Michigan Football: Time to say good riddance to Rashan Gary

Michigan football defensive end Rashan Gary declared for the NFL draft Monday. But what is his status for the Wolverines bowl game?

The Michigan football team got destroyed Saturday in Columbus and Monday, the Wolverines got another body blow as star defensive end Rashan Gary declared for the 2019 NFL draft.

Of course, the news doesn’t come as a surprise. Gary, who was a top recruit in the 2016 class, was never staying at the Michigan football program for longer than three seasons. He is guaranteed to be a first-round pick and may even go in the top 10, so it was always a foregone conclusion.

The only thing that is a little bit strange is the timing.

Most players at least wait until after the bowl game to say they are going pro. No one can argue with the decision, not with how early he is projected to go, however, he could at least pretend to care about the bowl game and the chance to get the 11th win.

Gary basically announced his decision at the earliest possible moment, following a humiliating loss, which kind of shows he invested he was in Michigan football all season long. That’s why so many of us wondered if he might do the same thing Nick Bosa did when his injury first surfaced. He has always seemed more invested in his draft stock than he was in winning.

Gary didn’t say specifically that he was going to sit out the bowl game, but why else would you announce the decision so soon? Why couldn’t it wait another month when every person that knows anything about Michigan football, knew he was 100 percent gone.

What it really signals is the end to a career that was bitterly disappointing. In three seasons, Gary tallied 119 tackles, 23 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks. This season, he had 38 tackles, 6.5 TFL and 3.5 sacks but never in three seasons, did he make the impact of a top-10 pick.

The NFL is different than college and Gary was double and triple teamed at times, yet to me, he never looked like an elite player, except against the run. Still, I don’t care about his draft status and honestly, at this point, I don’t care about Michigan football having him for the bowl game.

I’ll take Chase Winovich, Josh Uche and Kwity Paye. At least those three guys will want to be on the field. If Gary sticks around and plays in the bowl game, he will do so for one reason: appearances.

No one wants to be viewed as a diva, but Gary is one and that’s why days after being part of another an Ohio-State humiliation, he couldn’t wait to announce his decision and it’s because his focus has always been on him — never the team.

Gary is a great player. At least he has the talent to be one. But for Michigan football, he was never great, at least he never was when it really mattered. As of now, I can’t think of a single memorable thing he did at Michigan besides running an incredibly fast 40-time.

Like Michigan football Saturday in Columbus, Gary has been a massive disappointment and so whether he plays in the bowl game or not, I have two words for him: good riddance.