Matt Corral injury: What happened to Ole Miss Rebels QB during Sugar Bowl?
Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral never thought about opting out of the Sugar Bowl this season despite his intentions to declare for the 2022 NFL Draft.
Matt Corral was one of the few draft eligible players to decide to play one last game with his team before preparing for the NFL.
Corral was injured in the first quarter of Saturday night's Sugar Bowl between the Ole Miss Rebels and the Baylor Bears.
After being down on the ground with an apparent lower leg injury, he was taken to the locker room and later returned on crutches.
Matt Corral carted off the field during Sugar Bowl
Matt Corral is down on the field after this play
🙏 for QB1
https://t.co/ld8U7uEKzD
After getting assistance off the field, Matt Corral was taken to the medical tent on the Ole Miss Rebels' sidelines and then carted off the field and into the locker room.
The quarterback then returned on crutches to cheer on his team, who wound up losing to the Baylor Bears 21-7, despite a valiant effort at a comeback.
The extent of Matt Corral's injury is still unclear as of Sunday morning. It could possibly be a knee injury or another lower leg injury, which would be unfortunate as he has just a few months to prepare for the upcoming NFL Draft.
But all of this is merely speculation to this point, as an official word on Matt Corral's injury hasn't been stated.
Matt Corral was asked a few weeks ago about not opting out of the Ole Miss bowl game and he said that he wouldn't be the player that he is today without his teammates. So, he wasn't going to leave and give up on them.
Matt Corral on playing in the Sugar Bowl even though it’s a “meaningless game”
"I wouldn't be in this position w/o them. I won't just leave. I know what's on the other side but I'm gonna give these guys everything I got."
https://t.co/4guyF7mAVJ
Matt Corral's injury adds to the debate over whether college football players should opt-out of their team's bowl games to prevent injury and possibly losing draft stock.
Hours before last night's Sugar Bowl, ESPN College GameDay analyst Kirk Herbstreit was criticized for his comments regarding the current wave of players who opt-out.
Kirk Herbstreit said that the players of this generation don't love the game the way players did years ago. He then retracted some of his comments and said they were taken out of context.
Kirk Herbstreit talks about players opting out of bowl games.
“Player doesn’t love football.” @UnnecRoughness
https://t.co/AosuxZ8KZY
Meanwhile, it will be a waiting game to see how this will impact Matt Corral's preparation for the NFL Draft and where the presumptive first-round draft pick will fall, if he does in terms of selection.