We now have history going with three big time portal QB's in the last three years. What should we take away from this experience? What should be the optimal strategy to ensure we have the best QB possible each year in order to be in the BCS playoffs each year?
Option 1: Just keep signing the best, most experienced and proven QB's from the portal (and as Mensah showed, inducing them to enter the portal to come to UM). UM is a fantastic and proven place to come to for a top QB stuck at a school that (a) isn't going to compete for anything, and (b) doesn't best showcase his skills for the NFL draft. We should always have a great OL to protect, a top run game and great WR's to throw to. Going forward, UM should be able to pull a proven, top QB each year. This strategy also helps recruit the best WR's as they know they'll play with a guy who can help them shine.
Option 2: Go with QB recruited and groomed in-house. Inevitably this brings more uncertainty than Option 1 given the reality of no track record of proven success. If we go with Nickel next year, how sure can we be that he'll play as well as a proven portal QB and get into the BCS playoffs? Not very imo.
Part of me wants to see us play and groom QB's we've recruited out of High School. The other part of me asks why?
Pre-portal you pretty much had to go with QB's recruited out of HS. But it's a new world and the portal allows us to hand select one of the best QB's in college football each and every year.
I come down on the side of going with a top portal QB every year. Some might observe that we won't be able to recruit top QB's out of HS. My response is, who cares so long as we have a proven, top guy at the position.