Star LT Mekhi Becton makes right decision skipping Louisville football’s bowl

It’s official, Louisville football’s star left tackle will declare for the 2020 NFL Draft and will skip the Music City Bowl. Why the future NFL draft pick made the right decision.

Under and upperclassmen declaring for the NFL Draft and deciding to skip their respective program’s bowl game is nothing new across the college football landscape. At the conclusion of each of the last several seasons, a handful of the top players have decided that the risk that comes with playing in a glorified exhibition game (aka a bowl game) isn’t worth damaging a potential career in the NFL. For Louisville football, they’ll feel the impact of that trend first hand this year.

I wrote about the decision that was ahead of Mekhi Becton a few weeks back in a piece about the month of December – identifying five key things on the horizon that could ultimately impact the future of the Cardinals.

We’ve known that Louisville’s star left tackle was going to play in the NFL someday, thanks to his 6’8, 375-pound frame. But when that would happen (either in the ’20 or ’21 draft) was still up in the air.

After a few days of “rumors” pointing both ways, the decision was finally made public on Monday afternoon when Becton announced on Twitter that he was officially moving on to the NFL after three years in Louisville and would be sitting out of the Music City Bowl against Mississippi State in order to get a jump start on preparing.

https://twitter.com/BigTicket73/status/1206669733279469568

While it should come as no surprise that Becton would leave for the NFL, I think for some fans the news of skipping the bowl game might cause some ill-will – but it shouldn’t.

The junior left tackle was dominant in his first and only season under Dwayne Ledford, winning the Jacob’s Blocking Award, and his draft stock is currently starting to see the impact of that.

Playing in 11 out of 12 games for the Cards, Becton displayed everything you could ever want in a left tackle at the next level; Size, power, athleticism, ferocity, speed, and of course the “team” first mentality that Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield preached to his team throughout the entirety of his first season.

The new zone run scheme was effective all year long for Louisville and one of the biggest reasons was due to the advantage they had out wide on the offensive line. No matter who he was going against, there was never any reason to doubt Becton. Even at his stature, Becton displayed much-improved footwork, the ability to move and create holes in space, as well as a formidable ball-carrying option (personally wish we could have seen this more).

Becton is currently rated as the 43rd best player in the draft rankings for the 2020 NFL Draft according to CBS Sports (which would put him in the middle of the second round), and sits positioned as the seventh-best offensive tackle overall.

Those rankings are subject to change, and will, based on who declares and who decides to stay at the college level for another season, combine performances, team interviews & workouts, and much more. That means that if Becton were to experience no hits to his draft stock, he’d stand to make about $6 million over the course of his contract.

With that in mind, along with just how much Becton potential (and domination) has shown during his time at Louisville (even with all of the trouble that’s taken place), it’s the 100 percent right decision.

Why risk injury?

Becton suffered a foot injury earlier this season, which forced him to miss the first game of his career against North Carolina State. While the injury didn’t end up being severe as firs thought, what Becton has on the line is not worth playing in a postseason game.

I would imagine for him and his family it was an extremely tough decision to make.

Becton has played in nearly every game since arriving on campus back in 2016 as a three-star recruit, and with the way the season ended against Kentucky, finishing on a high-note was probably extremely difficult to turn down. Especially playing alongside his brothers.

Losing Becton against Mississippi State will hurt, but for the Cards, it could be a bit of a silver lining. Louisville will now lose Becton as well as right tackle Tyler Haycraft to graduation – which means two new players will have to step into starting roles next season. Adonis Boone filled in for Becton in a win against NC State, and likely will get the nod again – essentially getting a jump start on auditioning for the role next season.

Not having Becton will be a big blow to an offense that has benefited from consistency and availability all season, but with Boone in the fold and ready to prove he can handle the role at LT, the Cards should be just fine.

Mekhi.

It’s been a pleasure getting to watch you throw around grown men like rag dolls on a regular basis. I can’t say for sure due to my age, but to me, there’s no question that you are the best offensive linemen to ever come through this program. Every single game you gave it your all, and it’s what made Louisville fans so excited to call you their own.

Thanks for every 300-pounder you kept away from Lamar Jackson, Jawon Pass, Micale Cunningham, and Evan Conley. Thanks for every hole you opened up for the running backs. Thanks for not being afraid to put your body on the line every down. Thanks for your leadership. Thanks for your enthusiasm. And most importantly, thank you for not giving up on the program when things got hard.

It’s a shame we didn’t get to see you run the ball again this season – but thank you for all you’ve done and given this program. Card Nation wishes you nothing but the best in your journey to the NFL.

Go Cards!