Miami football: Top NFL Draft prospect Gregory Rousseau opting out of 2020 season
Miami football star defensive end Greg Rousseau is opting out of the 2020 college football season to prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft.
Moments after Miami football head coach Manny Diaz said he didn’t expect to have any of his players opt-out, the best player on the team opted out with Gregory Rousseau opting out due to the COVID-19 concerns.
Rousseau was entering his redshirt sophomore season and was poised for an All-American campaign and potential ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors. Last year, Rousseau broke out in a big way, making plays from all over the Canes line, finishing second to Heisman finalist and No. 2 draft pick, Chase Young, with 15.5 sacks. Rousseau also had an ACC-best 19.5 tackles for loss and was expected to form one-half of what could have been the best defensive end tandem with Temple transfer Greg Roche joining the team this season.
“Greg Rousseau just let me know he is not going to be playing college football this fall. Diaz said via The Miami Herald’s Susan Miller Degnan. He is opting out.”
Bad news for @CanesFootball from Manny Diaz:
— Susan Miller Degnan (@smillerdegnan) August 6, 2020
"Greg Rousseau just let me know he is not going to be playing college football this fall.. He is opting out."
Rousseau is slated as a first-round NFL pick. He would have been a redshirt sophomore this season.
Losing Gregory Rousseau is a crushing blow for Miami football’s hopes in 2020
Rousseau joins Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons who officially opted-out on Thursday morning after reports leaked earlier this week of his intentions to bow out of the season to prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft.
Like Parsons, Rousseau projects as a top-10 pick in the draft.
Without having a second season of film for talent evaluators to watch him play, he shouldn’t suffer too much of a dip in his draft stock because what he did in 2019 was sensational. He has the tape to prove to teams that he can be a franchise cornerstone coming off the edge on any defense.
The 6-foot-7, 265-pound Rousseau will benefit from having a year off football where he can train for the NFL Combine and get in the best possible shape to win in Indy and put himself in position to be the first defensive player off the board.
It’s a big loss for Miami’s hopes for a bounce-back 2020 season with quarterback D’Eriq King under center, but no one should blame or fault Rousseau for doing what’s best for his health and future.
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