The Big Ten conference has postponed the 2020 college football season, leading some players to declare for next year's draft instead of playing. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Ambry Thomas, a standout cornerback from Michigan, is declaring for the 2021 NFL Draft.

Despite a petition comprised of Big Ten players and employees, the conference chose to postpone the upcoming season. And with the Big Ten playing the season next spring (at the earliest), some players are deciding to head to the NFL since the timing of the season could be too close to the draft.

With multiple conferences canceling or postponing the college football season, we've seen a few notable players opt-out of the upcoming season. We've seen the likes of Rashod Bateman and Caleb Farley opt out of the 2020 season. Similar to Thomas, they will prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft amid the concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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For Thomas, he's expected to be a popular name in the pre-draft process in the coming months. In his past two seasons at Michigan, Thomas has combined for 47 tackles, four interceptions, and three pass breakups. There's no doubt that Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines will miss Thomas in their defense.

On the other hand, with the upcoming season up in the air for most conferences, more players are going to elect to declare for the draft. Even conferences that do play are going to have players that sit out to protect themselves from any risks. Expect to see more players make the same decision as Ambry Thomas moving forward.