Nebraska Football: Garrett Nelson ‘tried to take emotion out’ of decision to go pro
Former Nebraska football star Garrett Nelson said that to decide to stay or go, he had to take emotion out of the equation. That makes some sense when you consider that Nelson was a born and raised Huskers fan before he was a Huskers player.
According to Amie Just of Husker Extra, he took the emotion out and then went over every scenario before deciding he would try for the NFL.
"“What if I stayed and I didn’t play well? What if I stayed and did play well? How would it affect my draft stock if I did worse? If I left, would I look back on my time being Ok with what I accomplished? What if I regret that I left?”"
Those are questions that every former Nebraska football player that has left early has had to deal with. And it appears that when Nelson really decided to sit back and think about every scenario, he made sure that he was the one making the decision.
"“I had to try and take as much emotion of it as I could. I had to get away from Lincoln and my best friends, just be with myself and think logically. What’s the best for me and my career.”"
Once he took the emotion out of it, he decided that he wanted to declare for the NFL Draft and felt that was the right decision for him. He’s been straightforward about the fact that when he wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine, he let doubt creep in.
Anger too. It’s been reported that he put his hand through a wall. That makes sense too. A player thinks he’s doing what’s right for his career and now the next step in his career is basically sending a message that the NFL doesn’t think he’s one of the guys who deserves a chance to show what they can do. He saw teammates Travis Vokolek, Trey Palmer and Ochaun Mathis get the call to go to the combine. It’s no surprise he worried that the next level was basically turning its back on him.
It’s easy for Garrett Nelson to say he’s taken the emotion out of it. But it’s another to sit there and really wonder if the decision is going to come back to haunt him. Now the former Nebraska football star can at least focus on doing everything he has to do in order to try and make it to the NFL. Whether it’s through the draft, or a free agent contract.