Louisville football: 5 important things to watch for in December

Will Mekhi Becton play in the bowl game?

Speaking of bowl games, one of the more recent trends when it comes to the post-season exhibition matchups is for players who are NFL-destined to sit out their team’s game to avoid injury and begin training earlier.

Louisville’s fairly familar with this as a few seasons ago Jaire Alexander and a few other players decided that sitting out and avoiding either further injury or new injury while preparing for their upcoming NFL futures was a better choice than playing in a rather “meaningless” game.

In 2019, Scott Satterfield and his staff could run into that same trend for the first time. This time the player that I believe is worth keeping an eye on is Mekhi Becton.

I want to be clear before we go any further. I am not a reporter. I am not someone who has an “in” or any “inside sources” when it comes to this topic. This is me just putting together trends and common sense and making an educated guess.

We’ve known from the day that Becton stepped on campus at nearly 6’7, 310 pounds that one day he’d likely play in the NFL. Three years of throwing massive, NFL-ready lineman and linebackers to the side later, and now Becton is likely headed off to the NFL.

Ranked as the sixth-best offensive linemen in the country according to CBSSports.com, Becton has a ton on the line as he ponders whether or not to return to Louisville for his senior season or head off to the NFL and cash in.

At 6’7, 370 pounds there isn’t a prospect who has the size, power, speed, and athleticism that Becton has – nor the experience as a junior. Starting nearly every single game since stepping on campus, Becton has proven time and time again that he can be a dominating left tackle at the next level.

Now with the regular season over and Louisville set to play in a middle-tier bowl game, all eyes will be on Becton. Will he declare early for the NFL Draft? Will he decide he should sit out?

We know that Becton suffered a nasty-looking injury just a few weeks back to his lower-body that forced him to miss the North Carolina State game. While the injury wasn’t severe by any means, what Becton has on the line may not be worth playing in a postseason game.

By all accounts, Becton is an incredible competitor and teammate who may decide that getting out there with the guys he’s fought with every single day for the last three years may be worth the injury risk. However, as a potential first-rounder who could make millions, the injury risk may lead to Becton putting himself first thus sitting out of wherever Louisville lands.