Avoiding the Portal trap

[JayCane20]

Was? as in not happening any more?

Im not being cryptic. I don’t know what is going to happen now

 

[Angry Ibis]

The only reason to be worried where good players come from is if you have an agenda...

 

[DTP]

the risk reward shouldn’t be much higher. there’s plenty of info on a guy after 3-4 years of college. if the risk seems higher, it’s because our staff didn’t evaluate kennedy well. since we have historically not evaluated well on Ol, it’s not particularly surprising.

Agreed but it can be tougher to evaluate against really weak competition. I’m less concerned with guys making the jump from G5 programs because the competition jump isn’t as big as it is for guys coming from FCS schools.

 

[Pentagon Cane]

Hill was the exact player here he was at VT. A decent lineman who would occasionally flash a nice play. For some reason this board hyped him up to be some kind of star when he never was anything special. He was a stop gap fill-in who did an adequate job. Similar to Jarrid Williams this year. Most grad transfers from P5 schools are going to fit this description. If they were stars, they’d be declaring for the draft. If you’re trying to find a grad transfer star, you have to go the small school route. A guy like KJ Osborn was productive at Buffalo but wanted the chance to prove it against big school competition. The problem with the small school grad transfers is that for every KJ, you get a Tommy Kennedy. The risk/reward is much higher. I’m talking strictly grad transfer here, not everybody in the portal. Guys who have been in college at least 3 years and are transferring for one final season.

Difference with Kennedy is he was an FCS player from a bad program from a mediocre conference. Taking him as a GT madevno sense. Osborne came in from a G5 school that played for a conference championship.

 

[Ethnicsands]

Agreed but it can be tougher to evaluate against really weak competition. I’m less concerned with guys making the jump from G5 programs because the competition jump isn’t as big as it is for guys coming from FCS schools.

maybe. we are supposed to be evaluating kids from high school so there’s that. we just grabbed kennedy because we were desperate. fans hyped him up. barry or whoever it was (seaters?) wasn’t a good evaluator in any case. plenty of our OL have been terrible evals. how you can’t spot weak and slow is beyond me.

 

[Pentagon Cane]

What teams with strong cultures are taking character risks out of the Portal?

Our success with grad transfers has been very good. They have all at least contributed (except for Kennedy), most have started and have been good players for us as a stop gap.
Like I posted earlier taking an FCS lineman from a bad program from a bad conference is a mystery to me. He was no better than a preferred walk-on talent-wise.

 

[atlcane72]

If they’re ballers I’m bringing them in. If you don’t want your spot took step up. Period

 

[AllAboutTheU]

This is the type of stuff that mediocre teams concern themselves with. If you have a strong culture already established with true leaders, that stuff will take care of itself.

Not really. Any type of organizational/team building you have to consider cultural fit when you bring someone new in. Having a strong culture may lead you to take bigger risks at times but it’s not true that only mediocre teams think about this.

 

[DMoney]

Not really. Any type of organizational/team building you have to consider cultural fit when you bring someone new in. Having a strong culture may lead you to take bigger risks at times but it’s not true that only mediocre teams think about this.

In fact, the character risks almost always land on mediocre teams.

 

[DTP]

Difference with Kennedy is he was an FCS player from a bad program from a mediocre conference. Taking him as a GT madevno sense. Osborne came in from a G5 school that played for a conference championship.

maybe. we are supposed to be evaluating kids from high school so there’s that. we just grabbed kennedy because we were desperate. fans hyped him up. barry or whoever it was (seaters?) wasn’t a good evaluator in any case. plenty of our OL have been terrible evals. how you can’t spot weak and slow is beyond me.

I think there was definitely some desperation for a tackle. He had the length and athleticism but he was too weak to hold up against Division 1 talent. Texas and Oklahoma both offered him as well as FSU, Missouri and Rutgers. Maybe in a more finesse system he could have been useful but in Penos’ pro style offense, he was worthless.

 

[CanesFootball]

Nothing specific. I'm just seeing a ton of names fly into the Portal. It's going to be crazy.

I love transfers because they're physically mature and easier to evaluate. Manny has been batting a high percentage with them. I just hope we stay disciplined and keep high standards, both talent-wise and in terms of fit.

Is it true a CB from UGA is coming to Miami?

 

[CanesFootball]

I'm more worried about the character of the guys already on the team. They flat out quit against North Carolina and slept through the bowl game.

I'll take my chances with the guys in the portal

That's a coaching issue man...poor game planning and in game adjustments

 

[TheOriginalCane]

And for the record, it would low intelligent rubes. But your point still stands.

Nah, I was correct. But thank you for proving my point about dopes who live in tiny Kansas towns in the middle of nowhere.

 

[CanesFootball]

This is the type of stuff that mediocre teams concern themselves with. If you have a strong culture already established with true leaders, that stuff will take care of itself.

Yep... that's why the number focus should be the coaching staff

 

[RightSaidFred]

That's a coaching issue man...poor game planning and in game adjustments

That's part of it, but read Lance's breakdown of the Oklahoma State game, it's a really good breakdown of what went wrong. Some of it is down to game planning, but a lot of it - maybe most of it - is just **** execution by our players. That comes down to them not working hard enough to perfect their craft.

 

[gabednconfused]

The truth of the matter is Manny and Richt before him have been actually really good in the portal. Success rate is very high. It is a shame we need to keep looking for pass rushers though.

As the OL is getting solidified via recruiting, I think you will see WR and DE pickups. A middle LB will be useful as well...

 

[HighSeas]

Is it true a CB from UGA is coming to Miami?

rUmPh iS gEtTiNg TEECEE aFtEr AlL

 

[Rellyrell]

Some of the biggest stars in college football happened because of the portal. Burrow, Fields, Mayfield, Kyler, Hurts, Russel Wilson, Cam Newton, King. And that’s just a handful of names at the most important position in football. You won’t bat 100% but if you can get guys who have character, add them.

I think D is talking about one yr rentals v. transfers in general.

Joe didn’t have a shot at OSU. He transferred & played 2 yrs at LSU

Mayfield transferred to OU after his freshman yr and played 3 yrs

Murray transferred to OU after his freshman yr and played 2 yrs

King will also be here for two yrs

Fields transferred to OSU after his freshman yr and will be there for 2 yrs.

Hurts going to OU almost cost them Spencer Rattler, but Riley was able to salvage that.

Newton & Wilson are nice examples of one yr rentals, but truthfully, looking at his history at UF, no one expected him to become Superman at Auburn like that.

I think it’s easier to justify QB transfers just b/c only one guy can tote the rock per yr. But it’s a slippery slope at other positions that can be risk reward both on the field & in the locker room.

We’ve been OK w the portal.
-Rochè - good
-Phillips - great
-King - great
-Bolden - good
-Osborne - great
-Kennedy - disaster
-Martin - disaster
-Borreagles - great
-Brown - disaster
-Boulware - serviceable
-Delaney - disappointing
-Nnoruka - serviceable
Hill - decent
Williams - serviceable
Martell - disaster

Just looking at this, alone, we shouldn’t be major players in the portal like this; and I’ve always said that. We’ll become sloppy second U. It makes me cringe to see a thread every second about picking up other players b/c ours are not being developed.

 

[avicenna75]

Man your dumb as **** if you don’t think transfers is the new normal and a MUST in terms roster management....

what better way to plug unexpected NFL early departures, injures( remember malek and AR15?), or being able to help cover a bad recruiting class whole.

portal is a great equalizer if used properly.... fill holes with developed players who you can legit pick to fit your scheme...

Of course it’s a good way to fill holes.

but when your best players every year are transfers, what does that say about recruiting and talent development??

 

[TexasCane90]

Of course it’s a good way to fill holes.

but when your best players every year are transfers, what does that say about recruiting and talent development??

Look at the past national champs and you’ll see a bunch of teams even “elite” ones who have hit the portal

Fields
Burrow
Hurts
Murray
Sermon

Don’t discredit ANY tool that helps to build the talent level of your roster. And no one is saying that you need to be bringing in 50% of your total IC being transfers. But failure not to dip your toe in the portal pool and pull maybe a nice OT.. Dline.. CB especially if you have an unexpected NFL departure, injury (malek young, AR15), or you flat out missed in recruiting