl game last year, made them think. And now, Fournette and McCaffrey are having an effect on today’s college running backs. Penn State’s Saquon Barkley is thinking about skipping his bowl game..

Barkley, who rushed for 1,496 yards in 2016, is a big-time running back prospect for 2018. Like anyone else, he doesn’t want his draft stack to plummet due to a catastrophic injury. Barkley recently spoke about the situation with Pete Thamel of SI.com.

He said:

"“I would have a hard time doing it,. But I’m not going to sit here and say I would never do it. I don’t know. I could be in a situation next year where I have close to two broken ankles, God forbid, or something going on in my upper body and I can’t play in a game if I’m considering playing in the NFL.”"

Former Michigan tight end Jake Butt would have been picked early in the draft. But he tore his ACL in the Orange Bowl and saw his draft stock tumble all the way down to the fifth round. Bowl games are meaningless so the NCAA needs to make postseason games mean more.

My suggestion—open up the playoffs to the top 20 teams.

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