Xzavier Henderson Hits the Portal

I don’t know man and it sucks but they’re not going to bag up for regular level dudes and I don’t blame them. There isn’t some magical unlimited giant teet of unlimited NIL cash.

They clearly made a decision to solidify the OL and retain TVD. It looks like they’re in a good spot for some 5 stars in the 2024 class as well, like Stone. So they’ll spend money but it’s not unlimited and they’re not going to get fleeced by Henderson-level talent.


Completely correct.

And trace the Mope-thinking...you can see it on these threads.

Mopes will first come on here and tell us that we aren't offering the money (or can't afford to offer the money) that gets the top kids. Then they turn aorund and tell us that Mario is lazy and indecisive and refuses to back-channel or tamper. Then they tell us that nobody wants to come to UM because of our coaches and our record and our NFL draft performance...

But the reality is that it isn't all of those things at once.

Look, if we don't get "Xzavier Henderson" and he picks Illinois or Cincinnati , IT WILL NOT BECAUSE THOSE SCHOOLS OUTBID US FOR NIL. Or any other ridiculous reason. If Henderson and his family don't like UM, or if they are salty because Mr. Ruiz won't back up the Brinks Truck for his modest stats, then we cannot and should not "overpay" just to overcome that.

Maybe we will plug all our holes in this Portal window. Maybe we will not, and we will need to lean on developing out talented HS recruits. But we will field a team and we will have a decent shot at winning 8 or 9 games with an improved culture, with improved coaching, with improved playcalling, and with improved execution.

I want the most amount of talent we can amass, but I want players who want to win, who want to be coached, and who want to beat the crap out of our opponents. And if someone HONESTLY believes that they will be better off at Illinois or Cincinnati, THEN WE NEED TO MOVE ON.

******* ridiculous to hear people talking about how we can't afford Henderson.
 
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I don’t know but someone else may know. There’s a part of me that hopes so for reasons of competent selection. There’s another part of me that hopes he had an epiphany and realized that repeating the same behavior without success is crazy.


For the life of me, I don't even know what SinisterMope thinks he is proving by asking that ridiculous question.

No, the "higher ups" did not get involved in the OC search.
 
Completely correct.

And trace the Mope-thinking...you can see it on these threads.

Mopes will first come on here and tell us that we aren't offering the money (or can't afford to offer the money) that gets the top kids. Then they turn aorund and tell us that Mario is lazy and indecisive and refuses to back-channel or tamper. Then they tell us that nobody wants to come to UM because of our coaches and our record and our NFL draft performance...

But the reality is that it isn't all of those things at once.

Look, if we don't get "Xzavier Henderson" and he picks Illinois or Cincinnati , IT WILL NOT BECAUSE THOSE SCHOOLS OUTBID US FOR NIL. Or any other ridiculous reason. If Henderson and his family don't like UM, or if they are salty because Mr. Ruiz won't back up the Brinks Truck for his modest stats, then we cannot and should not "overpay" just to overcome that.

Maybe we will plug all our holes in this Portal window. Maybe we will not, and we will need to lean on developing out talented HS recruits. But we will field a team and we will have a decent shot at winning 8 or 9 games with an improved culture, with improved coaching, with improved playcalling, and with improved execution.

I want the most amount of talent we can amass, but I want players who want to win, who want to be coached, and who want to beat the crap out of our opponents. And if someone HONESTLY believes that they will be better off at Illinois or Cincinnati, THEN WE NEED TO MOVE ON.

******* ridiculous to hear people talking about how we can't afford Henderson.
Little unclear here on a few things. The pedestrian stats you refer to I thought you felt were due to erratic qb play at Florida. And his overriding talent - speed, does make him attractive in the market I'd imagine, moreso than his stats might demand.
And 'Mr. Ruiz won't back up the Brinks truck' - I though there was a collective of which Mr. Ruiz was a contributor? If it is largely on Ruiz, I could understand why financial lines are speculatively being drawn in the sand. And are you implying that possibly Henderson is demanding / expecting more from Miami than the other suitors and disillusioned or feeling disrespected?
 
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Our portal guy is a former Michigan State portal guy.

You'd figure something like this would be easy, but here we are. I thought this Henderson get was easy, but here we are.
MIA


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I disagree on the WR1, i think he is in the same category as most of our WRs, needing to step up and perform. He has been ok, not great. Does he have the physical tools to do it, yes. Does he have the work ethic and brain power to, time will tell. Richardson and UF offense was bad so if we cant judge him with that, how comes we judge our WRs with a similar or worse offense and worse injury crisis on the OL and to TVD.
say he is...so what? We need depth. Dawson is going throw the heck out of the ball and we need bodies to stay fresh.
 
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Little unclear here on a few things. The pedestrian stats you refer to I thought you felt were due to erratic qb play at Florida. And his overriding talent - speed, does make him attractive in the market I'd imagine, moreso than his stats might demand.
And 'Mr. Ruiz won't back up the Brinks truck' - I though there was a collective of which Mr. Ruiz was a contributor? If it is largely on Ruiz, I could understand why financial lines are speculatively being drawn in the sand. And are you implying that possibly Henderson is demanding / expecting more from Miami than the other suitors and disillusioned or feeling disrespected?


You are being very selective here.

I can explain Henderson's "pedestrian stats" by pointing out that AR-15 and Slingblade Billy didn't utilize him properly. And at the same time, those stats don't establish some high level of NIL demand. Not sure why you can't see that. You'd be paying Henderson for POTENTIAL, not production. And that might work for a HS kid who can be the class ambassador and bring in other recruits. But it doesn't work for some Spring Portal entrant whose other best offers are from Illinois and Cincinnati. And if Henderson's speed was SOOOO desirable by everyone else in the country, he'd already have another deal lined up.

As for the rest of your misguided nonsense, I'm using the term "Mr. Ruiz won't back up the Brinks truck" BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT PORTAL KIDS THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN. The fact that it's NOT reality...doesn't change anything.

I'm not "speculating" on anything. I know for a fact that Miami has been very disciplined in its NIL offers, regardless of whether the uninformed think that Miami's NIL program is "only" Mr. Ruiz. I'm not going to explain everything on the board. If you know, you know. If you don't, you don't. No big deal.

Whether Henderson thinks that Mr. Ruiz is going to jump in with a big offer because we "need" Henderson so badly...THAT is a perception.

Look, I took the time to respond to you in a DM that there will be a lot more Portal activity this week, so if you continue to choose to traffic in myths and narratives, that's your choice. Miami has been active all along. For at least a month in this cycle.

We will see the results soon.
 
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You are being very selective here.

I can explain Henderson's "pedestrian stats" by pointing out that AR-15 and Slingblade Billy didn't utilize him properly. And at the same time, those stats don't establish some high level of NIL demand. Not sure why you can't see that. You'd be paying Henderson for POTENTIAL, not production. And that might work for a HS kid who can be the class ambassador and bring in other recruits. But it doesn't work for some Spring Portal entrant whose other best offers are from Illinois and Cincinnati. And if Henderson's speed was SOOOO desirable by everyone else in the country, he'd already have another deal lined up.

As for the rest of your misguided nonsense, I'm using the term "Mr. Ruiz won't back up the Brinks truck" BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT PORTAL KIDS THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN. The fact that it's NOT reality...doesn't change anything.

I'm not "speculating" on anything. I know for a fact that Miami has been very disciplined in its NIL offers, regardless of whether the uninformed think that Miami's NIL program is "only" Mr. Ruiz. I'm not going to explain everything on the board. If you know, you know. If you don't, you don't. No big deal.

Whether Henderson thinks that Mr. Ruiz is going to jump in with a big offer because we "need" Henderson so badly...THAT is a perception.

Look, I took the time to respond to you in a DM that there will be a lot more Portal activity this week, so if you continue to choose to traffic in myths and narratives, that's your choice. Miami has been active all along. For at least a month in this cycle.

We will see the results soon.
-If a wr is hampered by qb play resulting in less productivity, yes, you could choose to pay for potential that could reasonably be fulfilled. Good insight re: his other suitors

-you answered a  question about terminology you used to describe how a portal transfer would receive NIL compensation

-have no doubt as to Miami's activity, just concerned with the degree of the favorability of forthcoming results

-trafficing in narratives? You mean bread crumbing the consistencies in what seems to be a spoon-fed agenda insiders are espousing? Like fiscal responsibility, making everyone aware of the cost of roster retention, and pointing back to winter portal success in the midst of uncertainty whether the promise of 'a completely different looking roster by summer/fall' or 'attacking the portal' will be fulfilled?

-do very much appreciate your willingness to communicate and your obvious love for the university. Do at the same time have my own impressions based on what numerous sources share.
 
Little unclear here on a few things. The pedestrian stats you refer to I thought you felt were due to erratic qb play at Florida. And his overriding talent - speed, does make him attractive in the market I'd imagine, moreso than his stats might demand.
And 'Mr. Ruiz won't back up the Brinks truck' - I though there was a collective of which Mr. Ruiz was a contributor? If it is largely on Ruiz, I could understand why financial lines are speculatively being drawn in the sand. And are you implying that possibly Henderson is demanding / expecting more from Miami than the other suitors and disillusioned or feeling disrespected?
Dude, Henderson isn’t worth overpaying. It’s a losing gripe for proponents of that. He helps but he doesn’t do enough for us in raising the quality of the WR room to bag up or guarantee a starting position. A real proven WR1 is a different conversation. They’ll have to overpay IMO.
 
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-If a wr is hampered by qb play resulting in less productivity, yes, you could choose to pay for potential that could reasonably be fulfilled. Good insight re: his other suitors

-you answered a  question about terminology you used to describe how a portal transfer would receive NIL compensation

-have no doubt as to Miami's activity, just concerned with the degree of the favorability of forthcoming results

-trafficing in narratives? You mean bread crumbing the consistencies in what seems to be a spoon-fed agenda insiders are espousing? Like fiscal responsibility, making everyone aware of the cost of roster retention, and pointing back to winter portal success in the midst of uncertainty whether the promise of 'a completely different looking roster by summer/fall' or 'attacking the portal' will be fulfilled?

-do very much appreciate your willingness to communicate and your obvious love for the university. Do at the same time have my own impressions based on what numerous sources share.


1. I agree, we COULD choose to pay for potential. But that's not what we've done in the Portal over the past 2 years. We were willing to pay big for Addison or Flowers, but not for Henderson. And if Henderson chooses Illinois (where Hightower JUST LEFT), then that's on him, because Illinois doesn't have some sort of great track record for developing draftable WRs that would justify Henderson going there (at least Cincy put 2 WRs in this year's draft). But notice that Miami is the best of Henderson's "known" suitors. And I mean "best overall" suitor, in terms of coaches, scheme, QB, and overall talent.

2. Nobody is saying not to think about whether Miami will, or will not, be as successful in this Portal window as we were in others. Yes, we are still currently sitting on zero verbal commits. All I've pointed out is that (a) it is wrong to assume we are not giving the Portal maximum effort, and (b) "amount of NIL" is not the answer to every question or explanation.

3. I'm not sure why people continue to turn optimistic forward-looking statements into massive blanket statements. Since fall 2022, Miami has had 22 guys enter the Portal. That's over 25% of the team. Add in the guys who have graduated/gone into the draft early (INCLUDING MATOCHA, WHO IS NO LONGER ON THE ROSTER), and that's a pretty high exit rate. What would you have preferred, Colorado numbers? We took 32 new guys (24 HS signees and 8 Portal guys thus far, NOT counting Action Jackson), and are likely to take another 5 or 6 guys in the Portal, when insiders have been saying FOR MONTHS that we would take 35-40 new guys. I'm not sure what you're not seeing. Do you NOT think that we will have a completely different looking roster by fall? Do you NOT think we are attacking the Portal (we currently have the 15th highest ranked class, and that is ONLY with 8 guys in January and zero SO FAR in spring)?

4. I can't account for what sources you are basing your thoughts on. But I can tell you that Miami is making tremendous effort. I'll just give one small indication, another CIS poster just had lunch with Mario and another coach on Friday for a couple of hours, and the coaches' phones were dinging constantly. That's not "high school recruits", my friend. So let's see what starts to happen this week. I've already posted the stats showing that, outside of Colorado/Louisville, the other 24 of the 26 top-ranked Portal classes of 2023 have only taken 24 total SPRING verbal commits, with 11 of those schools having taken ZERO thus far and no other school having taken more than THREE. Thus far. YET. So the "commit" fun is about to start.

Relax. Or buckle up. Your choice. But we'll land a few more Portal guys here soon.
 
Its not that we cant by a WR, its just at what price you are buying. There is no Jordan Addison in the portal. We have man marginally better or same as what we have, so why break the bank if they are asking unreasonable prices. I agree if they stand firm and not overpay for players with average production. I like Henderson because he is a really good athlete, not because i think he is guaranteed to elevate the room. He could be Frank Ladson. Thats not a pay whatever he wants type player.
The Canes offered double to Innis what Ohio State was paying and he said, no thanks.

You both aren’t wrong. It’s up to Mario & Dawson this year to put out a respectable offense and then we can see what happens with this recruiting class and moving forward.
 
The Canes offered double to Innis what Ohio State was paying and he said, no thanks.

You both aren’t wrong. It’s up to Mario & Dawson this year to put out a respectable offense and then we can see what happens with this recruiting class and moving forward.
Ok but maybe they saw Innis as that type of player. I didnt but they did for optics reason minimum. Either way i think we will be fine. Im interested in seeing what the talent we have do. We cant have 5,6,7 4 star WRs on our roster we recruited and cant get 1 or 2 to perform. Transfer portal aint fixing that.
 
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Dude, Henderson isn’t worth overpaying. It’s a losing gripe for proponents of that. He helps but he doesn’t do enough for us in raising the quality of the WR room to bag up or guarantee a starting position. A real proven WR1 is a different conversation. They’ll have to overpay IMO.

You are correct. He is definitely not worth overpaying. At the same time, we really don’t know how much the family’s hatred of all things Miami Hurricanes is impacting his tactics, or even his desire of where he wants to end up.

We can’t forget their animus towards our program, and not consider it as a possible factor, that’s why I never thought this was a slam dunk, simply because of that. That’s not even counting or considering the possibility of them overplaying their NIL hand.
 
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You are correct. He is definitely not worth overpaying. At the same time, we really don’t know how much the family’s hatred of all things Miami Hurricanes is impacting his tactics, or even his desire of where he wants to end up.

We can’t forget their animus towards our program, and not consider it as a possible factor, that’s why I never thought this was a slam dunk, simply because of that. That’s not even counting or considering the possibility of them overplaying their NIL hand.
Family hates us....Brother played us like a fiddle. F-him....
 
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