Michigan team captain and running back Karan Higdon opted not to play in his final intercollegiate game in which he was eligible, sitting out the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, but it wasn’t a foregone conclusion for the four-year tailback, nor was it an easy decision.

In an exclusive interview, Higdon joined WolverinesWire — via the Locked on Wolverines podcast — to discuss his choice to sit out the bowl game, among other topics.

After talking about what happened in the Michigan – Ohio State game on Nov. 24, Higdon says he didn’t know at that time that it would be his last time suiting up for the maize and blue. In actuality, sitting out wasn’t something he ever anticipated doing.

But, after weighing all of his options and talking with his family, coaches and teammates, he determined that it was the best thing in his interest — especially considering that he also has a young daughter to think about.

“It wasn’t a predetermined thing,” Higdon said. “It was an evaluation process I had to go through with my family and my coaches, my team. Ultimately, just made the best decision for the situation. Obviously, that was me sitting out the bowl game. It was definitely something that was tough. It wasn’t something that I necessarily pictured myself doing or wanted to indulge in. But it was the best situation for me at that moment – or for the time being.”

The best decision for Karan Higdon wasn’t necessarily met with the same kind of fanfare afforded to other Michigan athletes who had played in their last game.

Fellow team captain Devin Bush Jr. announced just two days prior that he wasn’t cleared to play in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl due to injury, in the same note that he was declaring for the NFL Draft. Higdon, without any further eligibility at the college level, was headed to the NFL regardless. Like Bush, Higdon had battled injury in 2018, having missed one regular season game. However, with that being early in the season, many fans and critics didn’t take the news that Higdon was preserving his health by sitting out the bowl game too lightly.

Higdon isn’t on Twitter, and only recently — during the 2017 season — did he create an Instagram account, which is where he posted his decision to sit out the game. And while it’s long been the mindset of those inside Schembechler Hall to ignore the critics outside of the building, Higdon says that it was impossible not to hear the noise after his announcement.

But, he says he took the backlash in stride, knowing that he made the right decision for himself and his family.

“Yeah, obviously, via social media and things of that nature, but those people don’t matter,” Higdon said. “Ultimately, they don’t understand the player’s perspective or understand why a player may be doing so. They only read assumptions that are made of why a player sat out. The possibilities of why a player sat out. They don’t truly know. They’re entitled to that opinion and they have a right to be. Ultimately, it truly doesn’t matter, because at the end of the day, I’m not the one playing for them.”

Up next, Higdon will partake in the Reese’s Senior Bowl, which will take place on Jan. 26 at 2:30PM EST in Mobile, Ala.

Listen to the entire interview with Karan Higdon here:

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