Are some of the departures asked to leave, to make room?

I am no insider, but I imagine that a frank conversation about potential playing time is had with all.

Some may not like what they hear and look for an opportunity to play more, elsewhere.

I look forward to hearing from other OBD fans with more insight!

Edited 17 hours ago17 hr by PittDuck
Clarify

Yes, that's how it works. Some coaches are absolute trash in how they do it (see a certain worshipped fake coach in Colorado) and others are probably more direct and decent about it. This is big business and coffee is for closers, for lack of a better phrase.

I think many of the conversations were probably prompted by the players much sooner than this last couple of days, since we had a slug of defensive backs who were not going to play anytime soon declare for the portal a month ago.

And Dan goes out and gets the No. 1 Portal Safety.... Whew!

This has been going on for sometime now... coaches have been sitting players down and outlining their current trajectory towards playing time. Effectively being encouraged to leave.

It’s so prevalent it is actually an annual stage in the college football video game.

Edited 16 hours ago16 hr by JabbaNoBargain

There are a few categories of transfers, so it seems.

The star players on lesser teams who want a bigger stage. You don't know how they will do vs better competition.

The highly rated HS players on top teams who are not playing. You don't know how they will do against any competition.

The ones on good teams in good leagues who are playing and just want a change for whatever reason. These guys you can look at film and see how well they will do.

Some get pushed out the door and some just think the grass is greener somewhere else.

Some have been working hard on their bodies and developing.

Some have already peaked in high school.

Some get injured and are never the same again.

Some just don't have very good skills.

And some turn into really good players.

If you are a coach and you want to keep a guy, you better play him.

Thanks for the replies. And thanks to Charles and all the mods, for running a tight ship!

As a fan, I get caught up in the naive “everything is coming up roses” positivity that excites the recruiting phase of our team’s development. I want nothing more than for these young men coming out of high school to follow their Duck dream and achieve their goals.

For me, the hard part of today’s college football is accepting that it’s become nothing more than a business — NFL Jr. I must admit, my enthusiasm and excitement are tainted by the fact that the student athlete as once known no longer exists.

Nevertheless, just as fans of the Steelers or Browns remain so inspite of players being nothing more than commodities, I remain a Duck. I like you only if you’re useful to the team.

From the naive point of view, this reality can almost feel like a broken promise: “you said you really wanted me, and now you don’t?” But I’m equally sure today’s promising high schools athletes understand this, and are coached to accept it as part of growing up: there’s only so many spots at the table.

I’m literally old school. I miss the humane, college student-growth aspect that once shared this table with the athlete.

As a fan, I don’t pretend to the conceit of being a savvy and harden NFLish insider who knows how the game is played. I neither need nor want that vanity in my life.

I just want the best for these young men.