When you sit down at a blackjack table in Vegas, it's too soon to know whether you will win money or lose money that night. It' s not, however, too soon to know how the game was designed and whether the odds are in your favor or against you.
It was this year.........
Continuing with the analogy… If you plan to sit at that blackjack table without knowing how the game was designed or what your odds are… you are very likely to lose money that night.
In a previous post I said that there are 10-15 programs we wont compete with any time soon or maybe ever. Then there is a second group down from those top schools that UConn is in with regards to boosters and fan support.
UConn is not even close to a "second group" just outside of top 10-15 for boosters. Donors are dropping huge money on NIL and facilities all over P5 and G5 and below. Hell one donor dropped $60 million on the Binghamton baseball field.
Can we all agree that the most important position on the field is QB? Look at what is happening to P5 QBs. The 4* kid that is not starting is transferring. For schools like UConn, they are getting much easier access to higher rated QBs than ever before. Better QB play means better team.
Agree, for a program like UCONN we will have access to some talent that we probably could not recruit directly out of high school.
It’s not the existence of the portal it is the change in rules for it and NIL which change how it is used by programs
Preach... Opportunity is knocking for us to go grab a P5 level QB through the portal again... Last time we had one was when we had Zach Frazer... Let that sink in for a minute folks... I think we've been so conditioned with being a low level, losing FBS program for so long that our fanbase on this board seems to talk themselves into believing we don't deserve to get better... Fact is we deserve better... And we have the resources now (FINALLY) to make that happen...
They also bring in elite freshman talent each year. Some of it works out. Some not so much. Clemson is losing its 2-year starter because they had a freshman qb who they think is better and an incoming freshman they think is going to be even better than the him. Notre Dame’s starter who went 8-2 is in the portal because they have at least 3 guys they think will be better next year. Programs like UConn and most schools to be honest, fall somewhere below that. BC has a qb they think might be better than the starter for most of the year, so he is moving on. But they don’t have 2 or 3. UConn might have a guy or bring in a guy they rate better than an incumbent. In which case that one most likely will move on. And it is true that a few players will move up, or move laterally for pt. But I read that even most P5 to P5 transfers are typically downward. More like Ohio State to Syracuse than Ohio State to Alabama. On occasion there is a high profile lateral move or upward move but those are the exception.
This is not true. Bama has gone there, primarily for skill/speed. tOSU - Justin fields, period. Michigan patched holes. They don’t need 20 guys like we did this year, but they use it like a pro team uses free agency - plugging holes where needed.
They want to recruit directly off the rosters of the "lesser" schools.
We definitely need more at TE... Joly was great as a pass catcher, but we kinda struggled there otherwise I think... Other than that, the only other positions we've offered so far are RB (most recent), OL, LB... and we do need help at LB.. we're losing 3 guys at that level, 2 of which who contributed a ton on the field (Swenson & Buoyer Randle)... OL always seems to have turnover as well, so no surprise there
My guess is that this is what happens when your team is actually good? Don't recall ever worrying about who we might lose to the portal. Haven't learned how to just be ok with losing a player who played big minutes and then replace with another who will start this year.
There is no need to cheat as it is legal and top players are already getting those numbers.
The point I was making is that Ohio St., Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, and Clemson are not focused on the portal. They are focused on recruiting the 5* and 4* HS kids. Here are the scholarship transfers (not including a couple of JUCOs) on the rosters:
I agree that donors are spending money at many schools, but there is proof that UConn has very big donors based on the private facilities that UConn has built. NIL has existed for a few years now and our programs are doing very well. We have figured it out as well as most schools so far.
You obviously don't follow this stuff. UConn is way way way behind in NIL. These collectives that were announced have been around for years at other schools including FCS and lower. A lot of that is because of state legislation.