But both those guys ARE possible still lol. They just aren't likely. And all the people who have said they're likely returning or whatever... well Portal doesn't even open for another week or so, so as far as I'm concerned most of that is meaningless currently.
It also really depends how much money we are looking to spend. Like If you told me the GAMEPLAN was to moneyball it a bit more at QB to get specific higher end guys elsewhere I'd give a different list, and maybe Bailey would be higher on that.
But purely NIL is no factor well I'd list other guys that aren't in the Portal just like Bailey isn't in the portal as well.
Sorsby just makes the most sense as the obvious #1 for everything I'd expect this staff to look for, regardless whether he seems a TTU lock or not. He has the talent, the athleticism, the playmaking, and the aspect the coaches will love - he doesn't really turn the ball over or take sacks.
Then I'd have JKS and Mestemaker probably 2nd then 3rd. But that is also valuing 2 years likely starting. If you get a guy with 2 years maybe you don't have the expectations they will be fully developed this year and thats a trade off you're willing to accept.
And I mean if you could get Mensah or Ty Simpson both those guys would be near or at the top. Both are CLEAR above Bailey and it's not even close. Becht is a guy that is a pretty **** safe bet to be good. Don't think he'd have super high upside though. Raiola imo is definitely more of an upside play and is absolutely a better passer than Bailey. Demond Williams would be a very high floot guy as well and would be a clear upgrade over Bailey. I'd put Bailey more in a Fifita and Hoover discussion honestly. And the Reason I wouldn't have Hoover as a guaranteed better player is he did have a lot of turnovers and he has zero running ability. He's kinda like Raiola but Raiola imo is more talented and doesn't turn the ball over as much...
Bailey - and I've said this before - the by far best statistic I've found to support wanting Bailey in this offense is entirely about his performance passing AFTER 3.5s. So WHEN he is given a lot of time to throw (or I guess he makes the time himself maybe) he performed well. This is important because IF you believe our Oline will be as good in pass protection as it was the past 2 years where QBs have all day to throw, it actually makes sense to prefer guys who can "Create" explosive plays given a lot of time in the pocket rather than a guy who is more of a <2s passer and a statue like Beck is. So that scramble ability and passing ability if given great protection is clearly the best reason to Believe Bailey would take a massive step forward for us than he has actually shown at NCSt. And again I've said all this before. Some may think I'm just hating on Bailey, but the fact just is he's not as talented or proven as other guys are. So if he wants the same NIL as some of these other guys we'd be crazy to prefer/choose him over them. I could see him making sense if we are really looking to spend big in other areas. But that's more risky than just getting the best QB available. Every year we should just be spending to get a top 2-3 Portal QB period
