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In this day and age in college football we usually look at loyalty and how our players have lost that loyalty to their schools and fellow athletes. Every time we turn around we are reading about another player that decided to take their talents to another school. That could be for more playing time, better NIL or just a change in scenery. However, there have been instances where that has paid off. Kyle Kennard for South Carolina transferred from Georgia Tech. He was not well known and now he has won Defensive Player of the Year. Cam Ward is possibly going to be a number one pick in the draft after making his move. Bo Nix struggled in Auburn and went to Oregon to become a first round draft pick. To say that because someone leaves for another situation makes a stain against their character can be seen as absurd. In life we have to do things that can help benefit us rather that be in careers or personal lives. If we are at a job and that is not getting us to the place in life that we want to be then we are off to look for the next best thing. If a player is not getting what they need from one school then they decide to jump to another school and everyone wants to challenge their character. However, what about he coaches portal? We see these people change all the time. Just this past week Dowell Loggains left before South Carolina’s bowl game to be the head coach of Appalachian State. Bryan Kelly abruptly left Notre Dame to go to LSU. It happens all the time and nobody thinks anything of it.
We have to stop looking at these players as our chess pieces who are put on this earth for our entertainment. In fact telling them they have to stay at a school just because they started there is basically like making them slaves to you as a fan. Why not complain about the coaches that constantly jump ship? These men recruit these players and make them tons of promises but as soon as something comes along that looks better to them then they are off and leaving these athletes in unfamiliar territory. As a fan of South Carolina I would love to keep our team in tact. I want to see Lanoris Sellers in a gamecock jersey for his full career. However, if an opportunity comes along that he feels will benefit him better in the future then I cannot fault him for that. In the end there is immense pressure put on these kids. Pressure from their families, coaches and fans. If they stay in a situation that does not benefit them then they are robbing themselves of what could have been but if they leave then they risk letting so many other’s down. If we are going to put these limitations on these athletes then we have to put the same expectations to coaches. However, we can have coaches that are not performing and the first thing the fans want to do is have them fired. When a player is not performing then we want them benched. If the fans are not going to return the loyalty then why should these players feel like they owe us anything. If we are not going to hold coaches feet to the fire for constantly leaving to go to schools then we should not look at an 18 year old kid to stay in a situation that obviously is not fitting their needs.
At the end of the day these players have been told what to do for so long. They were told they couldn’t have job. They had to sit out a year if they transfer and in many cases were told what schools they could not transfer to. Now, the players have some power and the fans do not like it because the game has changed and evolved. All the while we complain Barry Odom just ditched UNLV after 2 years to go to Purdue. Dowell Loggains just left SC to go to Appalachian St and there will be plenty of others that will leave the kids they recruited to move on to other situations. So before thinking these players and coaches owe us their loyalty then let’s take the time to respect someone for making a mature decision to take a chance in another environment to make themselves better and reach their full potential. At the end of the day it takes more courage to leave a situation to go somewhere that is not familiar than to stay and be complacent.
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