Texas RB Jaydon Blue explains why he sat out his senior season of HS
Blue addressed his contentious decision in a public forum, as reported by Wescott Eberts on April 4, 2024, at 9:12pm CDT with 3 comments and 3 new shares.
Nearly three years ago, Texas Longhorns junior running back Jaydon Blue made the unusual decision of opting out of his senior year of high school at Klein Cain.
“This has been a very difficult decision for my family & I,” Blue said in the Twitter post announcing his decision. “Football is a brutal sport, and the wear and tear associated with the RB position is undeniable. I plan to take this time to focus on my academics while enhancing my off the field training/ rehab regimen.
“This is a strategic & conscious effort to ensure that I am prepared to perform at an elite level at 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.
“The first thing is in middle school, I had two knee injuries that kept me out for two years straight. So I had to come back from those injuries. What they told me was if it was to happen again, there’s a good chance that I wouldn’t be able to play again. I was thinking, I had to work super hard to get back to this point,” said Blue.
“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 said that he was aware the decision would open him up to criticism. And it did. At Rivals, Mike Farrell used Blue’s choice to impugn his character:
