The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will feature Michigan State’s No.10 and Pittsburgh’s No.12 on December 30 in Atlanta, but two superstar players will not be in the game.
Michigan state running back Kenneth Walker announced on Thursday afternoon that he will skip the Peach Bowl to begin training for the 2022 NFL Draft.
– 𝒲𝒜ℒ𝒦ℰℛ ℐℐℐ🤍 (@ Kenneth_Walker9) December 16, 2021
And on Thursday night, Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett announced he would do the same.
Forever a Pitt Man # H2P pic.twitter.com/fq0Sw06dIa
– Kenny Pickett (@ kennypickett10) December 17, 2021
So that immediately makes the Peach Bowl a lot less interesting.
Walker – who transferred from Wake Forest in January – won the Walter Camp National Player of the Year and the Doak Walker Award this season after posting ridiculous numbers for the Spartans: 263 carries for 1,636 yards (6.2 AVG ) and 18 touchdowns (he also had a touchdown on reception).
Pickett won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and was the ACC Player of the Year after throwing for 4,319 yards, 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season. He is also considered the first potential quarterback caught in the draft.
The Michigan State-Pitt Peach Bowl will not feature either of the two players who finished in the top six of the Heisman vote.
It would have been a hell of a first-round playoff game with these two players.
Not so interesting as a bowl.– Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) December 17, 2021
While this news is not well received by many college football fans, these players need to think about their futures and they may feel like their draft stock has nowhere to go except with an injury in a gladiator sport – playing in the ball game.
