In the days after Rashod Bateman's breakout 2019 season, as the Gophers celebrated an Outback Bowl win over Auburn while a mysterious virus was unknown to most of the world, the receiver's path to the first round of the 2021 NFL draft seemed wide open.
The fact he contracted COVID-19 over the summer put multiple switchbacks into Bateman's final year with the Gophers, which initially seemed destined for cancellation and eventually ended with his second opt-out in November. A calendar year that began with talk of Bateman leading the Gophers to a Big Ten title ended with him playing just five games for a 3-4 team and catching 36 passes for 472 yards and two scores before leaving to train for the draft in Arizona.