About 24 hours after reports surfaced that LSU WR Ja’Marr Chase would opt out of the 2020 season, Chase himself broke his silence.

He tweeted, “i would have liked to tell y’all first.”

Chase is the third LSU player to opt-out for the coming season, but one of the biggest names in the country to do it, as he joined teammates defensive back Kary Vincent and defensive lineman Neil Farrell.

The 2019 Biletnikoff Award winner and First-Team All-SEC selection had 84 catches for 1,780 yards and caught 20 touchdowns last season for the Tigers. During the national championship game, Chase caught 9 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns.

Chase was set to be a junior in 2020 and is projected to be an early pick in the NFL Draft, possibly the first wide receiver chosen. He was a preseason All-American as voted on by the Associated Press.

Chase and Justin Jefferson each topped 1,500 receiving yards and he was also one of three LSU players to catch at least 13 touchdown passes.

And what was no doubt on the radar of Chase was the fact that Jefferson was selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings.