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Former NFL DL and CFB coach on recruiting

DerpaDerp

DerpaDerp

Herring, I need some
Joined
Nov 5, 2011
Messages
9,090
Never in my history as a coach has it been more difficult to get a Division 1 FBS offer. The portal has raised the bar significantly for HS seniors.

The standard for all college recruiting and earning a scholarship to play has changed. Your sons have to work harder, earlier.

Question from someone: ********, are more HS players starting at JUCOs now?

Response: Some, most are being told to walk on or go to Division 2 and prove themselves as college players and enter the portal. Division 2 recruiting can be stacked with players, but the coaches are favoring the portal at that level as well. Division 3 is getting more players than ever except most are high academic schools. The demands on grades and play level to get in the mix in college has to be taken far more seriously ********. ********* doesn't go to Georgetown out of high school if he was coming out this year. Other sports players? Yeah, the portal has moved into their high school sports as well. Parents can be the bigger problem. "I never see you at home and you are late for dinner" is the future of those who care.
 
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I think the bigger issue was the extra year from covid. The NCAA gave every player an extra year to occupy a roster spot but didn’t alter the number of scholarships teams were allowed to offer. So for every 5th, 6th, 7th year player on a roster, there’s a high school kid who isn’t getting a scholarship.

The portal affects it somewhat but if you consider the number of guys who enter it but never find a school, it probably does a better job of clearing out roster space than it does of filling up rosters.
 
I used to coach at a small, private, FCS school that had a really good year. They took a lot of coaches of the road to save money because they are now relying heavily on the portal.
 
Why take a chance on high school kids that arent a sure thing?

Game has changed forever, portal limits will affect it yes but high school kids not seen as sure things are in trouble...
 
DTP said:
I think the bigger issue was the extra year from covid. The NCAA gave every player an extra year to occupy a roster spot but didn’t alter the number of scholarships teams were allowed to offer. So for every 5th, 6th, 7th year player on a roster, there’s a high school kid who isn’t getting a scholarship.

The portal affects it somewhat but if you consider the number of guys who enter it but never find a school, it probably does a better job of clearing out roster space than it does of filling up rosters.
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For the high school seniors a lot of them were forced to get pushed back a year to keep their scholarships. This was the eventual outcome
 
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The multi-star HS kids being recruited by Mario & the big boys aren't likely impacted. Instead, the fringe HS player some of our prior staffs added late in the process are seeing their spots taken by portal transfers.
 
CaneThang2020 said:
I'm good with the landscape of CFP, with only one exception: After 1 transfer, you sit out 1 season.
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Agreed. First transfer is free, but the second one costs you a season of eligibility.
My only caveat would be a HC change... if the HC leaves or is terminated that season, the player should also be able to leave w/o repercussion.
 
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bacane said:
The multi-star HS kids being recruited by Mario & the big boys aren't likely impacted. Instead, the fringe HS player some of our prior staffs added late in the process are seeing their spots taken by portal transfers.
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I’d say it falls even lower on the food chain. Lower level P5 kids are getting bumped down to G5 schools. It’s the fringe FBS prospects that are stuck in FCS or D2 because there’s it enough roster spots
 
No_Fly_Zone said:
Agreed. First transfer is free, but the second one costs you a season of eligibility.
My only caveat would be a HC change... if the HC leaves or is terminated that season, the player should also be able to leave w/o repercussion.
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This is the current rule. You can only transfer a second time if you’ve already graduated. Although the NCAA does grant too many waivers to get around the rule
 
DTP said:
This is the current rule. You can only transfer a second time if you’ve already graduated. Although the NCAA does grant too many waivers to get around the rule
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True, but it's the rule on paper only. The way it is applied, it seems like that waiver process is little more than a rubber stamp at the moment. GTs should be free to do as they have done, IMO (and, honestly, they shouldn't even need to apply for a waiver). But, a waiver for a student athlete should only be granted under the most extreme of circumstances.
 
Rellyrell said:
U’re not really serious w/ this post, r u?
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I'm not talking elite P5 schools that have unlimited budgets for crootin, I am talking lower level schools...

If you have limited funds and can use the portal for established players why run all over the country crooting kids that have never competed at the college level...?

Is that really such an unserious porst..?
 
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jdmorgan76 said:
I'm not talking elite P5 schools that have unlimited budgets for crootin, I am talking lower level schools...

If you have limited funds and can use the portal for established players why run all over the country crooting kids that have never competed at the college level...?

Is that really such an unserious porst..?
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B/c portal players r even more of a risk, especially those who have transferred multiple times. (Which is y u have a high multiple probability of multiple transfers)

HS recruiting is & will always be the bloodline of any elite program. If u’re trying to build ur team strictly via portal, sure, u may have ONE year of competence, but it’s not sustainable (see MSU, Miami). The portal should only be used to shore up any stop gaps, unless u can snag a highly rated guy w/ multiple yrs of eligibility left.
 
Rellyrell said:
B/c portal players r even more of a risk, especially those who have transferred multiple times. (Which is y u have a high multiple probability of multiple transfers)

HS recruiting is & will always be the bloodline of any elite program. If u’re trying to build ur team strictly via portal, sure, u may have ONE year of competence, but it’s not sustainable (see MSU, Miami). The portal should only be used to shore up any stop gaps, unless u can snag a highly rated guy w/ multiple yrs of eligibility left.
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Portal players are a much lower risk for smaller schools with limited recruiting budgets. Remember, there’s only a handful of programs actually trying to win a national championship. Most are just trying to be competitive and occasionally win a conference. For a G5 program that’s not rolling in TV money, it’s a smart move to chase the proven commodity
 
Rellyrell said:
B/c portal players r even more of a risk, especially those who have transferred multiple times. (Which is y u have a high multiple probability of multiple transfers)

HS recruiting is & will always be the bloodline of any elite program. If u’re trying to build ur team strictly via portal, sure, u may have ONE year of competence, but it’s not sustainable (see MSU, Miami). The portal should only be used to shore up any stop gaps, unless u can snag a highly rated guy w/ multiple yrs of eligibility left.
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Agree completely on the portal use for P5 as you clearly pointed out, no elite team can sustain it and if you can get elite croots from high school and develop them that leads to sustainable success... Totally agrre with you...

I am not talking about elite programs tho, I am talking about smaller schools with a limited crooting budget...

You have guys from Naia and d3 moving all over the place in the portal and they have college tape as well unlike a high school croot...

It seems that would be a good way to improve, for a lower level team...
 
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jdmorgan76 said:
Agree completely on the portal use for P5 as you clearly pointed out, no elite team can sustain it and if you can get elite croots from high school and develop them that leads to sustainable success... Totally agrre with you...

I am not talking about elite programs tho, I am talking about smaller schools with a limited crooting budget...

You have guys from Naia and d3 moving all over the place in the portal and they have college tape as well unlike a high school croot...

It seems that would be a good way to improve, for a lower level team...
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OK, got u. U had me worried for a bit b/c I respect u as a poster. Lol. I got where u coming from, my brother, & I agree w/ u.
 
DTP said:
Portal players are a much lower risk for smaller schools with limited recruiting budgets. Remember, there’s only a handful of programs actually trying to win a national championship. Most are just trying to be competitive and occasionally win a conference. For a G5 program that’s not rolling in TV money, it’s a smart move to chase the proven commodity
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Yea, totally agree.
 
Good post...and OP is not wrong.

Five and Four Star players...you take them all day. But 3-stars to round out your class with an attempt at precision evaluations are a thing of the past at this level. Maybe some guys here n there...maybe when you need a ridiculously large class...but otherwise, those 3-stars that need development can go develop elsewhere. Those G5, FCS, etc. players that are already balling out should and justifiably be higher priority players at this level of football. They have shown the ability to play at this level already.

It is important to team building moving forward.

This extends even more to QBs. QBs will move around like never before. They already are.
 
Rellyrell said:
B/c portal players r even more of a risk, especially those who have transferred multiple times. (Which is y u have a high multiple probability of multiple transfers)

HS recruiting is & will always be the bloodline of any elite program. If u’re trying to build ur team strictly via portal, sure, u may have ONE year of competence, but it’s not sustainable (see MSU, Miami). The portal should only be used to shore up any stop gaps, unless u can snag a highly rated guy w/ multiple yrs of eligibility left.
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I think it really depends on where those kids are coming from and why they are entering the portal.

For example, there are a good amount G5 kids that enter the portal who produce at that level and make all-conference teams, but are looking to transfer to a P5 school to increase their visibility and draft profile. For some reason they were overlooked coming out of HS, but after a few years they've got a resume of production at a respectable level of competition. It shouldn't be hard to project these types and they should be about as low risk as it gets in recruiting.

On the flip side, you have those kids who were highly ranked coming out of HS that are leaving top tier P5 schools because they aren't getting enough burn. Did they flame out? Top out of HS? Not develop as expected/hoped? Are they divas? Just having issues acclimating away from home? Limited college film and limited college production creates big time questions. These guys are high risk.

Add in NIL chasers, players coming off injuries, and even dudes transferring from FCS schools, and you've got varying degree of risk evaluating and projecting players. If it was me, my focus would be on those G5 and lower tier P5 kids with production, and I'd sprinkle in some local blue chip kids looking to come back home. But, even then, I'd rather use it to fill holes than rely on it as my primary recruiting.
 
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