2023 Portal Discussion Thread

[AUINSY 2,228]

Apparently coaches in the portal too 🤣🤣

[gr82b4au 5,568]

1 hour ago, JDUBB4AU said:

I would post the crying laughing Pedro Pascal gif if I knew how here lol…

 

perfectly sums up Auburn football the last 4 years 

Edited May 2, 2023 by gr82b4au

[AEAugirl 9,635]

8 hours ago, AUDevil said:

why Samford is absorbing the buyout

And maybe they should because if not for their piss poor decision making in hiring Leath, Greene, etc we would possibly be in a better spot. 

[AUwent 3,778]

1 minute ago, AEAugirl said:

And maybe they should because if not for their piss poor decision making in hiring Leath, Greene, etc we would possibly be in a better spot. 

Gus’s contract ran through ‘24 and Potato’s through ‘26, correct?

[AEAugirl 9,635]

Just now, AUwent said:

Gus’s contract ran through ‘24 and Potato’s through ‘26, correct?

Its a period of Auburn football I’ve tried to purge from my memory so I’m not 100% sure on that.  But I think you are right on Harsin I just can’t remember Gus’s deets.  

[JDUBB4AU 5,138]

8 hours ago, gr82b4au said:

 

perfectly sums up Auburn football the last 4 years 

MY MAN !!!!!! This made my day right here… Hilarious 

[JerryAU 1,694]

3 hours ago, AEAugirl said:

And maybe they should because if not for their piss poor decision making in hiring Leath, Greene, etc we would possibly be in a better spot. 

Leath turned out to be a poor hire, but I liked Auburn's decision to pull from outside the family to hire him and I hoped he'd bring in a fresh perspective and sound leadership.  It ended up he was entirely too involved in athletics and sadly AU had to pay him an additional $1MM hush money when he was terminated.

I do not think Greene was poor hire considering what he had to clean up from Jay Jacobs. When Greene took his position, he had to deal with 2 major investigations and 2 lawsuits staring him in the face.  Sunny Golloway (baseball) + FBI investigation w/Chuck Person leading to lengthy NCAA investigation + Title IX investigation leading to Cory & Clint Myers leaving + an Asst Track coach's lawsuit for discrimination. 

Greene had a LOT of crap to deal with and I credit him with finally getting everyone on the same page and getting the FOF built.  He was praised on this board for cutting the athletic budget 10% across the board and folks loved his fiscal responsibility and the alpha male persona he brought to athletics.  But times change and obviously people who were once praised later become the villain.  

 

[Mikey 16,777]

5 minutes ago, JerryAU said:

Greene had a LOT of crap to deal with and I credit him with finally getting everyone on the same page and getting the FOF built.

This much I agree with. The Harsin hire was bad, but on paper, at the time, it looked pretty good. With me, that lasted until Harsin had been on campus about a month. For some it took longer.

Greene's biggest failure, IMHO, was extending the contract of women's basketball coach Flo. Extended at the point when she should have been fired.

[ArgoEagle 1,831]

C'mon guys please. This is the Transfer Portal thread. Nothing to do with Harsin, Greene, Gus nor Bo...  Could we please get back on topic?

Edited May 2, 2023 by ArgoEagle

[bigbird 60,580]

13 hours ago, icanthearyou said:

The "stop the Steele" movement may have been an epic mistake

IMO, it was.

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

27 minutes ago, bigbird said:

IMO, it was.

I'm not sure we had a way of knowing that at the time

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

Since Thompson hasn't committed yet. Are we to assume it's Thorne?

[Lotto 224]

I always loved Steele but unsure about him as a head coach.

[JerryAU 1,694]

14 hours ago, AuCivilEng1 said:

I read a theory that guys may be shopping their NIL if they don’t like the numbers. For the love of god, don’t tell me that we are low balling kids to the point where we aren’t going to be able to compete for our top targets. 😑

Guys (and their parents) would be fools to not shop for the best NIL package they can get right now.  I posted weeks ago that maybe OTV should reallocate NIL funds to sweeten the pot for a portal QB.  Some responses lead to limited funds available, our lack of WR's and questionable oline  and who Rev Freeze thinks is worth the $$. 

What is Thompson/Thorne worth?  What's the going NIL rate for a late portal QB?  Is $1MM/yr guaranteed NIL enough?  

 

Edited May 2, 2023 by JerryAU

[TigerVII 108]

3 minutes ago, NWALA Tiger said:

Since Thompson hasn't committed yet. Are we to assume it's Thorne?

I think we just have to be patient.  Thorne graduates this weekend, so I don't believe he will visit before Sunday/Monday at the earliest.  If we are interested in Thorne, then getting his commitment probably won't happen for another week or so.  If we aren't interested in Thorne, then we are probably negotiating with Thompson.  I just hope we get one or the other (preferably the healthiest one).

[alabastertiger 617]

This is like the Christmas eve.   We are waiting to open our presents.   Will be exactly what we wanted 

Or will it be socks and underwear

[W.E.D 11,070]

Little worried about Thorne if he's the guy. The Sparty offense, and most of its skill pieces, seemed to only perform well when defenses had to load the box and try to stop the best running back in college football. Once KW3 left, they all looked average. 

Do like the fact he has two years left and isn't currently hurt, but everything else seems to point to Casey Thompson being better

[gr82b4au 5,568]

23 minutes ago, W.E.D said:

Little worried about Thorne if he's the guy. The Sparty offense, and most of its skill pieces, seemed to only perform well when defenses had to load the box and try to stop the best running back in college football. Once KW3 left, they all looked average. 

Do like the fact he has two years left and isn't currently hurt, but everything else seems to point to Casey Thompson being better

Unfortunately we are is such dire straights that beggars can’t be choosers. Ha I wish either would commit yesterday. 

[aucanucktiger 1,805]

47 minutes ago, JerryAU said:

Guys (and their parents) would be fools to not shop for the best NIL package they can get right now.  I posted weeks ago that maybe OTV should reallocate NIL funds to sweeten the pot for a portal QB.  Some responses lead to limited funds available, our lack of WR's and questionable oline  and who Rev Freeze thinks is worth the $$. 

What is Thompson/Thorne worth?  What's the going NIL rate for a late portal QB?  Is $1MM/yr guaranteed NIL enough?  

 

Bingo. NIL is there and most college players wont see NFL $. I'd think NIL contracts would be getting more creative (e.g. we'll pay you a higher NIL now if you agree to give us 1% of your rookie jersey sales if NFL drafts you, etc).

[W.E.D 11,070]

17 minutes ago, gr82b4au said:

Unfortunately we are is such dire straights that beggars can’t be choosers. Ha I wish either would commit yesterday. 

Don't disagree.  I think both are upgrades.

[metafour 4,969]

59 minutes ago, W.E.D said:

Little worried about Thorne if he's the guy. The Sparty offense, and most of its skill pieces, seemed to only perform well when defenses had to load the box and try to stop the best running back in college football. Once KW3 left, they all looked average. 

Do like the fact he has two years left and isn't currently hurt, but everything else seems to point to Casey Thompson being better

Thorne was apparently playing through multiple injuries last season:

https://www.mlive.com/spartans/2023/04/payton-thorne-has-no-regrets-about-playing-through-injuries-last-season.html

Anyway, you have three top QB evaluators on staff. If they like Thorne better, it's for a reason.

I don't put too much stock into the whole "MSU fans said ..." analysis. We actually could have easily landed Casey Thompson last season, but if you remember there were a lot of AU fans scoffing at that because Texas didn't want him anymore lol.

One thing that's potentially significant: Thorne has considerably more pass reps than Thompson has had. 

[gr82b4au 5,568]

5 minutes ago, metafour said:

but if you remember there were a lot of AU fans scoffing at that because Texas didn't want him anymore lol.

True. I think being picked 13th out of 14 teams in the SEC preseason (only ahead of Vandy) with AU having statistically the worst QB room in the SEC (by a large margin) has changed just about every AU fan’s minds. 
Everyone is desperate, even those that laughed last year. 

[WarEagle1983 2,185]

12 minutes ago, metafour said:

Thorne was apparently playing through multiple injuries last season:

https://www.mlive.com/spartans/2023/04/payton-thorne-has-no-regrets-about-playing-through-injuries-last-season.html

Anyway, you have three top QB evaluators on staff. If they like Thorne better, it's for a reason.

I don't put too much stock into the whole "MSU fans said ..." analysis. We actually could have easily landed Casey Thompson last season, but if you remember there were a lot of AU fans scoffing at that because Texas didn't want him anymore lol.

One thing that's potentially significant: Thorne has considerably more pass reps than Thompson has had. 

Part of my concern with Thorne is the injuries. Yes, it's a part of the game but we just went through guessing and questioning if one of our QBs was healthy most of the season until it was declared he couldn't play. I'd prefer Casey b/c he does have some mobility in his game. With our OL being a big unknown, I think we will need a QB with some ability to elude. 

[Potatooooooes!! 1,375]

4 minutes ago, WarEagle1983 said:

Part of my concern with Thorne is the injuries. Yes, it's a part of the game but we just went through guessing and questioning if one of our QBs was healthy most of the season until it was declared he couldn't play. I'd prefer Casey b/c he does have some mobility in his game. With our OL being a big unknown, I think we will need a QB with some ability to elude. 

I thought Casey had injuries too?

[WarEagle1983 2,185]

2 minutes ago, Potatooooooes!! said:

I thought Casey had injuries too?

You're right. I just like that Casey is more mobile. If we had less questions at OL, I'd prefer Thorne. However, either would be an upgrade for us.