Pat Smith!

Dannymacfan · November 19, 2023

Dude led the team in tackles against Tulsa and is only a freshman!

VideoEagle · November 19, 2023

It was great to see several underclassmen make significant contributions.

MeanGreen22 · November 19, 2023

The secondary is gonna be a no fly zone in a year or 2. So many talented freshman making big plays.

BillySee58 · November 20, 2023

9 hours ago, MeanGreen22 said:

The secondary is gonna be a no fly zone in a year or 2. So many talented freshman making big plays.

Brian Nelson also is tied for second on the team in passes broken up despite having only played in 4 games. Really excited about the future of this secondary with Nelson, Patrick Smith, Jayven Anderson, Evan Jackson, and even Taylor Starling started that ACU game but looks like he’ll still redshirt.

untcampbell · November 20, 2023

@BillySee58 which of those that have played four games this season will be held out for UAB?

GMG

BillySee58 · November 20, 2023

11 minutes ago, untcampbell said:

@BillySee58 which of those that have played four games this season will be held out for UAB?

GMG

I think the only true freshman who has played 4 games exactly is Brian Nelson. So maybe he would be.

El Paso Eagle · November 20, 2023

On 11/19/2023 at 6:58 PM, BillySee58 said:

I think the only true freshman who has played 4 games exactly is Brian Nelson. So maybe he would be.

Not to put a negative Twist on it, but in the world of the transfer portal, if you have a true freshman who should be on the field, is it worth redshirting them?

Edited November 21, 2023 by El Paso Eagle

Monkeypox · November 20, 2023

6 hours ago, El Paso Eagle said:

Not to put a negative Twist on it but in the world of the transfer portal if you have a true freshman who should be on the field is it worth registering them?

I'm not as negative about the Portal as most, but I agree. Given the fluidity of player movement in college football, you just always need to be putting your best guys out there to get you the win. If that's a True Freshman, so be it.

No need for sandbagging. It's not like we're playing for draft position.

GrandGreen · November 21, 2023

5 hours ago, Monkeypox said:

I'm not as negative about the Portal as most, but I agree. Given the fluidity of player movement in college football, you just always need to be putting your best guys out there to get you the win. If that's a True Freshman, so be it.

No need for sandbagging. It's not like we're playing for draft position.

The decision should be based on whether it is more important to play them one game and lose a possible year of eligibility or have 4 more years of play left.

I would absolutely not use a player in this situation.

Winning the game does not substantially change the season. Nor, is one defensive player likely to change the outcome of the game.

The theory that remaining eligibility is not a driving factor in utilizing players because there is a high likelihood you are going to lose them anyway is a losing philosophy.

NT93 · November 21, 2023

1 hour ago, GrandGreen said:

The decision should be based on whether it is more important to play them one game and lose a possible year of eligibility or have 4 more years of play left.

I would absolutely not use a player in this situation.

Winning the game does not substantially change the season. Nor, is one defensive player likely to change the outcome of the game.

The theory that remaining eligibility is not a driving factor in utilizing players because there is a high likelihood you are going to lose them anyway is a losing philosophy.

Not intending to speak for @Monkeypox but I thought he was talking in general terms and not just about this game. At this point, I agree with you that I wouldn’t play someone against UAB if it causes him to lose his redshirt. Earlier in the season I would play whoever gives us the best chance to win disregarding redshirt status. That’s a paradigm shift for me because of the portal and it’s possibly a negative unforeseen consequence of the portal as players potentially miss out on a redshirt season.

meaniegreenie · November 21, 2023

13 hours ago, El Paso Eagle said:

Not to put a negative Twist on it but in the world of the transfer portal if you have a true freshman who should be on the field is it worth registering them?

I assume "registering" is supposed to be "red shirting".

Like others, I'm afraid the portal turns us into a farm team for P5 schools. So, unless a player has made it clear that they want to stay here for their entire time, then there's not much point in saving a year of PT for the player to use at another school.

DentonLurker · November 21, 2023

My opinion is you’ve got to coach like all your players are coming back and recruit like any of them could leave at any point. In the scenario brought up here, you redshirt players you would normally redshirt and play players you would normally play.

What happens if you think a player is going to transfer, blow their redshirt, and they decide to stay?

DentonLurker · November 21, 2023

I’ll also add that, as a coach, I wouldn’t want to have a reputation as a coach who doesn’t do what’s best for a player’s development. You can bet that if I’m recruiting against a coach who does what you guys are suggesting, I’m going to make sure recruits and their parents know that.

Edited November 21, 2023 by DentonLurker

El Paso Eagle · November 21, 2023

11 hours ago, meaniegreenie said:

I assume "registering" is supposed to be "red shirting".

Like others, I'm afraid the portal turns us into a farm team for P5 schools. So, unless a player has made it clear that they want to stay here for their entire time, then there's not much point in saving a year of PT for the player to use at another school.

Thanks. Have no clue how I did that 😱

Cr1028 · November 21, 2023

15 hours ago, GrandGreen said:

The decision should be based on whether it is more important to play them one game and lose a possible year of eligibility or have 4 more years of play left.

I would absolutely not use a player in this situation.

Winning the game does not substantially change the season. Nor, is one defensive player likely to change the outcome of the game.

The theory that remaining eligibility is not a driving factor in utilizing players because there is a high likelihood you are going to lose them anyway is a losing philosophy.

Todd Dodge got eviscerated for this with Derek Thompson. It ended up not mattering as DT ended up redshirting in another season but folks did not take kindly to wasting a year of eligibility for one game. That was pre-portal but I think you still have to play it as if you’ll have the player for their entire career.

BillySee58 · November 21, 2023

On 11/20/2023 at 8:38 AM, El Paso Eagle said:

Not to put a negative Twist on it, but in the world of the transfer portal, if you have a true freshman who should be on the field, is it worth redshirting them?

Yeah I’m not as concerned about preserving redshirts either. Especially if it’s a guy you expect to be starter caliber in year 2.