Is the news this week of Ja’Marr Chase and Jamie Newman opting out of the season about to plant a seed in the mind of other high-profile players to consider the same? Some coaches are already worried about that possibility.

“No doubt,” Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi told CBS Sports. “Now we’ve opened it up for these agents who can continue to drill, drill, drill, drill, drill, drill. ‘You had a bad at practice? Coach yelled at you a little bit?’ All the sudden, ‘I’m out of here.'”

Of course this isn’t the first time players thinking about their NFL prospects. Ohio State’s Nick Bosa left the Buckeyes to focus on the 2019 NFL Draft.

The coronavirus pandemic may have kick-started this trend. Seven of the top 20 players in the latest mock draft by CBS Sports have either opted out or likely played their last snap in college because they are highly rated draft prospects from the Big Ten or Pac-12.

Is this just the start of a new normal for college football?

“I think this could open the floodgates in the future,” an NFL agent told CBS Sports.

The lasting effects are long-term, because as Narduzzi points out, it could be a long time before the player suit up again.

“Football is not like basketball where you can go get a pickup game and go play,” Narduzzi said. “You can’t have a pickup football game. We used to do that when we were 10 with flags. … This is a game I truly believe you have to play. Whether it’s LSU or anybody else, it will be a year and a half before you play.