DRC: Darden declares for NFL draft just hours after further cementing UNT legacy

[Brett Vito]

 

[greenjoe]

Well, to be honest, it was 2 days.

[Udomann]

Hate to see him go, but glad to see him go out in top. He will be great at the next level

[SilverEagle]

Am I missing something? On the roster he's listed as a senior.

[MeanGreen22]

4 hours ago, greenjoe said:

Well, to be honest, it was 2 days.

Well he did ask out of the game right after breaking the reception record and signaled to someone in the stands that he was done 

[El Paso Eagle]

1 hour ago, SilverEagle said:

Am I missing something? On the roster he's listed as a senior.

Everyone gets an extra year if they want

[MeanGreenDan]

2 hours ago, SilverEagle said:

Am I missing something? On the roster he's listed as a senior.

He's also indicating he won't play in the bowl. Which is the absolute right call. 

[greenminer]

3 hours ago, MeanGreenDan said:

He's also indicating he won't play in the bowl. Which is the absolute right call. 

Came here to ask that. I don't see anything clearly stated on his Twitter feed, but you could interpret things that way.

[97and03]

Listening to his post game comments, I would expect him to play in the bowl. 

[RiseUNT]

3 hours ago, MeanGreenDan said:

He's also indicating he won't play in the bowl. Which is the absolute right call. 

Why?

[NT93]

3 hours ago, MeanGreenDan said:

He's also indicating he won't play in the bowl. Which is the absolute right call. 

Normally I would disagree, but in 2020   I guess I won’t.

I hope he plays so that we can see him play one more time, but if chooses not to then good luck to him. He’s been a joy to watch.

[MeanGreenDan]

5 hours ago, greenminer said:

Came here to ask that. I don't see anything clearly stated on his Twitter feed, but you could interpret things that way.

 

5 hours ago, 97and03 said:

Listening to his post game comments, I would expect him to play in the bowl. 

 

5 hours ago, RiseUNT said:

Why?

 

5 hours ago, NT93 said:

Normally I would disagree, but in 2020   I guess I won’t.

I hope he plays so that we can see him play one more time, but if chooses not to then good luck to him. He’s been a joy to watch.

Vito's article on the bowl game said specifically he's not expected to play. 

It's obvious he made the announcement ahead of the bowl announcement for this very reason. 

[RiseUNT]

3 hours ago, MeanGreenDan said:

 

 

 

Vito's article on the bowl game said specifically he's not expected to play. 

It's obvious he made the announcement ahead of the bowl announcement for this very reason. 

Why is it the best for him not to play?

[MeanGreenTexan]

I don't really know the timetable of events, but if Darden knew about the bowl game (and the fact that it's the only game on ESPN at this time), and chose to forego it, he likely has a good idea he'll be drafted already.

If he wasn't aware of the bowl bid and the fact that he'd have more eyes on him than ever, maybe he re-thinks the decision to not play.

Either way, I wouldn't be mad at him.

 

9 minutes ago, RiseUNT said:

Why is it the best for him not to play?

[RBP79]

He's paid his dues here so I respect his decision.

[MeanGreenDan]

1 hour ago, RiseUNT said:

Why is it the best for him not to play?

This game is a great opportunity for underclassmen to get an extra week of practice, one more game, and any bubble draft players (if we do have any) one more chance to ball out.

Darden has balled out all season, has caught as many eyes as he is going to, as the game tape to prove his worth, and the only thing that could come from this game is an injury that brings all that crashing down. If it were a conference title game or something, I am sure he'd be in there. But it's a "nice to have" extra game, and nothing more.

[RiseUNT]

1 hour ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

I don't really know the timetable of events, but if Darden knew about the bowl game (and the fact that it's the only game on ESPN at this time), and chose to forego it, he likely has a good idea he'll be drafted already.

If he wasn't aware of the bowl bid and the fact that he'd have more eyes on him than ever, maybe he re-thinks the decision to not play.

Either way, I wouldn't be mad at him.

 

He isn’t taking a month off to play one game like most guys who opt out of bowl games. The game is in a week.

 He isn’t even favored to get drafted so we can’t compare him to top picks who have opted out to save future income.

[RiseUNT]

2 minutes ago, MeanGreenDan said:

This game is a great opportunity for underclassmen to get an extra week of practice, one more game, and any bubble draft players (if we do have any) one more chance to ball out.

Darden has balled out all season, has caught as many eyes as he is going to, as the game tape to prove his worth, and the only thing that could come from this game is an injury that brings all that crashing down. If it were a conference title game or something, I am sure he'd be in there. But it's a "nice to have" extra game, and nothing more.

He is a bubble draft guy

[MeanGreen22]

15 hours ago, MeanGreen22 said:

Well he did ask out of the game right after breaking the reception record and signaled to someone in the stands that he was done 

^^^ I don’t expect him to play and don’t blame him. Too much risk. Seems to already have enough momentum in the national scene to get drafted

 

GMG

[greenminer]

Given everything Darden has been doing, is one more game of 3+ TDs against App State gonna improve his stock?

On the tipping scale between ruining his stock and improving it, this game presents a ton of room to go badly and there is not much he can do at this point to climb out of bubble status.

I would love to see him one more time myself.  I don't see much of the NFL.

[UNTexas]

He went out on a really seriously great note. Can't blame him for not playing. 

Edited December 14, 2020 by UNTexas