2024 Transfer Portal Thread (Merged Zeek's New Thread)

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

On 12/29/2023 at 12:41 PM, WFE12 said:

 

He didn't have any trouble speeding dating all them G5 transfers he brought in last year

[shabby 1,958]

39 minutes ago, NWALA Tiger said:

Here is what I would do regarding QB.

Get a QB from the portal. KJ Jefferson would be a perfect fit for Freezes offense.  He has 1 yr left. We have seen what PT brings to the table. Does anyone actually think PT is gonna improve that much during yr 2? I will take my chances on KJ for 1 yr vs another yr of PT. That will bridge the gap to Hank or Walker or whoever.  I've seen what PT brings and watched enuf of KJ to think it would be an upgrade.  This clown show this year that Hugh calls an offense isn't just on the WR. Anyone else notice the change of body language when Hank was in?

 

KJ would be an experienced qb with a lot of upsife if we can manage to protect him. Has there been any talk of this as a realistic possibility?

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

6 minutes ago, shabby said:

KJ would be an experienced qb with a lot of upsife if we can manage to protect him. Has there been any talk of this as a realistic possibility?

No, just me dreaming. 

[AUwent 3,777]

UCF is currently the favorite. I’m serious, I’m ok with letting RW go (seems like a long shot anyway) if it means throwing the book at KJ.

Edited January 1 by AUwent

[aujohnson 300]

I think after what we saw yesterday, that if Holden and Payton both left because we brought in a transfer that no one would second guess the decision. 
Whatever hope that was left for a significant improvement next year from Payton took a big hit and Holden didn’t show anything better. 
If this imaginary transfer ran either of them off and we flopped I don’t think many would say we should have stuck with what we had.  
 

At this point I think lots of people would be fine just seeing what we could do with Hank at the wheel. 
 

Sorry, yesterday was just brutal. 😣

[shabby 1,958]

3 minutes ago, aujohnson said:

I think after what we saw yesterday, that if Holden and Payton both left because we brought in a transfer that no one would second guess the decision. 
Whatever hope that was left for a significant improvement next year from Payton took a big hit and Holden didn’t show anything better. 
If this imaginary transfer ran either of them off and we flopped I don’t think many would say we should have stuck with what we had.  
 

At this point I think lots of people would be fine just seeing what we could do with Hank at the wheel. 
 

Sorry, yesterday was just brutal. 😣

If what we saw from Hank was a true reflection then we would have a pretty decent quarterback. But it's hard to tell after one quarter of Play From The New Guy

[Quietmaninthecorner 1,949]

16 minutes ago, shabby said:

If what we saw from Hank was a true reflection then we would have a pretty decent quarterback. But it's hard to tell after one quarter of Play From The New Guy

 

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

55 minutes ago, AUwent said:

UCF is currently the favorite. I’m serious, I’m ok with letting RW go (seems like a long shot anyway) if it means throwing the book at KJ.

It wouldn't take that much to get KJ. Several QB in the portal are rated higher 

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

46 minutes ago, aujohnson said:

I think after what we saw yesterday, that if Holden and Payton both left because we brought in a transfer that no one would second guess the decision. 
Whatever hope that was left for a significant improvement next year from Payton took a big hit and Holden didn’t show anything better. 
If this imaginary transfer ran either of them off and we flopped I don’t think many would say we should have stuck with what we had.  
 

At this point I think lots of people would be fine just seeing what we could do with Hank at the wheel. 
 

Sorry, yesterday was just brutal. 😣

Agreed

[AU57 67]

31 minutes ago, Quietmaninthecorner said:

 

Good arm and poise. Staring down the receiver every throw

[JDUBB4AU 5,136]

Kaiden Salter . Is he in the portal ? Please tamper if not . Freeze has to bring in a freaking transfer QB . 

[roe4christ 943]

Here are the 10 highest rated transfer portal QB's at the moment (on 247), that have not committed to another school:

Cameron Ward  (Washington St. -predicted to Miami)

Malachi Nelson (USC)

DJ Uiagalelei (Oregon St. - predicted to FSU)

Jordan McCloud (James Madison)

KJ Jefferson (Arkansas)

Matthew Sluka (Holy Cross)

Ty Thompson (Oregon)

Jaden de Laura (Arizona)

Chandler Morris (TCU)

Bryson Barnes (Utah)

I personally believe that #1-5 could/would be a better option than Payton Thorne.  #6-10 would be the same or worse.  Having said that, if you can't get one of the top 5, you roll with what you have.  If you are willing and fortunate to get one of those (probably McCloud and Jefferson are only realistic possibilities) (if PT and HG don't like it, you let them walk), you bring him on board and ride with transfer portal addition, either PT or HG (whichever does not leave - hopefully both don't), HB and WW.  At the same time, the OL has to be addressed and improved.......especially on pass blocking.  I think the WR will be improved regardless of how green the HS recruits will be.  2 of the Freeze 4 will be impact players from the get go.  Either Freeze has to do the play calling exclusively or you have to replace Montgomery with a much better OC.  In my opinion, all these things have to happen in order for us to improve on offense.  I think we will be fine on defense, if we can add a couple of DL from the portal that can be better run stoppers to take the pressure off the LB's and DB's.

There could be new QB transfer portal additions in the coming days as the bowl games wrap up, but this is what's available as of now.

As has been mentioned, we have multiple issues on offense, not just the QB play.   The OL deficiencies (pass blocking in particular), play calling, WR deficiencies (route running and catching the ball in particular).  All have to be addressed (Captain Obvious).  We'll see how things play out.  We are on the clock now.  There has to be improvement in year 2 in several of these areas (not expecting miracles given what Freeze started with) for me and a majority of the fan base to be encouraged moving forward.

These are my final post season thoughts.  Looking forward to seeing how the team looks and what is being reported regarding progress after spring ball.

[JDUBB4AU 5,136]

5 minutes ago, roe4christ said:

Here are the 10 highest rated transfer portal QB's at the moment (on 247), that have not committed to another school:

Cameron Ward  (Washington St. -predicted to Miami)

Malachi Nelson (USC)

DJ Uiagalelei (Oregon St. - predicted to FSU)

Jordan McCloud (James Madison)

KJ Jefferson (Arkansas)

Matthew Sluka (Holy Cross)

Ty Thompson (Oregon)

Jaden de Laura (Arizona)

Chandler Morris (TCU)

Bryson Barnes (Utah)

I personally believe that #1-5 could/would be a better option than Payton Thorne.  #6-10 would be the same or worse.  Having said that, if you can't get one of the top 5, you roll with what you have.  If you are willing and fortunate to get one of those (probably McCloud and Jefferson are only realistic possibilities) (if PT and HG don't like it, you let them walk), you bring him on board and ride with transfer portal addition, either PT or HG (whichever does not leave - hopefully both don't), HB and WW.  At the same time, the OL has to be addressed and improved.......especially on pass blocking.  I think the WR will be improved regardless of how green the HS recruits will be.  2 of the Freeze 4 will be impact players from the get go.  Either Freeze has to do the play calling exclusively or you have to replace Montgomery with a much better OC.  In my opinion, all these things have to happen in order for us to improve on offense.  I think we will be fine on defense, if we can add a couple of DL from the portal that can be better run stoppers to take the pressure off the LB's and DB's.

There could be new QB transfer portal additions in the coming days as the bowl games wrap up, but this is what's available as of now.

As has been mentioned, we have multiple issues on offense, not just the QB play.   The OL deficiencies (pass blocking in particular), play calling, WR deficiencies (route running and catching the ball in particular).  All have to be addressed (Captain Obvious).  We'll see how things play out.  We are on the clock now.  There has to be improvement in year 2 in several of these areas (not expecting miracles given what Freeze started with) for me and a majority of the fan base to be encouraged moving forward.

These are my final post season thoughts.  Looking forward to seeing how the team looks and what is being reported regarding progress after spring ball.

Great take here. Thank you for putting this together. The James Madison player would be huge. 

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

I keep hoping I will log onto here and see we are making a serious run at a portal QB. Looks like a pipe dream at this point . I refuse to believe that KJ wouldn't be an upgrade over PT. I don't think PT has the support of the players either.  If PT had progressed any as the season went along , I could see him being the guy next yr. He didn't.  He got worse IMO

Edited January 1 by NWALA Tiger

[roe4christ 943]

I think we all had high expectations of PT when he joined the team based on his MSU stats.  I think we all envisioned him as a pocket passer for the most part.  He didn't start out well the first half of the season.  I think we expected him to be accurate with his passes and to pass more often.  That didn't happen.  Partly due to PT, partly the play calling, and partly due to WR not catching the ball.  Joint responsibility by all parties.  Half way through the season, it seemed that PT started to figure out the read-option more.  We discovered that Robbie was not the only one that could run the ball.  From that point forward it looked like PT trusted the WR's less and preferred to run the ball more, limiting the pass attempts.

To be honest, its up in the air if PT can get better or figure things out.  Will he get better play calling, will he be able to trust his WR's and will he start focusing on pass first, run second (likely depends on if the OL can pass block or not).  I really don't know.  Difficult situation to be in with a stud crew of WR's coming in.  Freeze has to figure it out.  If the passing game continues the way it ended, the WR's will portal and Freeze will be on the hot seat.  I do believe he understands that next season must show a vast improvement over this one or things will get uncomfortable quickly.  He has from Jan. 1 - Aug. 31 to get things figured out.  Hopefully he finishes the portal strong and reels in RW.  I don't think Montgomery is the answer at OC, so either call all the plays yourself or go get a very good OC.  Then you can focus on recruiting and portal shopping and trust your coordinators to handle their sides of the ball. 

[WFE12 9,191]

58 minutes ago, NWALA Tiger said:

I keep hoping I will log onto here and see we are making a serious run at a portal QB. Looks like a pipe dream at this point . I refuse to believe that KJ wouldn't be an upgrade over PT. I don't think PT has the support of the players either.  If PT had progressed any as the season went along , I could see him being the guy next yr. He didn't.  He got worse IMO

I’m wondering if he is one of the players with the “loose leash”

[AUwent 3,777]

1 hour ago, NWALA Tiger said:

I keep hoping I will log onto here and see we are making a serious run at a portal QB. Looks like a pipe dream at this point . I refuse to believe that KJ wouldn't be an upgrade over PT. I don't think PT has the support of the players either.  If PT had progressed any as the season went along , I could see him being the guy next yr. He didn't.  He got worse IMO

In fairness, it usually takes about midweek before the latest recruiting info makes its way to non-premium sites.

[TexasTiger 13,090]

If only we could go to the portal and find a QB to replace the last one we got from the portal.

[Quietmaninthecorner 1,949]

6 hours ago, AU57 said:

Good arm and poise. Staring down the receiver every throw

(dang,  this was much harder to explain than see. )

The ball seems like is comes off his hand at a strange angle.   for some reason,  to me,  it looks like the ball  comes out of his grip on an angle slightly to his right.     I am not sure if this is a form problem or proper.   His balls seem to float to his right just a little bit.   

  check the vid and let me know what y'all think?

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

8 hours ago, TexasTiger said:

If only we could go to the portal and find a QB to replace the last one we got from the portal.

Na, let's just keep the one we got. No need to try to improve. It's amazing we want to improve the roster. I guess that just applies to WR. We run most of the wr we got from the portal off and got 2 more from the portal. Guess no improvement needed in QB room.

Edited January 1 by NWALA Tiger

[gr82be 14,495]

12 hours ago, AU57 said:

Good arm and poise. Staring down the receiver every throw

He went to secondary receiver at least twice if not three times from what I could see. I’m not or never was a QB but if I looked at my primary and saw that he was going to be open and I had confidence I could make the throw, which he did, then there’s no need for progression reads. Hugh said he had instincts and anticipation of where to throw the ball. Auburn fans don’t really know what that looks like so it’s confusing a little bit. 🤔

[WFE12 9,191]

 

[toddc 13,194]

 

[Gowebb11 9,417]

The best possible scenario for PT was to have a really solid game vs Maryland. We could’ve gone into the offseason feeling better about 2024, especially with the young studs we have coming in at the WR position. The worst case scenario happened instead. It was a dazed and confused performance. Now, no matter what rave reviews we hear or see from spring ball, there will be no fan optimism for the offense going into 2024. Hugh has some very important decisions to make in the near future. 

[PigskinPat 2,579]

I wanted us to pursue Ward when he transferred from Incarnate Word. I won’t get my hopes up, but would be thrilled if we could snag him.