Christian McCaffrey won't play in Sun Bowl
— -- Christian McCaffrey?will sit out Stanford's bowl game to focus on his NFL draft preparation, the star running back announced Monday on Twitter.
"Very tough decision, but I have decided not to play in the Sun Bowl so I can begin my draft prep immediately," McCaffrey wrote on Twitter. "Thx to all my teammates for their 100% support -- It means a lot to me. Go Cardinal!"
No. 18 Stanford will face? North Carolina in the Hyundai Sun Bowl on Dec. 30.
McCaffrey announced Dec. 7 that he will forgo his senior season to enter the draft. LSU running back Leonard Fournette?and McCaffrey are two high-profile players who will sit out the bowl season. Fournette announced Friday that he would not play in the?Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31 against Louisville.
"We understand that this was a very difficult decision. For three years Christian has not only been a great player, but a great teammate as well," Stanford coach David Shaw said in a statement. "We wish him great success at the next level, as we continue our preparation for the Sun Bowl."
McCaffrey has a $5 million disability policy if he became injured and unable to play, which means he would collect a tax-free $5 million, a source told ESPN's Darren Rovell. He also has a $3 million?loss of value policy and could start collecting if an injury caused him to slip past the 40th overall pick, according to the source.
Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith, who was seen as a possible top-five pick in the 2016 draft before suffering a knee injury in his final college game (the Fiesta Bowl) that pushed him out of the first round, expressed his disappointment with the players skipping their bowl games.
"Honestly. With Everything I've been through, if I could go back to Jan. 1st I'd play again. #ClearEyeView", Smith tweeted on Monday.
Ezekiel Elliott also disliked the decision. "All these young guys deciding to skip their bowl games ?? I would do anything to play one more time with my brothers in that scarlet and gray," the former Ohio State running back said via Twitter.
Another likely first-round draft pick, Texas A&M star defensive end Myles Garrett, released a statement Monday saying he is preparing to play in the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl on Dec. 28.
Garrett, a junior who is projected as a top-10 pick and potentially the No. 1 overall pick, hasn't yet publicly declared for the draft.
Sophomore wide receiver Trenton Irwin tweeted that the team supports McCaffrey.
In a statement, Sun Bowl executive director Bernie Olivas said he was disappointed, but that he understands McCaffrey's decision.
"[McCaffrey] was hurt earlier this year, so I am sure that weighed on his decision," Olivas said. "He has a tremendous NFL career ahead of him, and that might be sitting in the back of his head."
McCaffrey gained 3,864 yards in 2015, breaking Barry Sanders' NCAA single-season record for all-purpose yardage. He won the Associated Press National Player of the Year award and finished second in that season's Heisman Trophy voting behind Alabama's Derrick Henry. McCaffrey led Stanford to a 45-16 walloping of Iowa in the Rose Bowl, racking up a record 368 all-purpose yards.
McCaffrey entered 2016 as a faster and stronger player than the year before. Despite a midseason injury, he again leads the nation with 2,327 all-purpose yards and has posted 1,603 rushing yards. His rushing average has actually improved -- despite the overall decline of Stanford's offense -- from 6.0 yards per carry in 2015 to 6.3 yards per carry this season. This, combined with an increased role in the Cardinal's short-yardage attack, allowed McCaffrey to showcase his full range of skills to NFL observers.
He is ranked No. 28 on Todd McShay's latest top 32 prospects list and is the No. 4 running back in Mel Kiper's positional rankings.
ESPN staff writers David Lombardi and Sam Khan contributed to this report.
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