BillySee58

Players like KD and Shorter just gave us 5 seasons in Green. Mose gave us 6. Brammer went P5 but only after he had given us 5 years and only had an extra year to go P5 because of the extra COVID year. The twins are the only starters we have lost to P5s in this portal era who actually hadn’t already given us 4 seasons. We even saw KD hit the portal, get P5 interest, and come back. There just doesn’t seem to be evidence yet of this “P5 farm system” where the high school players we develop leave us after they become starters to go P5, unless there’s a coaching change or something drastic. I will say, you bring guys in with connections and that increases our chances at hitting on P5 offers. Guys like Morris and Gilbert who have actually coached P5 guys hitting the portal, there is value there. Otherwise, I just don’t think the odds are good or the ceiling is higher than an average player when you go after these P5 third stringers.

Same reason Umoja Gibson didn’t have to sit out after transferring to DePaul this year. It appears as though they are letting grad transfers have as many sit out free transfers as they want. In other words, I think you would have to sit out if you transfer a second time as an undergrad (and you actually played right away).

Yeah I think we can get contributors from P5s. I just think that if we forego HS recruiting as our primary source of additions in favor of P5 transfers, you’re going to have a team without stars. A team of Enoch Jacksons, Latrell Nevilles, and John Davis type players is going to struggle. Add them, sure. But mix them in, not make them the primary type of signing

And Trice was pushing for playing time as an underclassmen. Didn’t redshirt. Pegram pushed for playing time at Purdue. Enoch Jackson appeared to have pushed for playing time at Arkansas. Latrell Neville, Tommy Bush, Cam Feldt (transferred from Arkansas same time as Trice) all did not push for playing time at all. Completely buried at their P5s, pretty much fared the same here. I’m fine bringing in P5s as long as there is some semblance of pushing for playing time and they aren’t being relied on to be the best players on the team.

When we pay our players as much as SMU does, then we can have a different conversation. And for UTSA, they brought in a few P5 transfers but I don’t think anyone would earnestly say they built their roster around them. Sure seemed like they built that thing around Sincere McCormick, Frank Harris, Franklin, Cephus, Jamal Ligon, and some of the other really good HS recruits that Frank Wilson and Traylor signed.

Right, but in a way when you get these P5 bottom of the depth chart transfers you are just about guaranteeing that you are getting an average at best but likely subpar player. They have proven to not be good college football players. They aren’t going to go from P5 3rd stringer to suddenly be all conference guys in the AAC. This is the 5th offseason of the transfer portal. We have a sample size now. I’m fine getting P5 guys here and there who at least pushed for some playing time even if not as starters, but mainly I’d rather get FCS and DII all conference guys. You aren’t going to get a KD Davis or Jyaire Shorter type player from a P5 portal because if a player of their caliber had ended up at a P5 out of high school, they wouldn’t be riding the bench at a P5. They’d be on the field there too and even if they did hit the portal they’d have P5 suitors.

P5 transfers don’t excite me. Good P5 players transfer to other P5s. The P5s we get are 3rd stringers who have almost no experience and couldn’t cut it at the P5 level. Sometimes they can contribute, but for the most part they just aren’t good college football players. For example at receiver, there’s a reason Neville (Nebraska), Bryson Jackson (TCU), and Tommy Bush (Georgia) couldn’t get on the field and the guys we signed from high school were the ones making plays..

I think there had to be an odd man out regardless. Maybe two. I don’t expect a 3 or 4 back rotation in Morris’ offense like we had this year. Ragsdale and Adeyi with a couple of the other guys providing depth should be plenty. If we can keep that much we’ll be good.

I wouldn’t count on the “sit out a year after transferring the second time.” The NCAA seems to have set a precedent that they are granting waivers to not have to sit out. Multiple QBs like JT Daniels and other players have and are doing it this offseason for a second or third time, presuming the NCAA will allow them to. Umoja Gibson transferred from UNT to OU two years ago and was immediately eligible, then transferred again this offseason and was immediately eligible at Depaul. Also, I think the evidence we have still shows it’s best to build around high school players. Those have continually been our best players. Guys we had as freshmen. Portal guys have generally not been more than complementary players at best. Hopefully it gets better but I still think you’re more likely to get all-conference guys as high school players than rely on P5 washouts or lower level guys moving up.

Yeah, it would’ve. And a decent chance we have Cam Ward as our QB. But point is, eventually the new coach will turn the roster over and that’s what we’re signing up for. A new coach who can take the program to the next level. And that eventually means the program will be all his and all his own players.

It would have been the same thing, just with last year’s guys.

I’ll never understand people freaking out about commits from the old staff decommitting or career backups transferring. When you make the decision to fire a coach, that’s what you sign yourself up for.

Any concern there with this being a bad look early on for him?

Figured you did. You are the king of East Texas.

Mathis also coached at Marshall. Had you ever heard of Marshall, Texas?

That domination of UMass brought our NET ranking up 13 spots from 65 to 52.

We are 3-22 from three. Just terrible. Free throws are great, but it’s not sustainable ball to bank on 25 points from the line.

I love Abou but it feels like he’s trying to be something he’s not this year. Going for thunderous dunks but missing because he doesn’t have any lift (last year he lays them in) and forcing shots that are out of his range or not really in his bag. He was a damn good player last year. That’s Abou. Just be Abou.

Absolutely

Right. Or maybe the University should just take it out of his enormous cut of the bowl payout that he receives as the National Rushing Leader.

What reasons made you not like the choice?

I don’t know why everyone has such a hard time grasping the relationship aspect to this. Vito’s going to be charitable to the people who maintained a good and respectful relationship with him. McCarney did, Littrell did, Derek Thompson did and he pays them all back with putting their names in a positive light. Thompson used to always do post practice interviews for Vito and Vito would always be charitable to him and call him a future Hall of Famer.

When we’re talking about hiring a coach, we’ll often say “we need our version of this other coach.” Our football version of Grant Mccasland, our version of Jeff Traylor, etc. One type of hire that I liked the idea of modeling ours after is PJ Fleck at Western Michigan. He got hired there back in 2014 and he really did a tremendous job of selling that program to recruits, fans, and media. The biggest key was that there was substance behind it. They went 13-1 in 2016 with their only loss being to Wisconsin at the Cotton Bowl. He has been solid at Minnesota too.

I do love it but those are my concerns as well.

Completely agree. This is a point I always try and make any time we talk about Coach searches. Don’t pick the coach before you pick the person. Don’t preclude certain coaches because you convince yourself before the interviews that it HAS to be an OC, or a coach with previous coaching experience, etc.