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Transfer Hindsight

ColoradoCane2017 said:
Hindsight is always 20/20. 2026 defense is solid thus far, but has left the fan base wanting. Two guys from the portal who could have made an impact and I wish we had pursued in the portal are Cade Ululae and Koi Perich.

Returning Toure and Smith as veteran LBs, Marcelin and Wiley in the wings, it's no surprise the staff felt solid. That's understandable. But with Smith playing below the hoped-for level of competition and Marcelin out, Ululae would have been a nice get to compete for LB #2 and a potential starting role. Watched him in person in 2025 at Cal. Man was a menace.

Poyser and Fitzgerald make up one of the strongest safety duos in the country. And Dunnigan is playing great as a true freshman. That said, with corners down and having to slide Fitzgerald to corner, Koi would have been a top-tier player to fill the role and push Poyerser and Dunnigan for competition.

Defense wins championships. Stack these two, with Wilson at full potential (eventually) out at DE, and we have a three-level defense that kicks d***s in. What say you?

First-time poster, long-time cane.

JC
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So, gonna spend decent money on two players who wouldn’t be sure starters?
 
kyle_schick said:
What this is indicative of is the fact that Mario seems to want to "wean" the program off of using the portal.

I'm not optimistic about the programs future because of this.

For him to look at the roster he had that got him to the natty, and then imagine what he was going to have the next year, and to just be okay with it speaks volumes.

But we know that he realizes the team does have deficiencies. He got a starting QB and WRs. But no Center? No Guards? No LBs?

He's too proud and he's going to become Dabo.
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Just because we didn’t sign LBs doesn’t mean we did not try to
 
RangerGranger said:
Indiana proved you can go from jag to national title winner with 25 inbound transfers. Most being 3 star guys.
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One hit wonder. Wake me up if IU makes the CFP this season or in the future, much less the championship game.

Mario has publicly committed to taking whomever will make a marginal positive difference for the team and is a cultural fit. Those aren’t easy to find now that the culture is so much stronger and the team so much more talented. And obviously the marginal impact has to be worth the team disruption and the big price tag.

But I guarantee he’ll do what he said he’ll do because he is a no bs guy. The only thing he’s said that I fully disbelieve is he doesn’t think they’ll need to hit the portal at QB this cycle. If a JKS level talent shakes loose, you can be **** sure we’ll be taking a hard look.
 
BigDikDaddyFromCincinnati said:
Plazz has played 9 snaps this year. N.I.N.E. He's also listed as 3rd string G on their depth chart. I don't know if that is accurate, nor do I know if he is hurt. The snap count says he is far from being a co starter.
Kinsler has played about 50 snaps thus far and had a minor injury in his first game. He is far from lighting it up there. It's been mentioned several times over several threads that Kinsler woud've been nice to keep, but he received a nutso offer from Ole Miss and we declined to match. Think about that last part - we declined to match. Why? I'm guessing because the coaches saw enough in his three seasons here to know what they had in him which was a rotational backup. Because of the injury though, I'm willing to table the Kinsler discussion til later in the season.

Both Kinsler and Plazz would've been retentions, not pick ups via the portal. I don't want to hammer that part, but it is worth mentioning and I also asked who was available in the portal that we missed on. So far I still haven't seen any names.

Now in order to be fair, would both of those guys be upgrades over what we've seen from SJ? Kinsler for sure, Plazz maybe. I also think because SJ is so small (pause) and played so poorly, that people are kind of misremembering what these guys were. And trust me, I get it. I was at the Stanford game and wanted to puke when I saw SJ doing his Helen Keller impersonation out there. I saw how bad he looked in other games as well. IMO, SJ is not a P4 OL. I also am not an OL coach or scout, but I don't think you need to be to look over at a 6'0" dude standing next to Cantwell and Congdon to see a difference. Also, because SJ played so poorly and is so small, it sort makes the size issue stand out more than it really does. Buchanon is 6'4". No one is really talking about his size, largely because he doesn't suck like SJ. Replace SJ with Congdon and now we have 6'5" at LT, 6'8" at LG, 6'3" at C, 6'4" at RG and 6'6" at RT with weights that all make sense as well. That's a very respectable line.

All those words to say yeah it would've been nice to keep those guys, but I think it would've di$rupted the overall chemi$try in the OL room had we upped the ante to retain them AND I'm still waiting for non Hurricane names that were eligible.

I hope this response was somewhat respectable.

And I'm sure I missed a few pauses in there so Pause.
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Will be interesting to follow how these guys track below.



Coleton Price
Baylor → Kentucky
No. 6

2 / 93
Tegra Tshabola
Ohio State → Kentucky
No. 46

3 / 93
Joe Brunner
Wisconsin → Indiana
No. 49

4 / 92
Nick Brooks
Texas → Alabama
Not listed in the displayed top 50

5 / 92
Aliou Bah
Maryland → LSU
 
Orig.CaneSawMassacre said:
Will be interesting to follow how these guys track below.


Coleton Price
Baylor → Kentucky
No. 6

2 / 93
Tegra Tshabola
Ohio State → Kentucky
No. 46

3 / 93
Joe Brunner
Wisconsin → Indiana
No. 49

4 / 92
Nick Brooks
Texas → Alabama
Not listed in the displayed top 50

5 / 92
Aliou Bah
Maryland → LSU
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Sir

I would like to commend you. This is the very FIRST time I've ever seen anyone provide any names of any sort to the "who was available" question that's been asked repeatedly. I'm not really familiar with those names and I definitely have no idea what their NIL deals were. I'm not going to research it further because well, I'm kinda lazy but more cuz I have a job...and I'm kinda lazy. Plus the fact that you assembled a list of dudes that were possibilities....wow. I'm impressed. You could even F my sister (to quote the Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket), although she's kinda gross so maybe we can just go to Tootsie's after a game and I'll pay your way......we can both leave happy that way.
 
This guy is from Florida and entered the portal for about a week before returning to Michigan. Started at LG last year and is starting at C this year.

247sports.com

Jake Guarnera, Michigan Wolverines, Interior Offensive Lineman

Also does track and field throwing events and has also played basketball at the prep level. As a junior, placed 2nd in the shout put at Florida 3A meet with a...
247sports.com 247sports.com

From what I heard if we cut SJ loose and used his $$$ he could have been ours.

Also a lot Penn St people thought LB Tony Rojas was gone and coming to Miami

Not sure what happened there, but watching his highlight clips dropping in coverage are a thing of beauty,

247sports.com

Tony Rojas, Penn State Nittany Lions, Linebacker

Also plays basketball. Ample two-way snaps at running back, receiver, and multiple defensive spots. Averaged 4.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 steals, and 1.3...
247sports.com 247sports.com
 
BigDikDaddyFromCincinnati said:
Sir

I would like to commend you. This is the very FIRST time I've ever seen anyone provide any names of any sort to the "who was available" question that's been asked repeatedly. I'm not really familiar with those names and I definitely have no idea what their NIL deals were. I'm not going to research it further because well, I'm kinda lazy but more cuz I have a job...and I'm kinda lazy. Plus the fact that you assembled a list of dudes that were possibilities....wow. I'm impressed. You could even F my sister (to quote the Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket), although she's kinda gross so maybe we can just go to Tootsie's after a game and I'll pay your way......we can both leave happy that way.
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You asked a question I provided you wtih a list of the best that were available, where they went, and how they are currently ranked.

I love Mario but he staked his championship team on his trust in building this Oline. We will see if it pays off. I am optimistic. Again, the topic is portal hindsight.
 
Orig.CaneSawMassacre said:
You asked a question I provided you wtih a list of the best that were available, where they went, and how they are currently ranked.

I love Mario but he staked his championship team on his trust in building this Oline. We will see if it pays off. I am optimistic. Again, the topic is portal hindsight.
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I thanked you for doing so but with a lot of words. We now have something to work with. Come December/January, we can look back and see if the names on that list would've been beter than what we went with.
 
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