Prior to the start of fall practice, Clemson’s senior football players got together to discuss who was interested in opting out of the 2020 season.
No one would have blamed anyone for wanting to opt out, knowing there is a risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus. After all, a lot of the seniors and even juniors like quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who is scheduled to graduate in December, have an NFL future to think about after the season.
In fact, it was Lawrence who stood up in the meeting and told his teammates, “We are not opting out. We want to play.”
To date, Clemson has not had a player opt out of the 2020 season, and defensive tackle Nyles Pinckney doesn’t feel there will be one.
“It’s not like we are trying to keep anyone locked in because everybody here wants to be here. Everyone wants to play,” the graduate senior said. “So, it is not like anyone is thinking about opting out.”
Clemson’s unity of staying together is a stark contrast to what is happening at other schools in college football. Wake Forest’s star receiver, Sage Surratt, has decided to opt out the football season. The same for LSU All-American receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
There was a report on Tuesday that six more LSU players could opt out of the season, while UCF announced 10 of its players are opting out in 2020 due to coronavirus concerns, including backup quarterback Darriel Mack, Jr.
But at Clemson, there is a unified front that everyone wants to play this season.
“This is what we want to do,” Pinckney said. “So, we are not really trying to make each other stay or anything like that, like Coach [Dabo] Swinney said, ‘We are not forcing anybody to stay here. If you want to play, you are going to play.’
“We all love the game. So, everybody that is here, wants to be here and wants to play.”
Top-ranked Clemson will kick off the 2020 season on Sept. 12 when it travels to Winston-Salem, N.C., to take on Wake Forest. It was announced Tuesday the game will be a 7:30 p.m. kick and will be televised nationally on ABC.
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