Portal Talk

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

I am good with taking a few more spots for transfers out of the 22 class, especially if they are guys with 2-3 years or more left of eligibility. In that case, you really aren't losing anything.

If all goes how you hope, you get 3 years out of a player from HS. Transfers come in already having CFB experience and still have a few years. Plus, they will have used their 1 time transfer pass so they are less likely to transfer again. 

I hope Harsin wears the portal out over the next few years. Grab 5-8 transfers a year and sign 15-20 HS kids. Basically let go of you lower rated HS recruits and replace with portal guys. This would also help some of the smaller schools and divisions as well because those low -mid 3 star guys that the fill the classes of the big dogs will be available to go else where. Trickles down hill over time. 

[Mikey 16,658]

On 5/15/2021 at 7:32 AM, gr82be said:

An Athlete is Only Recruited if He:

• Was provided an official visit to the campus;
• Had arranged, in-person, off-campus contact with a coach; or
• Was sent an NLI or other written scholarship offer.

The status of recruited or un-recruited is also school specific. So a school could call an athlete an unlimited number of times, have them on campus for unlimited unofficial visits, and evaluate them as many times as possible without changing the athlete’s status to recruited.

That's a different definition of unrecruited than what was applied to the AU basketball player. Maybe different circumstances get different definitions?

[Mikey 16,658]

On 5/15/2021 at 9:21 AM, bigbird said:

Why anyone of us would fight so hard against something that benefits Auburn is just strange.

Whether it helps or hurts AU is immaterial. What the current rule states or future rule will state is all that matters because in the end that's what AU will be able to do.

[fredst 9,064]

[Zeek 16,658]

Y'all crack me up.

We'll fill the 2021 class with transfers.

Any transfers after that count towards the 2022 class.

It's not that big of a deal.

We're likely getting Finley (QB), Ingram (RB), an OL player, Harris (DE), Kaufman (S/N), Brown (LB), and I wouldn't be surprised to see a WR added as well. That would be 4 players we'd count against the 2022 class (not bad when you consider Finley has 4 years, Ingram has 4 years, Harris has 4 years, Kaufman has 3-4, and Brown has 4 as well). When we took Oscar Chapman we did a similar roll-back strategy.

[W.E.D 11,070]

2 minutes ago, Zeek said:

Y'all crack me up.

We'll fill the 2021 class with transfers.

Any transfers after that count towards the 2022 class.

It's not that big of a deal.

We're likely getting Finley (QB), Ingram (RB), an OL player, Harris (DE), Kaufman (S/N), Brown (LB), and I wouldn't be surprised to see a WR added as well. That would be 4 players we'd count against the 2022 class (not bad when you consider Finley has 4 years, Ingram has 4 years, Harris has 4 years, Kaufman has 3-4, and Brown has 4 as well). When we took Oscar Chapman we did a similar roll-back strategy.

So there was an old saying that new coaches shouldn't go too deep into JUCO to get kids and just build through HS classes.  I feel like the portal transfer rules have helped coaches acquire talent a little more quickly by taking transfers that showed promise at other schools.

Without the current state of the transfer portal, Auburn with new foreign coach plus covid, would be at such a massive disadvantage.  It's really helping us.  

[W.E.D 11,070]

9 hours ago, Mikey said:

That's a different definition of unrecruited than what was applied to the AU basketball player. Maybe different circumstances get different definitions?

 

9 hours ago, Mikey said:

What the current rule states

[McLoofus 35,182]

37 minutes ago, Zeek said:

(not bad when you consider Finley has 4 years, Ingram has 4 years, Harris has 4 years, Kaufman has 3-4, and Brown has 4 as well)

Huge. 

[au701948 1,001]

8 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Huge. 

If we can pull the that list of players in it will be a very good end to a shaky 2021 Class.

[McLoofus 35,182]

1 minute ago, au701948 said:

If we can pull the that list of players in it will be a very good end to a shaky 2021 Class.

It really would reshape the conversation. It wouldn't be the miracle cure for our woes and we'd still be a cycle or two behind, but it would accelerate the healing process I think. 

It's a fascinating confluence of circumstances. Coaching change, portal volatility, temporary rule changes due to the pandemic and maybe additional temporary or even permanent rule changes... I feel for folks who are too scared of change to enjoy it. 

 

 

[oracle79 3,569]

8 hours ago, Zeek said:

Finley has 4 years, Ingram has 4 years, Harris has 4 years, Kaufman has 3-4, and Brown has 4 as well

Nice. I have no problem with taking transfers as long as they have 3 or more years left.

[McLoofus 35,182]

14 hours ago, oracle79 said:

Nice. I have no problem with taking transfers as long as they have 3 or more years left.

It's like managing debt while putting some away towards retirement at the same time. Like you said, the short term pain is inevitable, but we can still mitigate it. 

[Zeek 16,658]

Some OTs in the portal

[W.E.D 11,070]

47 minutes ago, Zeek said:

Some OTs in the portal

Search the first few and it seems none of them have played in any games

[Zeek 16,658]

22 minutes ago, W.E.D said:

Search the first few and it seems none of them have played in any games

I want the 6'9" guy because he's six-feaking-nine lol

[W.E.D 11,070]

7 minutes ago, Zeek said:

I want the 6'9" guy because he's six-feaking-nine lol

Seems like the oddly tall guys are too tall and not athletic enough.  The King Dunlaps seem rare

[W.E.D 11,070]

Doesn't seem that good:

 

Quote

Among the schools to offer a scholarship to the towering 6-9, 320-pound tackle were Missouri, Cincinnati, Kansas, Maryland, Washington State, Memphis and Iowa State among others. 247 lists his lead recruiter as Vince Marrow.

For the last two years, Lewis has been mainly relegated to special teams. He wasn’t expected to be on the two-deep depth chart heading into next season, so you can’t fault him for wanting to find a school that offers him an easier path to immediate playing time.

 

[Mikey 16,658]

On 5/18/2021 at 8:12 AM, Zeek said:

We'll fill the 2021 class with transfers.

Any transfers after that count towards the 2022 class.

It's not that big of a deal.

It's not that big of a deal now, but it's a huge departure from the way things have been done up until now. Do you think the transfers we are bringing in are on the talent level of the high school guys we won't be able to recruit next year because their slots are already filled?

I'm uneasy about guys who, for whatever reasons, failed to work out at their former school. Look at the ones who have left AU this time. I don't see any of us crying because they are gone, I don't see any I'd want back. Why do we think we are getting better out of the portal than the people who are picking up our leavings?

Edited May 20, 2021 by Mikey

[au701948 1,001]

I do hope we can find some suitable matches for OT for a little depth. They surely won't be 4 or 5-Star rated but being healthy would be a plus.

[Zeek 16,658]

1 hour ago, Mikey said:

It's not that big of a deal now, but it's a huge departure from the way things have been done up until now. Do you think the transfers we are bringing in are on the talent level of the high school guys we won't be able to recruit next year because their slots are already filled?

I'm uneasy about guys who, for whatever reasons, failed to work out at their former school. Look at the ones who have left AU this time. I don't see any of us crying because they are gone, I don't see any I'd want back. Why do we think we are getting better out of the portal than the people who are picking up our leavings?

Donovan Kaufman - coaching change (would have started and many believe he was the best player on Vandy's team. More importantly, he still has 4 years of eligibility so he's more valuable than a high school recruit in my opinion.

Tony Fair - moving up from a lesser program to improve draft stock. He does ding us a little in the long run because he's a one-and-done but he gives us an immediate starter (especially with some departures and Jeremiah Wright's injury).

Eku Leota - did a really good job pressuring the quarterback despite not getting starter-like reps. He became a starter by the end of the year and still has three years to play.

Bydarrius Knighten - this could be a questionable one. I don't think he starts necessarily but he should see a tremendous amount of time on the field (he can play Safety, Corner, Nickel) and likely special teams value as well. He's another one-and-done so I can see this as a little bit of a hit as well.

Dreshun Miller - should start opposite of McCreary and should be a draft pick one-and-done player. He does have two years to play though so if he somehow does end up staying that's some awesome value. He's at least an instant-impact guy that helps us win now. He was a power 5 starter with great ratings so I think he's a win as well.

Ultimately, that last sentence, is what I think a lot of this is about. Trying to win now and not have the new coach slump. My thought is that if you're a new staff trying to fill a class and poor roster management it makes sense. These guys have tape that shows how they translate to the college level while high school kids are always going to be a gamble (how do they handle living away from home, college classes, and so on and so forth).

I agree I don't want it to be our long term plan but the guys likely counting against the 2022 class all have a lot of eligibility left. Finley has 4 years, Brown has 4 years, Ingram has 4 years, the Kansas DE has 4 years, and that's a pretty good haul.

[80Tiger 899]

1 hour ago, Mikey said:

It's not that big of a deal now, but it's a huge departure from the way things have been done up until now. Do you think the transfers we are bringing in are on the talent level of the high school guys we won't be able to recruit next year because their slots are already filled?

I'm uneasy about guys who, for whatever reasons, failed to work out at their former school. Look at the ones who have left AU this time. I don't see any of us crying because they are gone, I don't see any I'd want back. Why do we think we are getting better out of the portal than the people who are picking up our leavings?

The only one that left that I do not understand is Newkirk. He was in rotation here and would be starter here next year and a pretty good performer. Outside of that the running back that went to FSU would have been nice to keep for depth.

[Gowebb11 9,352]

1 hour ago, Mikey said:

It's not that big of a deal now, but it's a huge departure from the way things have been done up until now. Do you think the transfers we are bringing in are on the talent level of the high school guys we won't be able to recruit next year because their slots are already filled?

I'm uneasy about guys who, for whatever reasons, failed to work out at their former school. Look at the ones who have left AU this time. I don't see any of us crying because they are gone, I don't see any I'd want back. Why do we think we are getting better out of the portal than the people who are picking up our leavings?

It varies. Things didn't work out for Joe Burrow at OSU but look at the results LSU. For some of the guys it’s not about things not working out. It is about the chance to compete in the SEC, or play for a coach with NFL ties, or at a school with better resources. What I like about the approach this staff is taking is they’re getting some guys with 3 or 4 years of eligibility and only a couple of one and dones. 

[W.E.D 11,070]

30 minutes ago, Zeek said:

Donovan Kaufman - coaching change (would have started and many believe he was the best player on Vandy's team. More importantly, he still has 4 years of eligibility so he's more valuable than a high school recruit in my opinion.

Tony Fair - moving up from a lesser program to improve draft stock. He does ding us a little in the long run because he's a one-and-done but he gives us an immediate starter (especially with some departures and Jeremiah Wright's injury).

Eku Leota - did a really good job pressuring the quarterback despite not getting starter-like reps. He became a starter by the end of the year and still has three years to play.

Bydarrius Knighten - this could be a questionable one. I don't think he starts necessarily but he should see a tremendous amount of time on the field (he can play Safety, Corner, Nickel) and likely special teams value as well. He's another one-and-done so I can see this as a little bit of a hit as well.

Dreshun Miller - should start opposite of McCreary and should be a draft pick one-and-done player. He does have two years to play though so if he somehow does end up staying that's some awesome value. He's at least an instant-impact guy that helps us win now. He was a power 5 starter with great ratings so I think he's a win as well.

Ultimately, that last sentence, is what I think a lot of this is about. Trying to win now and not have the new coach slump. My thought is that if you're a new staff trying to fill a class and poor roster management it makes sense. These guys have tape that shows how they translate to the college level while high school kids are always going to be a gamble (how do they handle living away from home, college classes, and so on and so forth).

I agree I don't want it to be our long term plan but the guys likely counting against the 2022 class all have a lot of eligibility left. Finley has 4 years, Brown has 4 years, Ingram has 4 years, the Kansas DE has 4 years, and that's a pretty good haul.

Yeah, I don't agree that we are taking kids that failed at other schools. 

On future commits, the KU kid seemed to do pretty well as a RsFr and is coming closer to home/better school.

I'm on the fence with the TAMU LB and the CMU RB.  Neither really excite me and I'd rather take more talented HS kids vs a transfer.  At least both are essentially freshman and they are here in 21 vs 22.  Some benefit, sure. But they aren't going to transfer again so we need to make sure they are going to good contributors

[Zeek 16,658]

9 minutes ago, W.E.D said:

Yeah, I don't agree that we are taking kids that failed at other schools. 

On future commits, the KU kid seemed to do pretty well as a RsFr and is coming closer to home/better school.

I'm on the fence with the TAMU LB and the CMU RB.  Neither really excite me and I'd rather take more talented HS kids vs a transfer.  At least both are essentially freshman and they are here in 21 vs 22.  Some benefit, sure. But they aren't going to transfer again so we need to make sure they are going to good contributors

Brown is the head scratcher for me other than we probably think McClain/Wooten/Pappoe all leave after this year and Brown will have been at practices and in the system for a year by then.

[steeleagle 2,945]

59 minutes ago, W.E.D said:

Yeah, I don't agree that we are taking kids that failed at other schools. 

On future commits, the KU kid seemed to do pretty well as a RsFr and is coming closer to home/better school.

I'm on the fence with the TAMU LB and the CMU RB.  Neither really excite me and I'd rather take more talented HS kids vs a transfer.  At least both are essentially freshman and they are here in 21 vs 22.  Some benefit, sure. But they aren't going to transfer again so we need to make sure they are going to good contributors

You got to remember, that more than likely our 21 and 22 recruiting haul will not be the best it can be, just bc this staff is so new, and just now getting to develop HS coaches and player relationships that seem to be a key factor in these top recruits decision making. 

So Harsin is smart, and in bringing these transfers who have played, and even started and succeeded, with multiple years left to play college ball that gives HArsin some players that can compete in 21 and 22. That's better than bringing in lower HS recruits that we settled on.

Now 2023 is the biggest recruiting year for Harsin, to see if thus group of coaches can deliver in bringing in a top 10 recruiting class..

But for now, just look at these transfers as a blessing for a team that needs depth and possible starters for this and next year.