JJ Watt accuses college football’s super seniors of taking away opportunities from young players: "What happened to 5 years to play 4 seasons?"

Former NFL defensive end JJ Watt shared his opinion on a subject that has become prevalent in college football in recent times. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA made a rule not to take into account the shortened 2020 season when determining a player's college eligibility.

The exclusion, along with redshirts and medical redshirts, allowed a few players to continue playing for their teams for well over five to six years. JJ Watt doesn't like the fact that it has allowed these super seniors to overshadow fresh young talents who want to make a name for themselves in college football.

In a recent tweet, Watt talked about how some players are still playing college football as seventh and eighth-year seniors. This has become a problem for younger talents because they are unable to compete with the experience that these older players bring to the field. Thus, they see limited time on the field, which, according to Watt, results in them missing out on opportunities.

"Has college football become a place where you can just play as many years as you want?," Watt wrote on X. "What happened to 5 years to play 4 seasons? There are young players coming up that are missing out on opportunities because we've got 7th and 8th year seniors."

To put Watt's tweet into perspective, the 2023 national championship game featuring Michigan and Washington also has a few super seniors playing. Huskies QB Michael Penix Jr. might be the most notable in this situation.

He is in his sixth and final year of college football before departing for the NFL draft. Penix Jr. redshirted his freshman season with Indiana. He also got another year of eligibility thanks to the pandemic and then transferred to Washington ahead of the 2022 season to spend two years with them.

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JJ Watt's college career

JJ Watt began his collegiate journey with the Central Michigan Chippewas back in 2007. He initially played as a tight end and recorded 77 passing yards and eight receptions in 14 games. After just one year, Watt transferred to Wisconsin, where he began his journey as a defensive end.

Pittsburgh Steelers v Houston Texans

The 34-year-old redshirted his debut season with the Badgers in 2008. He then played in 13 games for the team in 2009, compiling 32 solo tackles, 4.5 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss. In 2010, Watt once again played in 13 games, recording 42 solo tackles, seven sacks and one interception.

He then decided to forgo his senior year of college football and declare for the 2011 NFL draft. Watt was selected by the Houston Texans with the 11th pick and spent 12 seasons in the NFL.