T.J. Duckett has given MSU football a good ride since stepping onto the field at Spartan Stadium. It will be sad to hear his early decision to rush away from the sidelines.
A source close to Duckett told The State News the junior running back will announce his plan to forego his senior season and enter the NFL Draft at 4 p.m. today at the Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center.
Football analysts predict he could be picked in the first round.
Duckett’s early departure from MSU will not only be sad for Spartan fans, who love to see him charge over opponents, but also for the sports star himself, who will give up the chance to pursue an academic degree and a final year of eligibility on the field.
NFL officials said Tuesday no paperwork had been received from Duckett to enter the annual draft scheduled to be held Apr. 20-21. He has until Friday to declare his entry.
Playing professional sports is a dream millions of children in America share. Unfortunately, only a small fraction of them will live their dream. If this is Duckett’s chance, nobody should stand in his way.
It’s easy to conceive why Duckett wishes to skip out of school for the NFL a year early - another year at MSU is another chance to experience a career-ending injury.
It’s understandable he may be leery of suffering the same fate as his elder brother, former Spartan running back Tico Duckett, whose senior-year injury hurt his chance in the NFL Draft.
In the same game of chance, careers in the NFL are not always lifelong. In fact, some experts calculate the average professional football career to last only three to four seasons.
If Duckett should be forced out of the NFL sooner than he dreams, what does he have to fall back on? Not a college degree.
It hurts to see him leave MSU. The football roster definitely will be missing a key component next season.
And Duckett will lose his chance to further his education. Sure, it would be nice to see him win a few more games too, but Duckett deserves more.
While it is hard to blame Duckett, known as “Diesel” to his fans, for pursuing his childhood dream to play in the NFL, it is easy to be infuriated at the professional sports league that lured him away.
It’s sad our society promotes an environment in which it is acceptable for the professional-sports market to rip prospects away from their education. The market should wait its turn.
Even though the NFL requires college players to stay through their sophomore seasons, this is beginning to happen too often.
Former Spartan basketball players Jason Richardson and Zach Randolph left school for the NBA Draft after their junior and freshman seasons, respectively.
Duckett stands to be one more name on the growing list of young adults who stand to lose from being exploited by the professional market.
People and education are ultimately more important than profit. Our society should begin acting accordingly.
As for “Diesel,” we wish him good luck.
