I expected another wave of transfers out from this team. But so far just Brantley and Ishmael since the big exodus following last season. I can think of several players along the OL and DL I thought would hit the portal, as well as a handful of kids from the back seven on defense. Not sure what to make of that.
From the staff perspective, I can see why having too much turnover, even if it's to clean house, can disrupt the team. And even though 2K kids have hit the portal, most aren't that good. Picking up a player that improves the team is really hard, especially since they still need to prioritize bringing in a handful of starters. So as long as they're at or below 85, why push a kid out.
But from the players perspective, do they actually believe they can earn their way into starting roles? Or like Peyton Matocha, have they accepted that they'll be relegated to the practice squad, may not travel on away games, and will play sparingly at best? Or is it because there are so many players in the portal they know they'll end up at North Dakota State vs graduating with an all-expenses paid degree from Miami.
I probably answered my own question. Just still pretty surprising to me given so many other programs have flipped half their roster.
Look, I'm not criticizing you personally. But a few things.
First, there is a difference between what we, as people outside the program, see in a "public" sense...and what is actually happening inside the program. Do you really think that Mario doesn't know who else will be leaving? Guys are about to take final exams, and if they are going to GRADUATE, they don't really need to enter the Portal anyhow. You've got another week for undergrad players to submit paperwork, and then a few days for the university to "process the paperwork", so we could see underclassmen names for the next two weeks, and then "graduating" players could announce over an even longer timeframe.
Second, why are you talking about Peyton Matocha? DO YOU EVEN SEE HIM ON THE ROSTER? That, right there, should be a dead giveaway. People have talked about how Peyton already has a job lined up. Relax.
Finally, you are acting like the standard is "so many other programs that have flipped half their roster". Why do you think that UM hasn't done the same? And think about what that means. To reach that percentage, you need a healthy number of transfers. And while some transfers will perform better at their new locations, I've never understood this baseless assumption that 1,000 or 1,500 or 2,000 players will all suddenly become better players simply by the musical-chair process of transferring. "Flipping half the roster" involves 42 new players. Outside of approximately 25 HS signees, that would require every one of these "many other programs" to bring in 17 Portal transfers each. Let's not act like that is ideal or will result in success for all of those teams.
I think you are overly concerned with whether, presumably, five more guys are leaving in the next few weeks. Which is very likely to happen as the semester ends.
