One of Northwestern’s most talented players has decided to opt out of whatever season the B1G may have in the 2020-21 academic year and will instead focus on the NFL Draft.

Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports reported that Northwestern offensive lineman Rashawn Slater has opted out for the football season. He will begin training for the 2021 NFL Draft.

Slater told Yahoo Sports that he made the decision after having open dialogue with head coach Pat Fitzgerald. His decision comes a little over a week after the B1G opted to cancel the fall season.

“I didn’t think a winter or spring season allows for optimal recovery or training to have a great rookie year,” Slater said. “I talked about it with everyone. Everyone at Northwestern, has been extremely supportive. They’ve had open and honest conversations with me. I can tell they wanted the best for me.”

Slater would have been entering his senior season with the Wildcats. He started in 37 career games during his three seasons with the program.