Rico Bussey Has entered the Portal

Salsa_Verde · February 7, 2020

6 minutes ago, Cr1028 said:

https://twitter.com/_dreamjg/status/1141778933832138753

Oh I don’t have the twitter but I follow him on the gram and that what he did. Fair enough though.

Cr1028 · February 7, 2020

3 minutes ago, Salsa_Verde said:

Oh I don’t have the twitter but I follow him on the gram and that what he did. Fair enough though.

southsideguy · February 7, 2020

when he was walking around the stands and not with the team on the sideline I knew he was gone. Hate to see him go because I thought he was a better receiver than Guyton. This transfer think benefits the P-5 more than the rest of little people.

meaniegreenie · February 8, 2020

4 hours ago, El Paso Eagle said:

So here's a question on a slow Friday -

1) If a player transfers out that was great at UNT should he still be considered for the schools HOF?

2) What if that same player goes to another school, gets drafter, and gives the acknowledgement to that school in the NFL? Does it change your mind?

1 - Hell no, unless it's famous for being a selfish a$$.

2 - Only if it was because we dropped FB.

meaniegreenie · February 8, 2020

3 hours ago, MEEN2018 said:

That’s stupid to say. He played hard here and had some great years. If he stays at UNT he is going to have a young QB that has basically never played in college determining his NFL future. He would probably max out as a 4th-5th round pick with everything going perfect here. He has a chance to be a 2nd round pick or so if he has a good year at a P5.

I don’t want to see him leave either, but people also have to be realistic. This is a family decision to potentially set them up for years to come.

I love UNT, but anyone that would put a school above doing what is best for his family and career is just being stupid and petty.

In other words, if he's not getting something out of it, then move on.

Second round pick, yeah right.

meaniegreenie · February 8, 2020

1 hour ago, ntmeangreen11 said:

He was a senior last year, the class he signed with is gone. He was one of the best WR's to ever wear green, period.

I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would be butt hurt over this..

I thought the purpose of going to a university was to get a degree. Silly me.

DeepGreen · February 8, 2020

1 hour ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

So if Cade Cunningham randomly decided he wanted back out of his OKSt commitment and sign with NT (he's going to be a 1-and-done), you would be pissed about it, and never claim him?

Just like others in the transfer portal, if they came to NT for one season/year, nope. He’s not a UNT Alum. But I would appreciate him for playing football at NT for that one year.

ntmeangreen11 · February 8, 2020

2 minutes ago, meaniegreenie said:

I thought the purpose of going to a university was to get a degree. Silly me.

https://dentonrc.com/sports/engineering-and-yoga-it-s-all-part-of-the-secret/article_ffcc9049-db8b-51fd-bf4e-5a5a3c9aa84c.html

No one knows whether or not he has his degree. Based on the article and the kind of guy he is I would say he has.

We have a 10+ year streak of no players being drafted, if he shows out next season at a P5 school he will be higher on draft boards than if he came back here and was an all conference player. He will likely be 23 or close to it by this time next year (NFL teams judge older wide receivers harshly) and has an injury history teams will be wary of, the best way for him to prove himself to NFL scouts is to do it elsewhere.

There is no way you should hold any ill will toward the guy who scored the winning touchdown during the drive vs UTSA.

ntmeangreen11 · February 8, 2020

WATCH THE FINAL PLAY!!!!!!!!

I REFUSE TO LET YALL THROW DIRT ON THE NAME OF RICO BUSSEY

Cr1028 · February 8, 2020

35 minutes ago, ntmeangreen11 said:

WATCH THE FINAL PLAY!!!!!!!!

I REFUSE TO LET YALL THROW DIRT ON THE NAME OF RICO BUSSEY

I don’t get shitting on players who put in hard work for the team, if they move on because they are ready to do so that is their choice unless you do it in a shitty manner like the Vizzas.

Edited February 8, 2020 by Cr1028

tmjerm · February 8, 2020

3 hours ago, Salsa_Verde said:

I get the feeling he wants nothing to do with this school anymore. Just like Guyton, he’ll probably erase any mention or pictures of himself in a North Texas uniform. It is what it is.

I doubt this very much. The memory of his catch against nutsack will be one of his best life moments. He worked his ass of here and he was a very reliable player, played hard, blocked on the outside and wanted to win. The sightings around the stadium after his injury were strange and disappointing but I never personally saw him so not really letting that affect the narrative on him. The way things are now this stuff happens and it sucks but he has an opportunity to have one more yr to improve his draft stock with an established qb somewhere. Hard to blame as much as it hurts.
Very curious though, as @MeanGreenTexan pointed out, of the status of his knee.

#stayhard8

Edited February 8, 2020 by tmjerm

NorthTexasSportsNetwork · February 8, 2020

I was the least surprised when he announced it, but I wish him well. Hell of a receiver, and made some huge plays here at NT. It was sad to see him have that knee injury (whatever it was)

97and03 · February 8, 2020

Most players that enter the portal don’t transfer. So who knows how this will play out.

UNTLifer · February 8, 2020

My problem is how he handled himself this year. After the injury he wasn’t on the sideline with his teammates but up in the stands wandering around. I wish him well but I won’t be following him.

H-towngreen · February 8, 2020

UT message boards have brought him up as a target

Big E · February 8, 2020

Rico was a great player for us...really fun to watch! Clearly, there is more to this story that we may never know. Like everyone, I found it strange that right after the injury against Cal, it was like he was gone from the team...never on the sidelines and very little information being reported about him and brief, guarded, mentions by Coach Littrell. Was he on the sidelines at practice or ever in the locker room during this time? It’s interesting that it took this long for him to enter the transfer portal if his intention all along was to leave. If he tore his ACL to any significant degree, his best chance at full recovery would be an immediate surgery. Putting it off could lead to other issues down the road that would make it worse. And were there other issues that he had with teammates and/or coaches? I have no idea. Anyway, this all continues to be a mystery. However, there is no doubt that Rico Bussey, Jr. exceeded his 2-star expectations and played his way into becoming one of the top receivers in UNT history...and it would have been even more impressive with one more year!

Graddean · February 8, 2020

If he. Has. Not completed his degree, he would not be immediately eligible would he?

Mean Green 93-98 · February 8, 2020

1 hour ago, Graddean said:

If he. Has. Not completed his degree, he would not be immediately eligible would he?

No. I'm guessing he graduates in May?

El Paso Eagle · February 8, 2020

247 still not showing him as immediately available which they usually do for Grad Transfers. Maybe he has to "officially" graduate first to be classified as a grad transfer.

meaniegreenie · February 9, 2020

22 hours ago, UNTLifer said:

My problem is how he handled himself this year. After the injury he wasn’t on the sideline with his teammates but up in the stands wandering around. I wish him well but I won’t be following him.

Yeah, I can certainly understand the mental effect of the injury and if he decided to never play again I'd understand.

His reaction is the kind you'd see if the staff was being reckless with his health and he blamed them for his injury. His behavior is odd.

Edited February 9, 2020 by meaniegreenie

Moobs · February 9, 2020

It seems to me that he’s a little late to the transfer game. I would think most large programs don’t have scholarships left to offer him. I won’t be surprised to see him back on our sidelines again next year.

But this brings up another point. How does having a player transfer out effect our scholarships? Do we just lose a player and scholarship? Can we offer an extra scholarship if he leaves?

H-towngreen · February 9, 2020

Not late for the transfer window at all seeing as it’s still 6 months till when he would need to enroll in a school.

outoftown · February 9, 2020

I don't blame Bussey. It is understandable from his persepective and I bet what happened behind the scene last season on offense was not positive and probably didn' help. This really hurts NT though, as he was outstanding. if this becomes a G5 pattern, it will be absolutely demoralizing to fans and the death of college football as we know it. But none of that is on Bussey.

I do blame this new system that is transferring galore. That system in turn, is kind of the logic reaction to colleges and coaches having gone crazy with the money and putting lots of it on (poaching/leaving) coaches. Of course players who are there to learn- behave like mercenaries when the people and entities around them -that are supposed to be their teachers- do. Combine the previous point with the ever increasing financial rift between the top and bottom of FBS and the new system makes sense. It is getting closer to be a private economy kind of competition. That is a problem when the institutions involved are mostly publicly owned and financed entities with non-profit goals.

The result is players don't need to feel the same loyalty they used to to the institutions, because neither coaches nor institutions are showing the same loyalty to them. And once you know your teammates might leave at any moment, why should you be the one to stick it out?

Edited February 9, 2020 by outoftown

p_phelps · February 9, 2020

1 hour ago, outoftown said:

I don't blame Bussey. It is understandable from his persepective and I bet what happened behind the scene last season on offense was not positive and probably didn' help. This really hurts NT though, as he was outstanding. if this becomes a G5 pattern, it will be absolutely demoralizing to fans and the death of college football as we know it. But none of that is on Bussey.

I do blame this new system that is transferring galore. That system in turn, is kind of the logic reaction to colleges and coaches having gone crazy with the money and putting lots of it on (poaching/leaving) coaches. Of course players who are there to learn- behave like mercenaries when the people and entities around them -that are supposed to be their teachers- do. Combine the previous point with the ever increasing financial rift between the top and bottom of FBS and the new system makes sense. It is getting closer to be a private economy kind of competition. That is a problem when the institutions involved are mostly publicly owned and financed entities with non-profit goals.

The result is players don't need to feel the same loyalty they used to to the institutions, because neither coaches nor institutions are showing the same loyalty to them. And once you know your teammates might leave at any moment, why should you be the one to stick it out?

It really sucks. He was my 2and favorite player behind Mason. But the writing was on the wall so long I'm okay. Especially having Darden back and shorter breaking out.

southsideguy · February 9, 2020

I don't think anyone has hard feelings about Bussey but more disappointed that we will not see him in Green next year. We watched him grow as a receiver and become one of the all time greats at UNT. I think he will be draft choice even if he stayed and finished his career at UNT. They guy has great talent. Even though he is leaving I will always remember his play here and how he helped turn this team around.

I often wonder how transfer players will feel later in life. If they will have any regrets they did not stay with one team and how special the relationship they built with their teammates were. You go to a new school, new system and one and done.

I have concern what this transfer craziness will do to fan buy in schools below the P-5 schools when you watch a player develop and get good and then he leaves to play somewhere else. I think the P-5 are killing college sports and NCAA does what the P-5 schools say.

After I graduated from NTSU I moved to new state and worked their for 30 years and when I retired I came back to Denton to live. It was like returning home.

Good Luck Mr Busey where ever you land.