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What a portal haul- GM Mario looking like Billy Beane

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sfcane2

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Everybody says high school recruiting is the foundation — and it is. You need that base of young talent. But let’s be honest: the portal is how Miami went moneyball and turned a good roster into a playoff roster.

We brought in 12 transfers who contributed last night and plenty of them were impact guys. The clearest example is QB. Look at Carson Beck vs Arch Manning. One is a polished, experienced, physically mature quarterback who elevated the whole team on day one. The other? Still a project. That’s the value of buying the right proven piece.

And what Mario did in the second portal window was straight Billy Beane. He didn’t go chasing five-star hype or break the NIL bank — he found undervalued guys who fit the scheme, filled roles, and were already physically ready to contribute. These weren’t splashy signings, but they were wins on the margins that round out a roster.

It’s the same formula as moneyball baseball:
  • Pay big for what moves the scoreboard → quarterback and offensive line.
  • Find undervalued production everywhere else → transfers who bring experience, toughness, and plug gaps without draining resources.
That’s how you maximize NIL dollars. That’s how you build depth. And that’s how you win in the playoff era.

High school recruiting lays the foundation. But Mario’s portal “moneyball” approach — splurge at QB and OL, find bargains everywhere else — is what pushes Miami over the top.
 
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From Navarro- Miami’s defense featured seven new starters, six of whom were brought in via the portal: defensive tackle David Blay Jr. (Louisiana Tech), linebacker Mo Toure (Rutgers), cornerbacks Keionte Scott (Houston) and Xavier Lucas (Wisconsin) and safeties Zechariah Poyser (Jacksonville State) and Jakobe Thomas (Tennessee).
 
sfcane2 said:
From Navarro- Miami’s defense featured seven new starters, six of whom were brought in via the portal: defensive tackle David Blay Jr. (Louisiana Tech), linebacker Mo Toure (Rutgers), cornerbacks Keionte Scott (Houston) and Xavier Lucas (Wisconsin) and safeties Zechariah Poyser (Jacksonville State) and Jakobe Thomas (Tennessee).
Click to expand...

LSU has a similar amount of portals starting on defense
 
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This is the reality of the transfer portal. High school recruiting has its inevitable misses and to fill the void those players leave and replaced with somebody else’s developed prospect. Or at least someone more developed.

Some positions require more development than others.

Quarterback, offensive line, and defensive line.
 
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I just saw an interview with Beck where they pointed out that he and the starting WRs were all new. 3 portal guys and Toney.

And the secondary with the exception of Brown are all transfers.

That’s why the story of some class of 27 db who might flip to Carolina registers zero on my list of concerns.
 
sfcane2 said:
I just saw an interview with Beck where they pointed out that he and the starting WRs were all new. 3 portal guys and Toney.

And the secondary with the exception of Brown are all transfers.

That’s why the story of some class of 27 db who might flip to Carolina registers zero on my list of concerns.
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Leading rusher, receiver, and tacklers vs ND were all Miami recruits. Gotta be great in recruiting and the portal.
 
Isnt money ball where you go cheap and find hidden gems that fit your system? Yeah I don’t what Mario did was money ball.
 
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