Which other Penn State players will join LB Smith in opting out of bowl?

ALTOONA, Pa. -- As news trickles out each day about more and more college football players deciding to skip bowl games, it becomes less and less of a surprise.

Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett, who finished third in Heisman voting, made his announcement Thursday about skipping the Peach Bowl to prepare for the NFL draft. Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker III, who finished sixth in Heisman voting, also announced he won't play in that game, meaning the Peach Bowl is losing two of the biggest stars of the season.

The first shoe to drop for Penn State came on Friday, when linebacker Brandon Smith announced he will be skipping the Outback Bowl and entering the NFL draft early. Smith had two more years of eligibility remaining, but decided now is the time to pursue his pro dreams.

"To my teammates, I want to thank you all for the memories we've had, and I appreciate you all for believing in me while we battled on the field," Smith wrote. "You all are my brothers and I'm always a call or message away!

"To Coach (James) Franklin and my coaches, thank you all for taking a on someone from Louisa, a small town in Virginia where almost nobody gets out and is given the opportunity to do what I have been able to do at Penn State. The past three years of my life have given me the opportunity to better myself in many ways, on and off the football field."

Smith's announcement might be considered a minor surprise to some, since he's never really been a star at Penn State and does have two years of eligibility left. He has played for three seasons, but all players get an extra year because of COVID in 2020, so Smith could have stuck around for two more years.

Instead, the former 5-star recruit decided to bet on himself now and move on.

Smith was a third-team all-Big Ten selection by the coaches and honorable mention by the media this season. He finished with 81 tackles (45 solo), four tackles for loss and no sacks. He had only two sacks in his three seasons -- both last year -- and 132 tackles (68 solo) in 34 games. He also had one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery during his career.

Despite those relatively pedestrian college numbers, Smith's draft stock is high, as some believe he'll actually be better in the NFL than he has been in college.

The 6-foot-3, 241-pounder is considered a late second or early third-round draft pick. He's currently the 62nd-ranked prospect by NFL Mock Draft Database.

Given that type of draft stock, it shouldn't really come as a surprise that he has decided to skip Penn State's bowl game.

The question of how many Nittany Lion players will skip the bowl remains, and several more could follow Smith. These three in particular would be prime candidates to sit out the bowl:

* WR Jahan Dotson: He's projected to be a first-round draft pick. He's rated the No. 28 prospect by NFL Mock Draft Database.

* S Jaquan Brisker: He could go late in the first or early second round and is the No. 33 prospect.

* DE Arnold Ebiketie: He's a late second or third-round prospect, and rated No. 58 overall.

At this stage, given their draft stock and the trend going around college football, it would be a surprise if any of those players decide to play in the bowl game. The risk of injury and financial loss could be deemed too substantial.

For what it's worth, none of those three were made available to talk to the media during bowl media day on Friday. That's very rare for Dotson and Brisker, in particular, both of whom are team leaders and have been available to the press all season.

Rather than have those three players answer questions about the bowl game, Penn State made the decision to allow them to make their own announcements, one way or the other. We can probably expect those announcements to come in the next few days.

Could there be additional Penn State players who also decide to sit out the bowl game? It's possible, although the four players above have the highest draft stock.