We are 11 under 85 going into December. I think we have 9 or so kids that effectively get the extra year of eligibility thanks to the COVid rules. How many of the bonus year kids return remains to be seen, but hopefully all of them (Mensah, Rose, Van Demark, D. Harris, Morgan, Fortt, K. Williams, Harrell, Keating).
74 existing (including the 9 mentioned above)
+15 planned Dec 20 signing
89 total which is 4 over the limit
I would expect perhaps 2 to 4 under grad scholarship kids to depart before the second Feb signing deadline (normal churn for academics, playing time, etc). If we have a few more departures I could see Randy taking 1 or 2 more HS kids in Feb and 1 or 2 transfers and have a roster with 87 to 92 scholarship kids which will be a good 5 to 8 more than we usually have going into fall ball. I know this state is on a budget crisis mode, but my hope is that they wont bat an eye about being a few scholarships over for once. Heck by mid 2021 the usual attrition will probably get us back below 85 again rather quickly.
We'll see what Randy says on the December signing day. Maybe he will share some specifics on what they would like to accomplish with the Feb signing date.
Judging by the GAs on twitter who seem to be tasked with finding transfers, the program is on the hunt for a grad safety as a top priority with some interest in WRs, OL and CBs as well. If we have surprise QB departure we will definitely work to quickly fill that space as well.
