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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Michelle R. Martinelli

A running list of college football players skipping 2023-24 bowl games

Football Caleb Williams NFL NFL Draft (Organization)

Editor’s note: This story was originally published Dec. 4 and has been updated.

Happy college football bowl season! With the regular season in the rearview mirror, the college football world is now looking ahead to bowl games and the College Football Playoff matchups.

But as usual, not every player plans on participating in bowl season.

As we’ve seen in recent seasons, many top players elect to sit out of their respective bowl games, often looking ahead to the upcoming NFL Draft. And that trend is continuing through the 2023-24 bowl season.

From the players’ perspective, this makes total sense. Many of them are choosing to protect themselves rather than risk injury (and possibly millions of dollars) playing in a matchup that is largely meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Plus, getting a jump on preparing for the draft can’t hurt.

So we’re keeping track of the players skipping their bowl games with this running list, which will be updated as more players announce their plans for the future and the 2024 NFL Draft.

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Caleb Williams, USC QB

Ainias Smith, Texas A&M WR

Chop Robinson, Penn State DE

Johnny Wilson, Florida State WR

Drake Maye, North Carolina QB

Tez Walker, North Carolina WR

Joe Alt, Notre Dame OL

Laiatu Latu, UCLA DL

(AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Via ESPN:

UCLA defensive lineman Laiatu Latu will not play in the LA Bowl against Boise State and will turn his attention toward preparing for the NFL draft, coach Chip Kelly said [Dec. 11].

MarShawn Lloyd, USC RB

Theo Johnson, Penn State TE

Jeremiah Trotter, Clemson LB

Andrew Raym, Oklahoma C

Jawhar Jordan, Louisville RB

Cole Bishop, Utah S

Audric Estime, Notre Dame RB

Braelon Allen, Wisconsin RB

(Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORK)

Last month, Allen announced he’s declaring for the NFL Draft and will miss the Badgers’ ReliaQuest Bowl game against No. 13 LSU.

Brenden Rice, USC WR

(Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports)

Brenden Rice, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, announced his NFL Draft declaration in a NSFW post on social media.

Edgerrin Cooper, Texas A&M LB

Ben Sinnott, Kansas State TE

Trey Benson, Florida State RB

Leonard Taylor III, Miami DT

James Williams, Miami S

Jayden Daniels, LSU QB

Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland QB

Jared Verse, Florida State DE

Jaheim Bell, Florida State RB

Jarrian Jones, Florida State DB

Fabien Lovett, Florida State defensive lineman

Taliese Fuaga, Oregon State RT

The Oregonian reported Fuaga declared for the 2024 NFL Draft.

Payton Wilson, NC State LB

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