Now Texas A&M football fans know how opposing offensive tackles feel.
All-American junior defensive end Myles Garrett is keeping them guessing. What’s his next move? Which direction will he go?
During a
Tuesday
press conference, Garrett claimed he hasn’t decided whether or not to enter the
NFL draft and maintained that it’s not out of the question he could
return to play his senior year at A&M.
Cue the words of Lloyd Christmas: “So you’re telling me there’s a chance …”
On
a day when quarterback Trevor Knight declared himself to be healthy and
ready to start the Texas Bowl against Kansas State on
Dec. 28, Garrett offered a faint glimmer of hope to Aggies who hope he’ll opt to play a fourth season for A&M.
Though
projected to be a top-five pick – and perhaps the first overall
selection – in next spring’s NFL draft, Garrett said he was not
motivated by the overwhelming wealth that status would bring.
“It’s
just money,” Garrett said. “The relationships I’ll make during this time
or the impressions I make on people around me will last forever. Money
will come and go.
“To me, money has no real value other than I
can buy my family some stuff with this. I can do stuff with this for
other people. It doesn’t have any real value. The relationships that I
gain from playing football and the relationships that I improve upon is
what means a lot to me, not just monetary value.”
Lindsay Caudle, TexAgs
Like Jadeveon Clowney before him, Garrett figures to make a lot of money if he leaves school for the draft and is projected to be a top-five pick.
That’s easy to
say now. But a 6-5, 270-pound pass-rushing phenom who has posted
32.5 career sacks will command such a lucrative contract that even those
not motivated by money will have to take notice.
The last defensive
end to be selected first overall was Houston’s Jadeveon Clowney in
2014.
He got a fully-guaranteed, $22,272,998 deal that contained a $14.5
million signing bonus.
Garrett would figure to get a similar deal.
A&M defensive coordinator John Chavis, who has coached several first-round
selections, suggested that Garrett is a rare prospect.
“Myles is
the best big athlete that I’ve ever been on the field with,” Chavis
said. “You don’t find guys that are 6-5-plus that can bend and turn and
run – you don’t find those guys. They’re not out there. He can do that
better than any big athlete I’ve ever been around. I think that’s a
pretty big statement. It would be hard for me to tell you that I've been
on the field with one better. He is the best that I’ve been on the
field with.”
Garrett said he’d announce a decision on his draft status after the Texas Bowl, but did not say when.
However,
he admitted that his father suggested Garrett consider following the
lead of Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey and LSU running back
Leonard Fournette, who have decided to skip their teams’ bowl games to
prepare for the draft.
Garrett said he never considered that.
“There’s no question I’m playing,” he said. “I’m going to play no matter whoever says they’re sitting out.”
That attitude would figure to make him even more attractive to NFL franchises.
Still,
Garrett claimed he hasn’t made up his mind. He even said he’d consult
A&M coach Kevin Sumlin before making a final decision.
Lindsay Caudle, TexAgs
Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin's advice will be a factor in Garrett's decision.
“Just talking to coach and see how he feels about how my season went or if I have anything left to prove,” Garrett said.
Although injuries contributed to his coming up short of the 20-sack goal he set for this season, Garrett has very little to prove.
Sumlin has
been in this position before with eventual first-round selections Mike
Evans, Luke Joeckel and Germain Ifedi, who all opted for early entry in
the NFL draft.
He did not try to deter them.
“When it's
time to go, it’s time for you to go,” Sumlin said. “It would have been to
my advantage to keep Mike Evans here, but after everything we had and
everything we knew (about) where was going to get picked, it was time for
him to go.”
On the other hand, tackle Jake Matthews returned for his senior season and ended up being a top-10 selection afterward.
“Jake
Matthews was different,” Sumlin said. “Jake Matthews was a (projected)
mid-second, late-second guy who played himself into a top-ten pick,
which is worth you-can’t-believe-how-much money.”
But unlike Matthews, Garrett isn’t going to improve his draft status with another collegiate season.
Still, Garrett said he frequently gets advice that he should return for A&M for his senior year.
“All
the time,” he said. “Classmates or professors come to me before or
after class and say, ‘It really would be nice for you to come back and
show us what you can do for another year.’”
But will he heed their pleas?
“I don’t know,’’ Garrett said. “We’ll see.”
