Portal Woes and Lack of Development: Why 9-1 Feels Worse Than it Should

[jmiller]

And the question again is what is this based on?

The argument was that the 2023 and 2024 classes aren’t showing signs of “talent”.

And a quick google search shuts down.

Texas is relying on Jr and Sr.

They spilts carries with 3 RBs a Jr. Soph and a Fr and the only reason the Fr is getting careers is due to Cj Baxter’s injury. So they likely would have only be using Jr and 2 soph.

(And mark Fletcher has a higher yard per carry average than their RBs while having the same amount of carries as their leading rusher).

Wingo is a fr with 20 catches the rest of their top receivers are jr and sr.

Their best defender is Hill(soph) and the rest of their top contributors are jr. And sr.

Some ppl put a lot of effort and jump through hoops just to say they don’t like Mario.

Everyone knows we’ve whiffed on DBs going after elite prospects and missing.

Everyone knows this team has an athletic deficiency at LB. So we are writing off the class and Mario because none of the kids have turned out to be as good as Hill on Texas? The other kids on his team with access to the same facilities, coaches and nutrition haven’t turned out as good as him…

No excuse for the defense to be this bad. And every change we try something else becomes easy to manipulate.

The team has shown improvements in some areas and regression in others.

But trying to claim that other teams are getting this great production from Soph and Freshmen across the board and competing for a national title is fantasy.

A quick Google search would of shown this season is Sarks 4th year. His 3rd year was last year

 

[DTP]

While I feel the portal additions should definitely be a concern, especially at defensive back, it’s a bit too early to make any kind of conclusion regarding the last two high school classes. Especially since the expressed goal in 2023 was offensive linemen and defensive linemen in 2024. It’s unrealistic to first or even second year offensive linemen to not only take starting jobs but to excel. Francis Mauigoas are once a year or maybe less commodities. Same for defensive tackles. You’re just not going to get a ton of impact 18 or 19 year old linemen.

Now these positions were supposed to be filled with portal guys until the younger kids were ready. They’ve done a good job plugging holes on the offensive line. The guys they’ve brought in to start have all been capable starters. Defensively, it’s another story. Just way too many interior linemen have been brought in to play major minutes and have just flopped. I saw Thomas Gore making plays for Georgia Tech on Saturday but he couldn’t get on the field here. Branson Deen was a solid if unspectacular player. Our best DT last year was Leonard Taylor and depending on who you hear it from, he was run off by the staff. This year, Barrow has been all conference quality but CJ Clark and Marley Cook do nothing. Meaidor has to play out of position at DT because we keep whiffing on transfers.

Next year will tell the story. We need some of these Mario recruits to become significant contributors on both lines. No more needing to fill gaps at five or six different positions with transfers. It’s put up or shut up for these kids.

 

[nvlahos]

Mario and his staff (especially defensive) aren't good at finding, evaluating, and developing talent.

They hit on a few, but the majority of the defensive players from both HS and the portal are busts.

They need to seek external help on identifying contributors, or up the budget.

Maybe it’s time to move on from Big Joe, our DL, especially DTs look under developed

 

[WeBallinBoyz]

Next year will tell the story. We need some of these Mario recruits to become significant contributors on both lines. No more needing to fill gaps at five or six different positions with transfers. It’s put up or shut up for these kids.

1000%.

I’ve reiterated on numerous occasions (and within this thread) that these kids still have plenty of time to develop. Writing them off would be short sighted.

People just get upset and twist the word “non factor” with “bust”. I’m not calling them a bust. I’m saying they’re currently a non factor and can’t beat out other players that we know through various data points, aren’t good football players.

If we’re having this same discussion in 2025, then we have a really, really big problem. For now, it’s merely a warning. Just laying out the picture and mentioning how maybe 5-6 Mario recruited players have actually gotten better year over year, when there’s 75 or so kids of sample size.

That sample size isn’t set in stone, but for now, it’s massively disappointing to say the least. 5-6 players??

 

[nvlahos]

For 2025, we’re gunna need alot of guys to step up. Here’s an outlook

QB - Right now we have no one on the roster that can even come close to what Cam is doing. Don’t care how many times the D$ says the staff likes Emory. We need to land big in the Portal

RB - I doubt Martinez comes back for another year. Fletcher is a solid RB2 and a guy who can get chunk yards when the hole is there but not a game changer by any means. Mario missed on two big time Florida RBs in Cedric Baxter and Jerrick Gibson (both at Texas). Not sure what we’re doing in recruiting either as CJJ, Pringle and Ajay Allen are all similar small backs

WR - , really like what Kevin Beard has done here especially developing Jacolby the last two years. Horton looks like a stud for 2025, it seems like JoJo has the potential to be better than Jacolby, tbd on if Sam Brown stays but we have huge shoes to fill with Restrepo. Gotta hope Ray Ray can be the guy, if not you gotta land a top portal guy or win a big time WR recruiting battle for a true impact freshman (ie. vernell brown?)

TE - no concerns we have Studs. Riley Williams and Lofton should be next up if Arroyo leaves

OL - very solid. need the development and depth to continue. What will happen with guys like Samson, Kinsler, Tinalau, McCoy. Can they take the next development leap. We Will need another C in the portal

So just on offense we need a game changing QB, RB, and slot WR. All of which are not on the roster or in the recruiting class

 

[nvlahos]

Defense:

DE - Bain needs to get healthy. And we really need JT to develop Lightfoot, Blount, Pickett, McConathy, and Rudolph into studs. The talent is there, 2 or 3 out of the 5 need to be starter level ready by 2025. If you see Mario go portal here that would be a bad sign IMO

DT - lotta pressure on Moten (4th year) Horton (3rd) to be the guys in 2025 imo. And to give Scott and Artavious Jones another year to develop as 2nd string. Again it’s all about development, we have the talent. Can the DL coaches develop. I hope so because we have no big time recruits in the class currently. If Mesidor comes back (6th year) would be great for depth but he’s not a game changer

LB - Wes and Aguirre took small leaps this year, can they take another? Bobby Washington in year 3, it’s now or never for him? Cam Pruitt looks to be progressing. IMO Brock Schott could be a better LB than TE (yes cue all the great white Miami LB compares)

CB - OJ stud, Damari get healthy. Outside of that we’re in trouble. Really need Dylan Day and Robby Washington to develop. Saban wanted Robby as a DB, let’s see what he looks like with a year under his belt at the position. Mario needs to land Hanks and Picket here, no excuses

S - can Stubbs come in and start? Zayquan development will be huge.

IMO - it’s all about development and DB recruiting on Defense. Which is scary because this defensive staff has shown very little signs that they can develop. Probably need a portal Safety and proven CB but that’s hard to find. CB is a position where the right freshman can make impact right away (ie OJ)

 

[WeBallinBoyz]

Defense:

DE - Bain needs to get healthy. And we really need JT to develop Lightfoot, Blount, Pickett, McConathy, and Rudolph into studs. The talent is there, 2 or 3 out of the 5 need to be starter level ready by 2025. If you see Mario go portal here that would be a bad sign IMO

DT - lotta pressure on Moten (4th year) Horton (3rd) to be the guys in 2025 imo. And to give Scott and Artavious Jones another year to develop as 2nd string. Again it’s all about development, we have the talent. Can the DL coaches develop. I hope so because we have no big time recruits in the class currently. If Mesidor comes back (6th year) would be great for depth but he’s not a game changer

LB - Wes and Aguirre took small leaps this year, can they take another? Bobby Washington in year 3, it’s now or never for him? Cam Pruitt looks to be progressing. IMO Brock Schott could be a better LB than TE (yes cue all the great white Miami LB compares)

CB - OJ stud, Damari get healthy. Outside of that we’re in trouble. Really need Dylan Day and Robby Washington to develop. Saban wanted Robby as a DB, let’s see what he looks like with a year under his belt at the position. Mario needs to land Hanks and Picket here, no excuses

S - can Stubbs come in and start? Zayquan development will be huge.

IMO - it’s all about development and DB recruiting on Defense. Which is scary because this defensive staff has shown very little signs that they can develop. Probably need a portal Safety and proven CB but that’s hard to find. CB is a position where the right freshman can make impact right away (ie OJ)

I think you broke it down pretty well here. The pieces should be there to develop into a solid defense, outside of CB imo. We’re going to need at least two, probably three corners in the portal.

Safety, I think there’s something to work with, but again we’ll need 1-2 portal guys there.

What happens with development and coaching, remains to be seen.

 

[Felonious Monk]

2025 needs to be a statement class, both in the portal and HS recruiting. We need dudes that are ready to take over a game NOW, no more projects, no more “oh give him 2-3 years”.

The biggest issues I see lately is on the defense. Then I take a step back and realize we held GT to under 30, but we couldn't score more than 30.

I just want to see steady progress. I know there will be ups and down, but if we have an FSU style down, I'm done with college football for good.

 

[Samson Doyo]

Does anything taste better in the microwave? It’s being done right. What’s the expectation for development? A spring? A season? We’re closing a massive chasm in talent. Depth is huge. Injuries pile up. Some players in important positions have underperformed(LB espically IMO), but we have to ride with them for now. I have thoroughly enjoyed this season and think we win out to get in the tourney. Then it’s a second season. If I were Mario if we get in I call UConn basketball coach about tourney mindset and approach. My $0.02.

Go Canes!

 

[hoops156]

Defense:

DE - Bain needs to get healthy. And we really need JT to develop Lightfoot, Blount, Pickett, McConathy, and Rudolph into studs. The talent is there, 2 or 3 out of the 5 need to be starter level ready by 2025. If you see Mario go portal here that would be a bad sign IMO

DT - lotta pressure on Moten (4th year) Horton (3rd) to be the guys in 2025 imo. And to give Scott and Artavious Jones another year to develop as 2nd string. Again it’s all about development, we have the talent. Can the DL coaches develop. I hope so because we have no big time recruits in the class currently. If Mesidor comes back (6th year) would be great for depth but he’s not a game changer

LB - Wes and Aguirre took small leaps this year, can they take another? Bobby Washington in year 3, it’s now or never for him? Cam Pruitt looks to be progressing. IMO Brock Schott could be a better LB than TE (yes cue all the great white Miami LB compares)

CB - OJ stud, Damari get healthy. Outside of that we’re in trouble. Really need Dylan Day and Robby Washington to develop. Saban wanted Robby as a DB, let’s see what he looks like with a year under his belt at the position. Mario needs to land Hanks and Picket here, no excuses

S - can Stubbs come in and start? Zayquan development will be huge.

IMO - it’s all about development and DB recruiting on Defense. Which is scary because this defensive staff has shown very little signs that they can develop. Probably need a portal Safety and proven CB but that’s hard to find. CB is a position where the right freshman can make impact right away (ie OJ)

wes is in year 4 next year. i imagine this is who he is. hes regressed as the year has gone on too.

kiko leaving is addition by subtraction. he is god awful and should have been allowed to graduate and move on to the league last year. let them cut him 3 days into camp.

OJ is a beast.

Zay has to have a huge offseason.

i have zero faith in our D coaches to develop anyone. have we even developed a DT under joe?

 

[hoops156]

The biggest issues I see lately is on the defense. Then I take a step back and realize we held GT to under 30, but we couldn't score more than 30.

I just want to see steady progress. I know there will be ups and down, but if we have an FSU style down, I'm done with college football for good.

we held GT under 30 when they had a QB w no arms, telegraphed their entire offense, and shortened the game (they would have scored 35 if they didnt intentionally slide near the goal line at the end). this was marios UNC 400 yard rush game.

 

[Rellyrell]

what are basing you “Bama young players are developing quick” on?

A simple google search shows that that majority of contributors and statistical leaders on Bama this year are Jr. and SRs.

In terms of underclassmen they have Ryan Williams and 3-4 sophs who are getting burn as rotation players and contributing.

Friend; I think it’s a bit disingenuous to take a “Quick Look” at Bama’s roster from 2024-25, when the history of that program since 2008 have shown that their underclassmen play early & often. So r u going to forget Amari Cooper, Jordan Battle, Calvin Ridley, Caleb Downs, Julio Jones, D Smith, Henry, Tua, Hurts, etc etc etc etc etc etc.

I think it’s best this board remove itself from trying to compare us w/ other programs. We need to just focus on getting the most out of our guys & put them in the best position, but trying to compare us to the new standards of CFB is a slippery slope

 

[Felonious Monk]

we held GT under 30 when they had a QB w no arms, telegraphed their entire offense, and shortened the game (they would have scored 35 if they didnt intentionally slide near the goal line at the end). this was marios UNC 400 yard rush game.

In this game, figuring out which was worse is like arguing who the shortest midget is.

 

[DC3]

we held GT under 30 when they had a QB w no arms, telegraphed their entire offense, and shortened the game (they would have scored 35 if they didnt intentionally slide near the goal line at the end). this was marios UNC 400 yard rush game.

Don’t forget by the end of the game they were petty much down to their equipment manager at RB due to injuries

 

[hoops156]

Don’t forget by the end of the game they were petty much down to their equipment manager at RB due to injuries

oh right. thye lost their best player in the first quarter. his backup after that in the second. they had some walk ons play RB and then a guy who hadnt seen in game action since the beginning of FSU bc he got hurt in ireland

 

[Dghustla]

Friend; I think it’s a bit disingenuous to take a “Quick Look” at Bama’s roster from 2024-25, when the history of that program since 2008 have shown that their underclass men play early & often. So r u going to forget Amari Cooper, Jordan Battle, Calvin Ridley, Caleb Downs, Julio Jones, D Smith, Henry, Tua, Hurts, etc etc etc etc etc etc.

I think it’s best this board remove itself from trying to compare us w/ other programs. We need to just focus on getting the most out of our guys & put them in the best position, but trying to compare us to the new standards of CFB is a slippery slope

I agree with you. They do have a history of super elite players playing early. Which is by product of stacking high classes over and over again. I was simply countering the narrative in this thread that these other teams have an abundance of Sophs playing heavy snaps.


And I agree that we shouldn’t be trying to compare ourselves to other programs aside from wins and losses. We are running our own race and you can’t really compare what we are trying to accomplish to any other program that has been a half way functional organization over the last 20 years.

 

[The canesman]

Between graduation, NIL,entering the draft early, decommits and portaling out any team can be the next FSU. Lucky to get a one and done.

 

[BigDikDaddyFromCincinnati]

Some of the takes on this thread are just amazingly silly and ultra reactionary.
Here's one:

"This has been something in the works since the VT game. I just happened to post it now because the GT game was the product result of our development (or lack thereof) this season."
Does this mean you were actively hoping for a loss in order to post this? It sure seems like it.

Then there's this:
"How you win says a lot. How you look week to week says a lot. How you start games says a lot. Most of The “mopes” aren’t just reacting to this loss. It’s how the team has looked under Mario this year, last year."
Does this mean we don't count the first year (5-7)? Improvement in W/L record doesn't matter if you don't win convincingly enough? Considering the $EC treatment, dude might be on to something.

Then this one, loaded with several nuggets:
"Hope we find a stud QB, because what we have on the roster won't even get us to .500 next year. We were blessed to get Cam, we need to find another QB in that mold and truth be told our OL isn't anywhere near as good as last year. We can't impose our will running the ball on opponents, we're just not very physical and our defense stinks."
Didn't we beat Clemson with Emory? True freshman Emory? Didn't we hang with undefeated FSU with the same dude til he broke his arm?
Then it turns into bash the OL. Ok, fine. But we can't impose our will running the ball? We have averaged high yards per carry, but I guess if we aren't breaking records, we suck and we aren't FyziCaL.

Then this:
"10 games we are 9-1 and in total control of our destiny for the first time in I can’t remember how long. Someone’s gotta be doing something right."
I'm not sure how anyone could object to anything in this statement, yet....

Then:
"Not sure what the record has to do with it. We are having a nice season mainly due to older players not in the classes being discussed and portal acquisitions." replying to someone else who mentioned the record.
Not sure what the record has to do with it? Why in the fvck are we playing the games then? I always thought 12-0 was better than 10-2 and so on. Yes I get strength of schedule, optics, media bias, etc. The second sentence sort of reveals a little more about the poster.

I stayed off this site for the most part for the two days following the loss because I was not happy about the game and because I knew the stupidity would be thick on here. CiS did not disappoint. As a matter of fact, it exceeded my expectations. I mean here we are on November 12, 9-1, ranked #12 in the country with an AMAZING offense and a terrible defense. We control our own destiny. If I polled CiS last June and asked "Would you take 9-1, ranked #12 in the country in November," not one of you would say anything less than heII yes! Do we want more? Yup. Most of my ex-girlfriends wanted more also, but I'm not so blessed. The PTSD with some of you is incredibly out of control. Relax. Enjoy the ride. We are moving in the right direction, regardless of whether or not we look good enough winning.

Yes, I'm well aware that I'll get dragged for this post. I probably deserve it for pumping (mild) sunshine. Oh well. I once got slapped across the face and called a pig by the runner up at a wet T-shirt contest because I told her that I thought she should've won because she had a "great set of tidts."

 

[3FW]

In regards to running back, there's a disconnect between Dawson and MC. Martinez and Fletcher aren't build to be #1RBs and to make matters worse, they are not the right fit in this offense. We need someone with burst as soon as they get the ball and a 4.38-4.44 RB in this offense. It still bothers me that we keep trotting Martinez and Fletcher when we have 3 running backs that fit this scheme better.

We have a lot of problems, but RB isn’t one of them.

 

[cway313]

You guys are doing great.