No one would have blamed him.
Sam Cotton could have left Nebraska after his sophomore season, and it would have been completely understandable. He faced a crossroads. His father, former Husker assistant Barney Cotton, had coached his final game in Lincoln, let go with the rest of Bo Pelini's staff after the 2014 season.
The kid who grew up wanting only to play for his dad now didn't have his dad to play for.
At least not at Nebraska.
"I was definitely considering leaving, trying to keep that dream alive of being able to play for my dad," Sam Cotton said Thursday after NU's final full-pad practice in Lincoln before the Music City Bowl.