Hear reports that we are killing it in the portal....

[k9cane]

I would much rather have Mensah and Barkate, than Seaton and any other QB that was available in the portal. LT is an important position, but not even close to as important an as having the best QB.

And you assume that going after Mensah cost us Seaton. I don’t think there is any correlation. UM most certianly offered Seaton as much as they felt he was worth. The assumption that UM spent so much on Mensah that it meant losing Seaton to LSU is flawed at best, and unsupported by anything but pure speculation.

Dirty doesn’t matter to me if the action falls within the rules. It’s not UM’s moral obligation to impose rules against itself that are more stringent than what the NCAA enforces, or other schools abide by. That would be self defeating and no one is paid to do that.

The current system (for as flawed as it is) is at least one that has a much more level playing field than before. I can live with that

This reminds me of the quote from Charlie Francis, the coach for Ben Johnson, the disgraced Canadian sprinter, on world-class athletics: "It's a level playing field... just not the one you think it's on."

 

[Supacane954]

Here come the offseason mopes smh

 

[Supacane954]

Our best players on last year that came out of cheap were super low ranked and out played everyone ranked over them. Let Mario work!

 

[BALLHAWKU]

Overall, I would give our portal a B-/C+, and that is assuming we do get Mensah and Barkate). I think some of our portal issues are out of our control, given the horrible timeline for teams making a team playoff run. We did a good job retaining talent, as imo PoPo, Simpson, and Kinsler are the only losses that actually hurt a little and I thought we would lose more due to all the tampering going on in the playoffs.

However, there have just been too many whiffs for me to go higher than B-... Perich, Biles, Seaton, Levitt stand out. Our strategy of big-game QB hunting finally came back to bite us, as I think had we gone Bailey/Raiola early, we could have used the extra money to grab Seaton... and I think we can all agree the Menash thing feels dirty (for me the timing right as the portal closes is worse than the contract aspect).

You mean how they took him from Tulane prior to the bowl game dirty ? Seaton and Levi’s could end up being a good miss . Now not getting more ol prior and another lb I Agee with you with . A play msking Te like Arros was .

 

[dycane]

Our portal class, with the Duke boys, is absolutely an A when you consider how well we did (and the money spent) in retention.

 

[dudenate]

Here come the offseason mopes smh

I’m gonna mope if the spring game isn’t open to the public again.

 

[AtlAtty]

The current system (for as flawed as it is) is at least one that has a much more level playing field than before. I can live with that

This reminds me of the quote from Charlie Francis, the coach for Ben Johnson, the disgraced Canadian sprinter, on world-class athletics: "It's a level playing field... just not the one you think it's on."

Much more level playing field than ever before.

IU has alumni like UM, because of its great business school. People like Mark Cuban. People who owns businesses and will contribute via NIL.
Same with most of the Big 10 universities, who coincidentally have now won 3 straight CFP.
Just like BYU in basketball. And now we will have more teams vying for championships because more teams can compete when the money is paid over the table instead of under the table.

NIL and revenue sharing compensation has expanded which schools now have the financial capability to compete. We predicted when NIL first started that certain universities, because of their alumni base, would benefit, and some would suffer, depending on how their alumni are willing to support the university and athletics program.

But NIL is very different from SEC-style alumni who don’t have millions or billions to spend, but can always find some money for $20,000 in a duffle bag to a recruit, or a car dealership that can offer leases at next to nothing. But 20k can’t compete with 200k, which in turn has forced the SEC to give up its stranglehold on college football. The field is much more level, and much bigger

 

[skillydoo]

Mario has built an actual roster. He no longer needs to depend on a portal class to fill half the roster. That is why this team is built for the long haul. Meanwhile you have clowns like Memphis Mike and Deion trying to build a new team year in a year out. That’s not sustainable and it is showing big time. Yes Indiana is the outlier here. Let’s see how they perform next year.

Plus they are buying players that value themselves over the team. I love what Mario is doing.

 

[Empirical Cane]

I’m a glutton for punishment

Fraggle me harder papi!

 

[ThomasM]

Here come the offseason mopes smh

I can't be one. Not this year.

 

[Bpayne32]

Portal rankings matter as much as preseason rankings at this point

 

[88]

A lot of these threads can just be posts in a related thread

 

[HurricaneKush]

We need a linebacker. Can’t delude ourselves

 

[Negro-Wan Kanobi]

Wish you would just delete **** like this. Want my 15 seconds back.

Just like no child left behind... no AARP Flraggle post left behind.

 

[Trav]

I’m gonna mope if the spring game isn’t open to the public again.

Yea that was lame but so was the game.

 

[CT Cane 44]

I mean the goal is fill spots.

We are landing studs at
QB
WR
DE
DT
S

We are striking out at
OT
LB

Cantwell = not striking out

 

[U got This]

Overall, I would give our portal a B-/C+, and that is assuming we do get Mensah and Barkate). I think some of our portal issues are out of our control, given the horrible timeline for teams making a team playoff run. We did a good job retaining talent, as imo PoPo, Simpson, and Kinsler are the only losses that actually hurt a little and I thought we would lose more due to all the tampering going on in the playoffs.

However, there have just been too many whiffs for me to go higher than B-... Perich, Biles, Seaton, Levitt stand out. Our strategy of big-game QB hunting finally came back to bite us, as I think had we gone Bailey/Raiola early, we could have used the extra money to grab Seaton... and I think we can all agree the Menash thing feels dirty (for me the timing right as the portal closes is worse than the contract aspect).

Lol. Mario is 3 for 3 when it comes to big game hunting qb.

 

[CanesNation26]

Our portal class, with the Duke boys, is absolutely an A when you consider how well we did (and the money spent) in retention.

Absolutely. People need to look at how many quality players transferred out of Texas, Oregon, and Ohio State. We crushed it in retention and added some elite, elite talent. People who don't like our portal + retention haul aren't paying attention to the landscape.
- https://247sports.com/college/texas/season/2026-football/transferportal/?institutionkey=24028
- https://247sports.com/college/oregon/season/2026-football/transferportal/?institutionkey=24090
- https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/season/2026-football/transferportal/?institutionkey=24046

Linebacker should be fine. We’ve got two 25‑year‑olds in Toure and Chase coming back, plus maturing, talented younger guys. As Indiana, and we, just proved, experience and age can make up for a lack of elite talent.

Offensive line is a bit of a concern, but we’re strong at almost every other position.

 

[Caniac16]

Sort the portal class rankings on 247 by average rating of commit. We're #2. And we will rise once Mensah and Cooper become official.

 

[grover]

Playoff ready now: DL, RB, DB

Playoff caliber needs we're filling:
QB and X WR -- Duke Boys
LB -- Assuming Chase is back along with Toure, we're good at LB. Could use another but not "needed"

Playoff caliber needs remaining:
TE -- Bauman underperformed all season and was a key reason we lost to Indiana. But he played much better with Mensah at Tulane and him getting a waver helps a ton. Still think we are missing a playoff caliber TE
OL -- Still think we need another playoff caliber transfer