"What's your purpose? Why are you playing?": When Kirby Smart got candid about players opting out of bowl games

The trend of college football players opting out of bowl games has been around for some time, and Kirby Smart wasn't a fan of it and spoke out in 2016. That year, it started with Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey and LSU running back Leonard Fournette deciding to skip their respective bowl games in preparation for the draft.

Ahead of Georgia’s Liberty Bowl game against TCU in December 2016, Kirby Smart was asked about his view on the decision of players to opt out of bowl games. In a video published on December 21 2016, Smart spoke about how this phenomenon was something that could affect the future of college football.

“Obviously, it's a concern in college football if that starts to happen," Smart said. "I certainly think that kids look at, ‘Where am I predicted, what is the financial value, and also how important is this game.’

"And that all goes back to your tie to your university; how important is it to your teammates?" The veteran coach added. "How important is it to the development of your team? Some coaches would argue, 'Does it matter that much because I'm trying to develop my team for the future and that guy's not going to be there anyway.'"

"But it goes back to what's your plan for it? What's your purpose?" Smart said. "Why are you playing? If you're playing for the love of the game and to help your team win, then you certainly should play in that game. If not, then maybe it's otherwise."

Kirby Smart believes opting out of bowl games comes from a "selfish perspective"

Opting out of bowl games can be about players trying to protect themselves from injuries, which could be costly, ahead of the draft. However, Kirby Smart believes that the players were not putting the school and their teammates first in the decision-making process.

"I certainly think from the perspective of your teammates, that they feel like that game is important enough to play in," Smart said. "But nowadays, you have to be looking at it from, I guess, a selfish perspective for the kid. They've got to look at it and make a decision of, ‘This is about me.’"

Since 2016, opting out of non-playoff bowl games has become a widespread practice across the college football realm. More and more players have continued to take this route to ensure that they don't suffer any eventuality that can affect their draft stock.