2024-25 Portal

[PhatOrange]

How many of the 12 playoff teams started portal QBs? One report I saw stated 43% of FBS teams were expected to start portal QBs this year. An incredible number.

2 of the final four had portal QBs, ND and OSU.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

No offense to those guys but they sort of make my point. Nixon is a back up. JRS hasn't done much yet. And Washington is okay. The guys that made a difference we seem to have got before the spring.

I think JRS and Nixon if healthy can really help though. I know most are questioning the portal route that Fran is taking but is it because he likes the guys he has or is it a financial issue? I have no idea, either way it appears we are clearly going to go the developmental route to fill positions of need.

We shall see.

 

[richmondcuse03]

I think JRS and Nixon if healthy can really help though. I know most are questioning the portal route that Fran is taking but is it because he likes the guys he has or is it a financial issue? I have no idea, either way it appears we are clearly going to go the developmental route to fill positions of need.

We shall see.

He likes what we have but we're not done in the portal either.

 

[kcsu]

When JRS was a go he made impact plays. He did a lot in the time he had. More than Meeks did in his prior time at UGA. Very comfortable with him penciled in as a starter.

I watched him at CSU and the kid has great skills. Big strong and fast

 

[baggerbob]

I think they're going to wait until after spring ball.

They have a ton of young guys already in place who are freshmen, R-FR and Sophomores who have the kind of size Fran is looking for. I think he probably wants spring to size them up, see who can help us this year, and where we need strengthening.

I think this year he probably has to be a bit careful with the NIL spending. And, in the spring, you know for certain about JUCO eligibility. If we want difference makers, the price is going up as it becomes better known how much money players are getting (or not getting, as the case may be ...), so we have to keep our powder dry for maybe 5-8 guys who are likely to be not just contributors, but leaders.

We need some new leaders on defense with Wax and Barron gone. Diggs never really had the impact I hoped for, honestly, even though statistically he did fine. We need some new dogs on that side of the field.

We have younger players like Mcdaniels who might surprise in the spring. You also have James, if he can't get on the field at running back, let's try him at safety.
Would love him and Mcdaniels back there. A modern version of Darius and Jones.
Big enough to hit like a LB, but fast enough to run with all the receivers.

 

[bnoro]

Here is the link with the full interview by Jackson Holzer with Mike McAllister. It basically reaffirms what many have been saying. Mike is very close to the program.

The internet telephone game in Syracuse is an interesting thing. I wouldn't be surprised if Mike heard it here first and is building on that premise.

 

[bnoro]

We have younger players like Mcdaniels who might surprise in the spring. You also have James, if he can't get on the field at running back, let's try him at safety.
Would love him and Mcdaniels back there. A modern version of Darius and Jones.
Big enough to hit like a LB, but fast enough to run with all the receivers.

McDaniels played 4 games this year and had 2 tackles. I think we should probably not compare him to Donovin Darius.

 

[PhatOrange]

He likes what we have but we're not done in the portal either.

We might not be done in the portal but it needs to be quality. Pickins are slim right now.

 

[MamesJungro]

We need linebackers and secondary players badly. If McDonald is playing major minutes next year against good teams then we are in trouble

 

[baggerbob]

McDaniels played 4 games this year and had 2 tackles. I think we should probably not compare him to Donovin Darius.

No one is saying they currently are just they have the measurables that Fran likes and a great coach to teach them.
Neither Darius or Jones were what they turned out to be in their freshman year.

 

[NJCuse97]

McDaniels played 4 games this year and had 2 tackles. I think we should probably not compare him to Donovin Darius.

I think he was comparing James to Darius. Sheesh. Read much?

 

[anomander]

I think they have to evaluate the tons of young guys they already have on the roster.
As another poster said, these guys have had a year and a half of the culture already.

He recruited guys who fit his size and speed profile. Not a lot of smurfs or guys who have to gain 30-40 lbs to be able to play.

I think he has to get a good look at them, since the FR / R-FR / SO group makes up about 60% of the roster. You have to see who has it and who doesn't.

Yes, a lot of big fish will be taken from the portal by spring, but a lot of JUCOs will have just ensured their eligibility, and they will have some of the mature bodies we might lack on the lines or on defense. But we have to be getting good enough players that there is a viable path for them to become starters, or else we will just turn into somebody else's feeder program.

We clearly need help on defense as a starting point.

to be fair, even Dabo at Clemson couldn’t sustain their success by just recruiting HS and relying on player development. Plus they had top 10 classes to work with. Right now we haven’t really brought in a portal player of note besides Thomas. I know what Fran said about focusing on HS recruiting but i think you need a solid 80/20 share of fill-in , plug and play, portal players to be successful in todays game. So far what we lost due to graduation and the few guys in the portal have not been replaced any where near for we need to be competitive next season. Also, Fran doesn’t seem like he will redshirt freshman so that also factors into player development . We’re not bringing in the kids who are ready to play as a freshman but are playing them anyways to keep them happy. imo i’m not sure how that recipe works in todays college football?

 

[NJCuse97]

No one is saying they currently are just they have the measurables that Fran likes and a great coach to teach them.
Neither Darius or Jones were what they turned out to be in their freshman year.

Just to say it, Darius was always lightning fast and a nasty hitter. His football smarts got better. Neither of the two you mention strike me as a Darius level physical impact. DD was the scariest guy on the field (and one of the nicest I met off).

 

[SUFaninNJ]

We might not be done in the portal but it needs to be quality. Pickins are slim right now.

We don't know what will be available in the Spring.

 

[NJCuse97]

to be fair, even Dabo at Clemson couldn’t sustain their success by just recruiting HS and relying on player development and they had top 10 classes to work with. Right now we haven’t really brought in a portal player of note besides Thomas. I know what Fran said but i think you need a solid 80/20 share of fill-in , plug and play, portal players to be successful in todays game. So far what we lost due to graduation and the few guys in the portal have not been replaced any where near we should expect to be competitive next season.

I don't think you can make a Dabo comparison or reference without also recognizing how much coaching talent he lost. He lost some ability to coach up, and also with that, some ability to ID the right talent and culture fit. All his past players were also HS recruits.

I think the culture fit will be increasingly valuable as coaches/recruiters look for younger players who will buy in and want to stay in the face of short term financial opportunity or pressure. This is not just DART, but DART seems to have come to mean what I am saying.

If you look at the OG Miami, I think you will see/hear that was a culture buy-in. They felt FL kids, in particular South FL were undervalued and bought in for the home team "us against the world" mindset. They don't have that anymore, and have mistakenly misinterpreted it as "Swag at all costs" and taken to flailing or buying new talent to try and find the right formula again. Good or bad, culture really matters, perhaps more than ever.

 

[anomander]

Here is the link with the full interview by Jackson Holzer with Mike McAllister. It basically reaffirms what many have been saying. Mike is very close to the program.

no offense to Mike, but i don’t think proven FCS all-americans are looking at Ibn McDaniel and Kerr, who played in a game or 2 and thought to themselves i don’t want to compete. Same thing with Samuels and Singleton, promising true Freshman for sure, but guys who haven’t played a college snap. Pretty much guarantee that isn’t factoring into the decision that heavily.

 

[IthacaMatt]

to be fair, even Dabo at Clemson couldn’t sustain their success by just recruiting HS and relying on player development. Plus they had top 10 classes to work with. Right now we haven’t really brought in a portal player of note besides Thomas. I know what Fran said about focusing on HS recruiting but i think you need a solid 80/20 share of fill-in , plug and play, portal players to be successful in todays game. So far what we lost due to graduation and the few guys in the portal have not been replaced any where near for we need to be competitive next season. Also, Fran doesn’t seem like he will redshirt freshman so that also factors into player development . We’re not bringing in the kids who are ready to play as a freshman but are playing them anyways to keep them happy. imo i’m not sure how that recipe works in todays college football?

Oh yeah, I agree. That's why I said I think there need to be 5-8 more guys added from the portal or JUCO. Three or four of them need to be leaders, and the others solid rotation guys with size and experience.

 

[PhatOrange]

We don't know what will be available in the Spring.

Guys who stuck around for spring ball and got beat out at their positions

 

[wfschrec]

Guys who stuck around for spring ball and got beat out at their positions

Plus there will be guys from playoff teams probably jumping … their seasons aren’t over yet.

 

[anomander]

I don't think you can make a Dabo comparison or reference without also recognizing how much coaching talent he lost. He lost some ability to coach up, and also with that, some ability to ID the right talent and culture fit. All his past players were also HS recruits.

I think the culture fit will be increasingly valuable as coaches/recruiters look for younger players who will buy in and want to stay in the face of short term financial opportunity or pressure. This is not just DART, but DART seems to have come to mean what I am saying.

If you look at the OG Miami, I think you will see/hear that was a culture buy-in. They felt FL kids, in particular South FL were undervalued and bought in for the home team "us against the world" mindset. They don't have that anymore, and have mistakenly misinterpreted it as "Swag at all costs" and taken to flailing or buying new talent to try and find the right formula again. Good or bad, culture really matters, perhaps more than ever.

Let’s not pretend he didn’t fill those coordinator positions with top shelf talent most of the country would have taken. Culture is a great. It’s a huge component for long-term success but we won this year because we had some really really talented players. Culture wont be sufficient in replacing guys like McCord(?), OG, Meeks, LGQ, Washington, Wax, Barron, Barnes, etc . Give me talent first and then a great culture to go with it. Again, no matter who Clemson lost, they are the perfect example of needing to hit a certain percentage of plug and plays from the portal and HS recruiting development because who knows if these HS recruits will even be here next season….see hyped HS recruit .Marcellus Barnes.

 

[CuseLegacy]

Center In the portal.

 

[dasher]

We don't know what will be available in the Spring.

It doesn't seem likely to me that quality starters at p-4 schools are going to be in the portal in the spring.

 

[Oakland]

2 of the final four had portal QBs, ND and OSU.

About a year and a half ago, someone posted stats about the transfers of top QBs and it was eye opening (worth looking up) - probably has gotten worse since then.

 

[vegasnick]

Center In the portal.

I have friends who have spoken to Jack Hasz, there is definitely mutual intersest here. Something to watch closely

 

[721Comstock]

Center In the portal.

Cuse can Hasz center??