Noah Fant will forgo his final year at Iowa in order to enter the 2019 NFL Draft. Fant is widely viewed as one of the top tight ends in this year’s class and may even be a Top 10 selection. 
“Since the very first time I put on a pair of football pads as a child, it has been by dream to play in the NFL,” Fant wrote. “I am very excited for what the future holds and extremely humbled by the amazing opportunity in front of me.”
Fant, understandably, will not risk injury by playing in Iowa’s bowl game this year. His final season on campus ends with a First Team All-Big Ten Conference selection, 518 receiving yards, and a team-high seven touchdowns. All in all, he leaves Iowa with 78 career catches for 1,083 yards and 19 TDs.
At 6’5″, Fant has ideal size for the tight end position and will likely be the first TE to come off of the board. That’s a strong endorsement of his skills considering that this year’s crop at the position is considered to be rather solid. It’s certainly a better group than the 2018 lot as Hayden Hurst was the only tight end selected in the first round.
Can schools pay for loss of value insurance so they can play in bowl games?
It’s time for the NCAA and schools to step in – refuse to play in the bowl game, scholarship and tuition, room & board instantly stops
They are refusing to play so they can go to the NFL. What good would stripping the scholarship do?
That would have no effect. The guys who decide not to play in the bowl games usually drop out of school at the end of the semester, sign with an agent, and spend their time getting ready for the NFL combine and individual work outs.
The major conferences are splitting roughly $90m on bowls alone. Really, a student should be forced to play for free?
Ask Melvin Bretton about bowl games. He was a potential first round pick running back for the U of Miami and injured his knee in their final bowl game. He ended up drafted in the the last round . Losing millions of dollars. He never fully recovered and was out of the in about three years.