After what was described as an emotional meeting with Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt Friday, Panthers star tailback LeSean McCoy is delaying his decision on whether to declare for the NFL Draft.
McCoy's parents, Ron and Daphne, and brother, LeRon, accompanied him to the meeting at Pitt's Duratz Athletic Complex on the South Side. Afterward, LeRon McCoy said his brother was overwhelmed by the gravity of the decision and will wait until next week to make up his mind.
Before people start jumping on him for being a little Favreish in his thinking, consider the factors at play here. As we've already discussed, there is no shortage of running backs available, including Knowshon Moreno, Beanie Wells, Javon Ringer, Donald Brown, PJ Hill, Rashad Jennings, and just announced, Alabama's Glen Coffee. And those are just the running backs. For the big money, he's going to compete against all position players. So every time a Jeremy Maclin or Michael Crabtree decides they're jumping in the pool, that's two more notches that a Shady McCoy will fall. And every notch equals lost income.
Second, there's the wear and tear on his body that another season will surely provide. He's toted the rock 276 times in 2007 and 308 in 2008. That's almost 600 carries in two years, putting him on pace for around 900 if he stays. Plus, there's always the threat of a serious injury looming. And for a guy that's already suffered through one such incident in high school, that's a concern.
Those are the negatives, and they are big. But there has to be positives to come from staying at Pitt, and at the top of the list would be the opportunity to drive his stock up in the 2009 season. With McCoy in the mix, as well as an improved offensive line, a tough defense, a stud WR (Jonathan Baldwin) and (hopefully) some better play at the QB position, Pitt would have to be considered a favorite to win the conference and subsequently play in a BCS bowl. Granted, there are a lot of factors at play when considering team results; but should things fall into place, that's a lot of exposure to potentially vault McCoy near the top of next year's available running backs. And that means a bigger pile of money when an NFL team eventually calls his name.
Whatever his decision may be, I would understand. This is a young guy that's given Pitt fans a lot to cheer about in a short period of time, and he really doesn't owe anybody anything. It's selfish reasoning to want him back, but I don't know any fan who wouldn't want to have a Shady McCoy on their side, given the choice.
Pitt's McCoy Puts Decision To Go Pro On Hold [Trib]
Second, there's the wear and tear on his body that another season will surely provide. He's toted the rock 276 times in 2007 and 308 in 2008. That's almost 600 carries in two years, putting him on pace for around 900 if he stays. Plus, there's always the threat of a serious injury looming. And for a guy that's already suffered through one such incident in high school, that's a concern.
Those are the negatives, and they are big. But there has to be positives to come from staying at Pitt, and at the top of the list would be the opportunity to drive his stock up in the 2009 season. With McCoy in the mix, as well as an improved offensive line, a tough defense, a stud WR (Jonathan Baldwin) and (hopefully) some better play at the QB position, Pitt would have to be considered a favorite to win the conference and subsequently play in a BCS bowl. Granted, there are a lot of factors at play when considering team results; but should things fall into place, that's a lot of exposure to potentially vault McCoy near the top of next year's available running backs. And that means a bigger pile of money when an NFL team eventually calls his name.
Whatever his decision may be, I would understand. This is a young guy that's given Pitt fans a lot to cheer about in a short period of time, and he really doesn't owe anybody anything. It's selfish reasoning to want him back, but I don't know any fan who wouldn't want to have a Shady McCoy on their side, given the choice.
Pitt's McCoy Puts Decision To Go Pro On Hold [Trib]
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2 comments:
How is your first point a negative? Seems like it's an argument to stay at Pitt.
I don't know Shady but I suspect he wants to stay but is being pressured by money grubbing relatives who see $$$$ and want the money now.
The sad thing is, I really don't think he's going to be a 1st round pick. Unless his combine numbers are just unreal, he's behind 4 other backs (at least) and I'm not sure even that many will be first rounders.
If he has a good junior year at Pitt, he could easily be a top 10-15 pick in 2010. So in this case his greedy relatives are probably costing him a good $4-5 million.
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