Not going to lie, this sounds like cope as well. Five-star offensive linemen, as many have pointed out, are almost always worth the investment and who exactly are the proven players or commodities that we would be losing if we paid for Olu?
I trust Mario and Mirabal as well, but we should not be content filling depth and settling for projects.
At this point, what the **** are we saving our money for?
Proven commodities was used poorly by me as a general term for personnel management/decisions, because our new OT aren't proven commodities.
Regarding the OL, I have to think what they saw during the Spring with Cantwell and Cogdnon altered their view of what's needed at OT moving forward. They may have course corrected in terms of what they were willing to spend.
I feel like we had this same discussion on this board after signing Cici and Samson - meaning we were "bodied" for high end OT recruits, but the approach seemed to work out (the projects they signed at OT are now beginning to flash like Campbell and Wilkerson). Campbell and Wilkerson were projects with traits, and it seems like we may have something there moving forward. I can see that being the approach with this class - you have your set # for the position that you feel comfortable spending, and if the # is too rich for your taste then you move on.
Speaking of a #, it's clear we are willing to spend big on MM but not Olu. Both are 5* but one is projected to be a day 1 starter while the other isn't. I think that reveals to us what the plan is which is why I said what I said in the paragraph above.
In terms of what they are saving the money for...it's clear they are willing to spend big on Jacobs (same with MM). But I don't think it's necessarily about saving money as it is more about spending money smartly based on how you value the prospect and where you project said prospect (Olu is valued but not to the same dollar amount as an MM or Jacobs).
Call it cope if you want, but I think (I'm speculating because none of us are in that recruiting room or have insight on what the thinking is) we are watching an organization that is trying to maximize talent, extract value from said talent, and continue to be successful in retaining our proven commodities when the 2026 season concludes.
