Blue discussed his contentious decision on a podcast.
Nearly three years ago, Texas Longhorns junior running back Jaydon Blue made the unique decision to forego his senior year of high school at Klein Cain.
“This has been a very difficult decision for my family and me,” Blue wrote in a tweet announcing his decision. “Football is a violent sport, and the wear and strain associated with the running back position is apparent. I intend to use this time to focus on my academics while also improving my off-the-field training/rehab routine.
“This is a purposeful and conscious endeavor to ensure that I am ready to compete at an elite level in the collegiate rankings during the 2022 season. This is an incremental step in hopes of one day fulfilling my NFL dreams.”
Since Blue only has 80 total carries through his first two seasons on the Forty Acres, he hasn’t been made available to the media, but in an appearance on the 3rd & Longhorn podcast, Blue provided more context about his controversial decision.
Jaydon Blue explains why he sat out his senior year in high school.
“It’s not what other people think. It was, what was best for me…I needed that year to not only get better physically but get better mentally.”
“First, in middle school, I suffered two knee injuries that kept me out for two years. So I had to recover from those injuries. They informed me that if it happened again, I’d probably be unable to play again. “I was thinking, I had to work extremely hard to get back to this point,” Blue remarked.
“My thought was to just take the year off and to get stronger, healthier, and turn myself up to get ready for the college level.”
Blue stated that he was aware that his choice would draw criticism. And it did. At Rivals, Mike Farrell used Blue’s decision to undermine his character:
Blue is committed to Texas but I think it’s still 50-50 if he ends up at Texas. If he does sign with the Longhorns, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he entered the transfer portal at some point.
If I was a college coach, I would drop a committed player who made a decision like this because it speaks to their commitment, or lack thereof, to their team and teammates. I wouldn’t risk having a me-first player on my roster.
Without a senior season on the field, Blue fell in the recruiting rankings – when he opted out, he was listed as the No. 31 talent overall and the No. 1 running back by 247Sports, but has since plummeted to No. 101 nationwide and the No. 6 running back by the service. The other three agencies were even harsher on Blue, with Rivals lowering him from their rankings and placing him as the No. 18 running back, and ESPN ranking him as the No. 277 player and No. 27 running back, despite the fact that nothing had changed regarding his on-field ability.
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