Stanford Running Back Christian McCaffery to Skip Sun Bowl

El Paso fans hoping to see one of the best running back prospects in college football in 11 days will not get that opportunity. Stanford star running back Christian McCaffery has decided to skip next Friday's Hyundai Sun Bowl to concentrate on the NFL Draft.

I think the truth behind McCaffery's statement is that he is afraid to get hurt in the Cardinal's bowl game against North Carolina and risk his NFL career. A great example of this is what happened to Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith last year. Considered the best linebacker prospect in last year's draft, Smith injured his knee in the Fiesta Bowl and fell to the Cowboys in the second round. Although he did collect a $900,000 insurance claim, the freak injury cost Smith around $20 million.

Players like McCaffery and LSU running back Leonard Fournette do not want to risk serious injury in a game that is not a college football playoff. It sucks for El Paso fans who support the Hyundai Sun Bowl year after year, but McCaffery is not worried about that. Instead, his long term financial future is the bigger issue here.