RB Cooper Lutz transferring to Vanderbilt

[supp]

Outside of Taj (other issues, clearly), losing an experienced and speedy guy like Benson was the biggest hit. It'll be well nigh impossible to land someone from the portal who is 6'4 240 and can run a 10.7. Pity he left before finding out if the new OC would resuscitate the TE position in the offense.

Some kids pull their name out of the portal if they don't get the offers/attention they were looking for. I would imagine the ones that waited until after the season to submit their names are in a better position with the staff to reverse that decision.

 

[Cuse181]

Come on... I don't agree with this logic at all. In general societies increased sense of entitlement is getting out of hand in my opinion. I'm not against the players getting more rights than what has been in the past but the current set up is not good at all for the sport of college football and actually in quite a few cases, the knee jerk decisions don't seem like its a good decision for the players either. Often the grass isn't greener. Any kid going to college typically plans to stay for 4 years. Heck going to one school and getting to know people for 4 years and building lasting relationships was the best 4 years of my life. And the differences between the old set-up and new have nothing to do with being amateurs or professionals. Yes you and I had the opportunity to leave the school of choice and head to another one, so did college athletes. And non-athletes do it while needing to pay to go to school. These kids are getting money to be there and also have the NIAL so they can potentially make additional money. I'll certainly admit they have added responsibilities as well though. In the previous set-up its not like we were forcing student athletes to stay at schools differently than normal students. They could still choose to leave the university and go elsewhere. You just need to sit out a year of playing the sport. And it that season you lift and get better in other ways in your time off.

And if you ARE going to give them eligibility to play the next year, at a minimum they need to change the window or time period for changing teams. Allowing in season transfers is dumb, if you do that you have to sit out a year. You have players doing it as soon as possible and before 4 games so they can get a jump on other players for landing spots and not have the current season count which I hate. Make a time frame so its the same for everyone, and make it so the window is in the off season just after the season is up to a month before the following season.

But the one year sitting out rule was purposefully punitive, it wasn’t created to help the players, it was created to punish those that choose to leave. That “lift and get better” nonsense is a justification for a bad rule, not why it was actually put in place. Just because things were done a certain way before doesn’t make them right.

I agree that they should wait till the end of the season to announce their transfer, but if the situation isn’t advantageous, why should they have to throw away a redshirt year? If they play 4 games and it doesn’t work out and they want to excel in football it should be their decision whether or not they play out the season. They major in football with a minor in school, the quicker we realize that the quicker we can stop pretending like we know what is best for these adults.

 

[GreekFreak]

Classy message. Good luck Cooper and congratulations on your degree!

 

[Bayside44]

But the one year sitting out rule was purposefully punitive, it wasn’t created to help the players, it was created to punish those that choose to leave. That “lift and get better” nonsense is a justification for a bad rule, not why it was actually put in place. Just because things were done a certain way before doesn’t make them right.

I agree that they should wait till the end of the season to announce their transfer, but if the situation isn’t advantageous, why should they have to throw away a redshirt year? If they play 4 games and it doesn’t work out and they want to excel in football it should be their decision whether or not they play out the season. They major in football with a minor in school, the quicker we realize that the quicker we can stop pretending like we know what is best for these adults.

If they do that the cut off the scholarship, meal plan, classes, etc. Would end the semester with no credits. (unless they can pay out of pocket)

 

[IthacaMatt]

I think GCA and Cole are the two hardest losses. Lutz more for special teams impacts. None are formally starters, but play enough snaps to have a lot of value in games.

But again, people should wait to see what we backfill them with. The portal doesn't just taketh.

Dino doesn't seem to embrace the portal to the extent he should. I think we are down about 11 scholarship positions now, counting the 5 left open coming into 2021, 11 transfers and 5 additions.
Plus, we have so many holes in our incoming class. Why not blast the portal for 10 kids??

 

[Chip]

Dino doesn't seem to embrace the portal to the extent he should. I think we are down about 11 scholarship positions now, counting the 5 left open coming into 2021, 11 transfers and 5 additions.
Plus, we have so many holes in our incoming class. Why not blast the portal for 10 kids??

How do we know we’re not?

I think most of them are still in there.

Some may decide by early signing but others might take longer to decide. This is all unchartered waters, at least at this volume. Even the recruiting sites are having trouble tracking it the way they do with HS recruits.

 

[NJneer12]

Dino doesn't seem to embrace the portal to the extent he should. I think we are down about 11 scholarship positions now, counting the 5 left open coming into 2021, 11 transfers and 5 additions.
Plus, we have so many holes in our incoming class. Why not blast the portal for 10 kids??

We've had plenty of transfers come in. I'm not sure what you mean by embrace?

100% expect Dino and every other coach to embrace and utilize the portal this year. Some may be using this time for HS before early signing day. But afterwards, it should be all out chaos.

 

[RandomGuy]

I certainly hope that is the case with Benson. The horse might be out of the barn with Lutz and C-A.

I doubt it. I thought Benson was gone last year.

 

[orangenauburn]

Dino doesn't seem to embrace the portal to the extent he should. I think we are down about 11 scholarship positions now, counting the 5 left open coming into 2021, 11 transfers and 5 additions.
Plus, we have so many holes in our incoming class. Why not blast the portal for 10 kids??

Im not quite at that panic level yet, but I'm almost there.

I think we do ok on the high school front the next week or so, and probably miss on our main transfer targets but still bring in 3-4.

 

[Dinkyspond]

Dino doesn't seem to embrace the portal to the extent he should. I think we are down about 11 scholarship positions now, counting the 5 left open coming into 2021, 11 transfers and 5 additions.
Plus, we have so many holes in our incoming class. Why not blast the portal for 10 kids??

I am watching the Utah St.-San Diego St. Mountain West Championship right now on a rebroadcast. Utah St. won the game and is 10-3 going into their bowl. They just showed a graphic, 11 of SDSU's 22 starters are transfers. It is the only way SYR can climb out of this hole. It's the only way Babers can get some players in here and save his job.

 

[IthacaMatt]

We've had plenty of transfers come in. I'm not sure what you mean by embrace?

100% expect Dino and every other coach to embrace and utilize the portal this year. Some may be using this time for HS before early signing day. But afterwards, it should be all out chaos.

We've had far fewer incoming than outgoing, by my count. That's part of why we have no depth; all these constant departures.

 

[JRHEETER]

I certainly hope that is the case with Benson. The horse might be out of the barn with Lutz and C-A.

Benson is the one least likely to have a spot with this team if he wanted to come back.

His parents were very vocal about how awful they thought Syracuse was, how awful they thought other players were etc.

Dino was well aware of this as well.

Benson and the Benson family have no spot in Syracuse.

One game his family almost got into it with Stefon Thompson’s family as they had heard enough from the Benson’s.

Trust me……. He gone!

 

[0.2 YNdeeR]

Benson is the one least likely to have a spot with this team if he wanted to come back.

His parents were very vocal about how awful they thought Syracuse was, how awful they thought other players were etc.

Dino was well aware of this as well.

Benson and the Benson family have no spot in Syracuse.

One game his family almost got into it with Stefon Thompson’s family as they had heard enough from the Benson’s.

Trust me……. He gone!

I mean, they're not wrong ... especially from the standpoint of a TE. SU football is struggling, and while Benson may not have been perfect, I can sympathize with those who think Gilbert criminally underutilized the TE position.

 

[NJneer12]

We've had far fewer incoming than outgoing, by my count. That's part of why we have no depth; all these constant departures.

I disagree.

Thats not really embracing or not embracing though...its just math without looking at quality.

Look at Dinos incoming transfers during his time here. He may not like it like most coaches but he embraces it IMO. He has too!

We don't have depth because the 2
3 and 4th strings aren't talented enough/developed enough yet to be competitive in the ACC. Every team gets 85 schollys. Some have A LOT of PWO, walk ons.

The guys incoming have really made an impact for Cuse. Some from some really good programs.. Who that has left Cuse under Dino has emerged as a big player in P5?

Now I need to find a list of transfers in and out last 5 years.

 

[Chip]

I disagree.

Thats not really embracing or not embracing though...its just math without looking at quality.

Look at Dinos incoming transfers during his time here. He may not like it like most coaches but he embraces it IMO. He has too!

We don't have depth because the 2
3 and 4th strings aren't talented enough/developed enough yet to be competitive in the ACC. Every team gets 85 schollys. Some have A LOT of PWO, walk ons.

The guys incoming have really made an impact for Cuse. Some from some really good programs.. Who that has left Cuse under Dino has emerged as a big player in P5?

Now I need to find a list of transfers in and out last 5 years.

I think we've had depth issues because we consistently have low ranked recruiting classes. People tend to focus on the positives in those classes (which is fine, we do get some very good players), but not enough of them.

Many of the less talented players in those classes either never prove good enough, or end up injured, which can often happen to players like that.

As for transfers, Dino has certainly used it. AET, Jackson, Adams, Bleich, Shrader.

The real question is how he does this year. This is the first time the portal is really getting used and abused in college football. We need to be able to recover what we've lost. Ideally to upgrade.

 

[SuFTW]

I mean, they're not wrong ... especially from the standpoint of a TE. SU football is struggling, and while Benson may not have been perfect, I can sympathize with those who think Gilbert criminally underutilized the TE position.

Yes, because publicly badmouthing other players and Syracuse is the answer.

Edit: From your subsequent reply you were not referring to the above. All good.

2nd edit: Apparently it may not even have been the Bensons.

 

[PhatOrange]

Benson is the one least likely to have a spot with this team if he wanted to come back.

His parents were very vocal about how awful they thought Syracuse was, how awful they thought other players were etc.

Dino was well aware of this as well.

Benson and the Benson family have no spot in Syracuse.

One game his family almost got into it with Stefon Thompson’s family as they had heard enough from the Benson’s.

Trust me……. He gone!

yeah maybe UAlbany or Colgate will re-offer him, because his choices were FCS when Syracuse came through for him. Good riddance to the parents.

 

[PhatOrange]

Some kids pull their name out of the portal if they don't get the offers/attention they were looking for. I would imagine the ones that waited until after the season to submit their names are in a better position with the staff to reverse that decision.

Good point. I'll be interested to see who's still here come spring semester. They'll all be paying their own way if they're here and not on the football team.

 

[NJneer12]

I think we've had depth issues because we consistently have low ranked recruiting classes. People tend to focus on the positives in those classes (which is fine, we do get some very good players), but not enough of them.

Many of the less talented players in those classes either never prove good enough, or end up injured, which can often happen to players like that.

As for transfers, Dino has certainly used it. AET, Jackson, Adams, Bleich, Shrader.

The real question is how he does this year. This is the first time the portal is really getting used and abused in college football. We need to be able to recover what we've lost. Ideally to upgrade.

All great points. Recruiting is a factor but hasn't that always been the case for the program? I've always thought this was more of a development type program than a high recruiting program...please correct me if I'm wrong. IMO that's where the stagnation of facilities over the turn of the century has really affected development.

This is new for every other coach as well across college. There's no deadline for these guys, no singing day, etc. You're right in that it all depends on who Dino brings in. I know Dino has already offered a handful of transfers at OL, WR, DL. So probably won't get to fully analyze this until February, maybe even right before Spring practice.

 

[Chip]

All great points. Recruiting is a factor but hasn't that always been the case for the program? I've always thought this was more of a development type program than a high recruiting program...please correct me if I'm wrong. IMO that's where the stagnation of facilities over the turn of the century has really affected development.

This is new for every other coach as well across college. There's no deadline for these guys, no singing day, etc. You're right in that it all depends on who Dino brings in. I know Dino has already offered a handful of transfers at OL, WR, DL. So probably won't get to fully analyze this until February, maybe even right before Spring practice.

It is, or should be, a development type program. But look at some of the weaker spots.

QB - would you rather have Sam Hartman/Kenny Pickett (classic developed QBs) or Tommy DeVito? That was a big miss, or a terrible job of developing. Either way.

WR - Taj was a flameout due to the midseason philosophy shift. But look at previous classes and guys who should have been upper class but either transferred or never worked out. RTB, Cam Jordan, Nykeim Johnson. We still had Sharrod, but that never really developed. Queeley is ok, but I doubt he keeps DCs up at night. So now we're down to the next group of young WRs and hoping they're developed properly. If nothing else, they certainly had recruiting offers from schools we'd like to see chasing them.

TE - yeah, moving on

OL - Injuries devastated the group last year, which also killed a year of development. All it took was one weak link to sink the line.

DB - A development school losing 3 DBs to the NFL who had, respectively, 2 years, 2 years, 1 year of eligibility left (and that ignores the free Covid year) is a big blow. Losing Cole, who was 3rd corner, is a big loss. Really need Garrett and Duce back, and to stay healthy.


Now you look at 2021 areas of strength that could quickly become areas of weakness.

RB - Tucker is as good as they come. Then what? A freshman who redshirted after a full year serious injury. An incoming true freshman? (who looks great, but still).

LB - Losing GCA, and lost Kpoga to suspension. 3 solid starters, might be a couple of good backups, not really sure. Need Jones to stay.

DL - I call it "strength" because in a 3 DL set, we had 4 super seniors. That's exactly what you want a development program to do. But now what? How many remaining that are going into their 3rd or 4th year. 1? Who had a life threatening injury?

We need a LOT of portal help for next year. Starters can keep us competitive in September, but if people think the 2021 November was bad...

 

[0.2 YNdeeR]

Yes, because publicly badmouthing other players and Syracuse is the answer.

Who said that? lol. Of course I don't think those things (if they went on) are healthy for a team. But ... if you read my posts, you would know that I wasn't addressing Benson's family or his conduct in the locker room. My concern is how a TE with his size and speed could be pretty much ignored (5 receptions all year) in an offense that desperately needed short passes. That isn't to say he was a perfect blocker or never had a drop. But the reality is, over the last 3 seasons our offense has gone just as our TE has gone: last in the ACC in passing; 21 ACC losses (5-21); and our OC just got canned. So does it surprise me to hear that Benson was frustrated? Not a bit.

 

[SuFTW]

Who said that? lol. Of course I don't think those things are healthy for a team. But ... if you read my posts, you would know that I wasn't addressing Benson's family or his conduct in the locker room. My concern is how a TE with his size and speed could be pretty much ignored (5 receptions all year) in an offense that struggled to score points and couldn't hit downfield receivers? That isn't to say he was a perfect blocker or never had a drop. But the reality is, over the last 3 seasons our offense has gone just as our TE has gone: last in the ACC in passing; 21 ACC losses (5-21); and our OC just got canned. So does it surprise me to hear that Benson was frustrated? Not a bit.

Thanks for clarifying. You had said they were not wrong in reply to a post that mentioned the family’s badmouthing. It wasn’t clear what you were referring to.

 

[JRHEETER]

yeah maybe UAlbany or Colgate will re-offer him, because his choices were FCS when Syracuse came through for him. Good riddance to the parents.

Yup I literally remember it, I had to call the ushers to break them up.

They were shocked that it was parents fighting in the parents section.

I don’t remember a lot of what happens at games but I certainly remembered that!

 

[qdawgg]

Benson is the one least likely to have a spot with this team if he wanted to come back.

His parents were very vocal about how awful they thought Syracuse was, how awful they thought other players were etc.

Dino was well aware of this as well.

Benson and the Benson family have no spot in Syracuse.

One game his family almost got into it with Stefon Thompson’s family as they had heard enough from the Benson’s.

Trust me……. He gone!

Those are the type of transfers I don’t mind.

 

[NJneer12]

It is, or should be, a development type program. But look at some of the weaker spots.

QB - would you rather have Sam Hartman/Kenny Pickett (classic developed QBs) or Tommy DeVito? That was a big miss, or a terrible job of developing. Either way.

WR - Taj was a flameout due to the midseason philosophy shift. But look at previous classes and guys who should have been upper class but either transferred or never worked out. RTB, Cam Jordan, Nykeim Johnson. We still had Sharrod, but that never really developed. Queeley is ok, but I doubt he keeps DCs up at night. So now we're down to the next group of young WRs and hoping they're developed properly. If nothing else, they certainly had recruiting offers from schools we'd like to see chasing them.

TE - yeah, moving on

OL - Injuries devastated the group last year, which also killed a year of development. All it took was one weak link to sink the line.

DB - A development school losing 3 DBs to the NFL who had, respectively, 2 years, 2 years, 1 year of eligibility left (and that ignores the free Covid year) is a big blow. Losing Cole, who was 3rd corner, is a big loss. Really need Garrett and Duce back, and to stay healthy.


Now you look at 2021 areas of strength that could quickly become areas of weakness.

RB - Tucker is as good as they come. Then what? A freshman who redshirted after a full year serious injury. An incoming true freshman? (who looks great, but still).

LB - Losing GCA, and lost Kpoga to suspension. 3 solid starters, might be a couple of good backups, not really sure. Need Jones to stay.

DL - I call it "strength" because in a 3 DL set, we had 4 super seniors. That's exactly what you want a development program to do. But now what? How many remaining that are going into their 3rd or 4th year. 1? Who had a life threatening injury?

We need a LOT of portal help for next year. Starters can keep us competitive in September, but if people think the 2021 November was bad...

For sure. This is an excellent breakdown. 2020 and this past year with all the attrition hasn't been very good. Add in the guys who left early for the NFL. This is with the super seniors that stayed for 2021.

I don't ever see recruiting getting into the top half of the ACC anytime soon unless this admin wants to invest a few million more per year in coaches/analysts/media/recruiting.

They are putting their money in facilities and have been slowly increasing the salary pool (I think?..it seems so at least). But they have to invest hard to keep up in the upper half I think.

As much as we all think this new age of college football is going to hurt programs like Syracuse, there are opportunities to find new ways to build a roster and attract young kids and college players into coming here, slim that they will be. Now is Dino and ADJW that guy? This is the first year..so we'll see. This is the year to add quality and quantity for depth. Take advantage. But the idea Dino doesn't embrace transfers or not won't fully be answered until summer.