Resigned Kansas State coach Chris Klieman discusses why he "retired." Portal management got to him.

https://themercury.com/k_state_sports/id-die-if-i-kept-doing-this-job-former-k-state-fb-coach-talks-about/article_213a7517-5d35-4d71-9658-4f97136a52ce.html

Obviously Saban has talked about the current state of affairs.   Saban was 3-3 in his 6 CFP championship games.   It makes one wonder whether his record would have been impacted if he had the constant churn of roster that coaches face today? Would his teams have made 6 appearances?

He always lost guys to the NFL, but what if he was also losing 15-20 more guys voluntarily entering the portal?   (As of this morning with Moga, Oregon has 15 guys that entered)

On a positive note we just landed a former 5-star TE transfer from Penn State. This is probably why Ploog hit the portal today.

Dan Lanning actively clears space for transfers and recruits out of high school. He’s not the only one. College football programs are no longer in the business of giving four year scholarships. They cut players for various reasons, but mostly because of lack of improvement.

I’m sure DL had some tough conversations with some these transfers telling them they’re not in his future plans. Others went looking for a starting job and rightfully so. Florence, Fields, Laulea and Lopa can start at a lot of places.

Purchase might be the only one he may have tried to convince to stay, but with Matayo and Teitum coming back and Nasir Wyatt making big plays Blake may have saw the writing on the wall.

I think Purchase is a "me" kind of guy. I could see instances when Matayo, TT and Purchase were on the field at the same time all game.

That trio is better suited to assist the DTs in shutting down running games. All three are decent in pass coverage.

But that's just me. I will never question what Lanning wants to do (anymore). I will simply state my preference.

The defense is horribly weak at inside linebacker. Not enough lateral speed, not enough coverage speed, not enough closing speed.

For me, that requires sealing the edge like granite, forcing all run plays inside, and using the speed we have in the secondary to effectively defend against lethal passing teams.

Take not that Indiana only won a down field 1 on 1 matchup once in Both Games. They had to use back shoulder throws to complete passes. I don't think you can execute that strategy all game

Lanning minimizes the damage his "weak" LBs are in his scheme. I must say this, Lupoi was brilliant this year. He had a 8 on 11 kind of defense. He was always three short of a full package. The coaches would never say it, but doesn't lie. We had holes that excellent coaches sought out and destroyed.

Purchase leaving closes a strategy Lanning could use to shore up a huge weakness. I don't worry as much about it because Lanning coached up a flawed defense (in terms of personnel and what he wanted to do with his scheme)

Another piece of the DL puzzle!

https://duckswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/ducks/football/2026/01/11/oregon-football-amauri-washington-return-2026/88038527007/

Edited 9 hours ago9 hr by Chas Man

Total is now 25. However, only one player, Blake Purchase was part of the the two deep.

So, not feeling badly. Just making room for folks who want to do what it takes to make it on the the two deep.

Playing time now. Or play for a perennial playoff contender in your last year or two. Guess for these guys it's playing time now.

Sadly many will not even find another team. So will end up with no playing time. 🤷🏾‍♂️

Edited 9 hours ago9 hr by Fitnessczar

2 hours ago, Fitnessczar said:

Total is now 25. However, only one player, Blake Purchase was part of the the two deep.

In terms of two deep, offensively so far so good (though Perry would probably have been considered part of the two deep at WR).

Defensively, I've got several depatures off the two deep. Purchase and Porter at DE and Jack LB, Gray at DT, Austin at NB, and Laulea at CB. I imagine the staff would have liked to hold onto Jericho Johnson too (but that is just a hunch).

It is just college football at this moment. Teams at or above "blue chip" roster levels (50% or better 4/5 stars) have typically seen departures of young players in the NIL/portal era so far, this year: Ohio State 29, Michigan 27, LSU 32, Texas 22, Alabama 21, Oklahoma 25, USC 20, and so on.

I didn't study it, but I would imagine part of the reason USC took 35 commits, Georgia 30, ND 29, tOSU 28, Miami 30, Florida State 33, Tennessee 27 was a "net negative" portal flow the last couple cycles.

25 leaving Oregon won't be that bad if that's the bulk of it (I've got 22 if we are just counting players listed as commits and not from all 105 but it's been a wild day so I might have missed somebody). Overall, running the current roster as of tonight (plus the incoming recruits), I think Oregon's "blue chip" ratio actual has crept up two points.

I think the bigger issue to watch is if Oregon can find sufficient guys in the portal to get its roster numbers where it probably would like them to be. I imagine the staff would still like to be at or over 85 (not counting "invite/walk-on" guys like Grace, Quinn, and Wiepert who make the whole 105). With the two additions and new commits, I think the number is currently 73? Finding and landing 11-12 or more will be interesting to watch.

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by AnotherOD