Bunk Moreland Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 13 minutes ago, Assistant Regional Manager said: Whether you like it or not, this sport now operates with a de facto salary cap. You can't pay up for the #1 recruiting class and also pay up for 10 great portal players because you are worried about inexperience. It doesn't work both ways. You'll notice the schools who typically load up in the portal (Ole Miss, Tech, etc.) aren't also signing top 10 HS classes. If you just take a portal player at every spot you feel you are inexperienced at, you are basically flushing money down the toilet for all the guys at that position you invested in, some for multiple years as they developed as backups. Sure, there are certain spots where a portal guy is needed but just because you are losing your starting LG doesn't automatically mean you have to take one from the portal. What if the backup LG was making 300k the last 2 years? Are you cool with continuing to pay him back for a third year in a row and also paying a guy in the portal? Decisions have to be made about where to allocate resources and cost/benefit analysis has to be run at various spots. Guys don't play for free. You’re absolutely right, and this staff clearly prioritizes HS recruiting more than other programs (Ole Miss, etc)—as they should! But I also know that this 2024 team doesn’t get to the semifinals without badass, experienced talent out of the portal like Golden and Mukuba. Maybe the coaches are seeing what emerges in the spring portal, or maybe they’re trusting their ability to develop elite talent. Or maybe their NIL is stretched too thin on retention to make a big splash in the portal. I trust this staff implicitly, I do. Let’s hope the young talent develops quickly, though, because on paper this offense doesn’t even come close to resembling the level of experienced depth from 2024. Let’s not forget that the 2023 Michigan team, the 2024 OSU team—they were loaded with talent, but they were also super experienced. If we don’t go hard in the spring portal and supplement the existing roster with more experience at key offensive positions, I’m probably readjusting my expectations for next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AusMOJO Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 I know they don't typically want portal OL, but this guy seemed like he could be a huge boon on the interior. Sucks to keep missing out on guys, but not much you can really do. Having him inside with Campbell at the other G and Hutson at C, would've been crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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