Badie later posted a message on social media confirming that he’ll declare for the NFL draft. Badie was unavailable for comment. Shaun Badie, his father, said the family agreed with the staff but had to convince Tyler it was best to sit out the bowl.
“At the end of the day, as a fan you want to see him on the field one last time. But as a parent and thinking long term about his future, we just all agreed with Coach Drink that it would be best not play him and let him prepare for the big stage,” Shaun Badie said in a phone interview from Texas, where the family had gathered for the bowl. “He really wanted to play. He wanted to finish out the season with his team on a high note with a win, but we ran over the pros and cons of playing in this game and the cons pretty much outweighed the pros.”
“He is a tremendous competitor,” Drinkwitz said. “He wanted to play. He wants to play, and I knew it was weighing on his mind both ways. I wanted to take that stress — and I say I, but we, (running backs coach) Curtis Luper, myself and our staff — wanted to take the stress off of him and not put him in a position of having to pick between himself, his future and our football team.”
Badie, a second-team All-American and Doak Walker Award finalist, was still practicing with the team Monday, an MU spokesperson confirmed. As Mizzou continued selling its allotment of tickets for Wednesday’s game, Drinkwitz had made it clear Badie planned to play in the game. As late as Dec. 12, Drinkwitz said cornerback Akayleb Evans was the only player who had opted out of the game.