FishDuck Article Administrator No. 1 Share Posted February 1, 2022 The acquisition of talent is the lifeblood of every college athletic program. There is no denying that fact, though the transfer portal has certainly changed the normal process of acquiring that talent. It wasn’t so long ago that transfers made up a rather insignificant portion of any team’s roster, as maybe there were only one or two graduate transfers who ... Read the full article here... Two Sites: FishDuck and the Our Beloved Ducks forum, The only "Forum with Decorum!" And All-Volunteer? What a wonderful community of Duck fans! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck No. 2 Share Posted February 1, 2022 I agree David, to ignore recruiting in favor of the Transfer Portal to build a team is a high- risk move. SC is a great point. If Williams ultimately decides to go there, it's all good. But if he goes elsewhere, the Trojans have trouble in the QB room. Besides that, we're seeing Lanning's recruiting getting off to a great start. Not so much with the load of players in this class. But with the network he's building with the recruits, the high schools, coaches and academies for 2023 and 2024. The relationships that Lanning is building in this process will benefit Oregon for years; and doesn't preclude using the Portal to bolster the roster. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyin Vee No. 3 Share Posted February 1, 2022 In the past a coach with holes to fill may have leaned heavily on a the Junior college route. The junior college players were yesterday’s “portal”, I wonder the impact to the JC players regarding D-1 offers over the last few years. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyToBeADuck No. 4 Share Posted February 1, 2022 Great article David. You covered many angles and provided alot of info. Thanks........ Baylor and Michigan State had stellar 2021 seasons via the transfer portal. USC, LSU and Ole Miss are jumping off that bridge too. Only time will tell if this is a path that leads to the CFP. If the CFP and a Natty are truly the goal then Sparty and the Bears fell short. 10 plus win seasons are better for the fans and HC survival regardless of the portal route or via high school recruiting. IMO, some of these programs are selling their future short if they depend heavily on the portal. Recruiting and player development should be a programs foundation or backbone to long term strength. Use the portal to fill in those immediate needs. As time goes by, coaches who depend heavy on the transfer portal may be sending many negative signals to future recruits and parents. For example, when you come play for me, just know I will always bring a proven talent in ahead of you, if necessary. Because, I the coach must win now, I don't have the time or patience to wait for you to develop. Most players and parents know that the path to the NFL is thru player development, physical and mental growth and quality playing time. The portal is a game of chance. Vernon Adam's or Dakota Prukup? Quality playing time and player development or lack of is a driving force why 3,000 players are in the portal. Yes NIL is a factor. Are their 3,000 high paying NIL deals? Not a chance. If only 2% of high school athletes get scholarships then these youngsters have already hit the lottery. Leaving for a NIL deal, yet giving up a $100,000 plus value package with a college degree attached, is high risk decision making. Leaving for playing time, better coaching or a happier college experience makes sense. But not for a possible NIL deal? A bird in hand is better than 2 in the bush. Most of the time those 2 birds get away. So, coaches must win now or they can lose their annual lottery payout. The portal has the lure for a quick fix. The coaches will not be excited to invest time and money in developing talent, only to lose them to the portal. Players will use the portal seeking potential greener pastures. High school recruits will be looking at coaches and their schools with a whole different attitude. WOW, welcome to the new college football world....... 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDuck No. 5 Share Posted February 1, 2022 On 2/1/2022 at 5:10 AM, Flyin Vee said: In the past a coach with holes to fill may have leaned heavily on a the Junior college route. The junior college players were yesterday’s “portal”, I wonder the impact to the JC players regarding D-1 offers over the last few years. Excellent point. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 6 Share Posted February 1, 2022 Great article. Totally agree with your thoughts. Not enough today to recruit, you have to re-recruit in the face of roster tampering and promises of NIL money. NIL was in theory, going to bring more parity to CFB. How many businesses would enter into deals with players in a small city like Tuscaloosa? Once the NIL deals were done in Tuscaloosa with the best Bama players, players could make better deals elsewhere. Hasn't happened. NIL, as you so noted David, is pay-for-play. Roster tampering is ubiquitous. Did the thought of transferring simply spring up in the mind of Dye; or, was he 'encouraged' to transfer, and not just by his prospective spouse. Oregon likely has the money and the booster(s) to compete 'like this.' Few programs in the Pac-12 have the ability to so compete for the services of a top drawer player from the portal; or, a top recruit out of high school. And this is not an 'ordinary' market. ROI is not what 'insane and inane boosters' are looking for. They are looking for wins. And many of these 'good folk' literally have money to burn. (I think you're way south on your estimate of what A+M boosters are paying for this crop of recruits.) I've been a zealous CFB fan for decades. I'm not naive enough to think that prior to NIL players were not being paid; being paid under the table. But the transfer portal and NIL have. seemingly overnight, stripped away any vestige of the fantasy that CFB is an amateur sport, played by student-athletes. This happens when you (NCAA) get your booty kicked 9-0 by the Supreme Court. Does Oregon want to 'compete' like 'this?' Do the Oregon fans want to compete like 'this?' I for one am getting turned off by 'this.' And I do not believe I am alone. CFB at the P5 level is a professional sport. End the hypocrisy. Let the programs that so desire to, become AAA teams for the NFL. Call the players what they are, 'employees' and allow them to form a union so that through collective bargaining this pay-for-play and free agency can be regulated. And Oregon, decide what and where you want to be? A member of an 'exclusive club' with a lot of tawdry members; or, playing where the program can get paid at the level of teams in the B1G and the SEC? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smith72 Moderator No. 7 Share Posted February 1, 2022 "Finding high-quality talent and enabling them to earn their money based off their performance is a far more sustainable long-term investment..." Excellent summary and article David! "Are their 3,000 high paying NIL deals? Not a chance. If only 2% of high school athletes get scholarships then these youngsters have already hit the lottery. " I agree with you HappyToBeADuck, there will be many disappointed portal players! Greater character for most portal players is shown by working hard, learning as much as you can by staying, and contributing to the building of a TEAM! Life long attributes that you will appreciate. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDuck No. 8 Share Posted February 1, 2022 On 2/1/2022 at 7:30 AM, Jon Joseph said: I've been a zealous CFB fan for decades. I'm not naive enough to think that prior to NIL players were not being paid; being paid under the table. But the transfer portal and NIL have. seemingly overnight, stripped away any vestige of the fantasy that CFB is an amateur sport, played by student-athletes. This happens when you (NCAA) get your booty kicked 9-0 by the Supreme Court. Does Oregon want to 'compete' like 'this?' Do the Oregon fans want to compete like 'this?' I for one am getting turned off by 'this.' And I do not believe I am alone. Fully agree. Part of the appeal of college sports was watching kids mature and improve, to become a team rather than a collection of individuals. This is becoming too much like professional sports which, with the exception of the Super Bowl, I seldom watch and certainly don't follow. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck Moderator No. 9 Share Posted February 1, 2022 The effective use of the transfer portal is picking up the Vernon Adams type of player. A kid who goes to a lower level school and proves he has D1 talent while having the drive and attitude it takes to win. A player like this can help a top tier program, and is more like augmentation than supplementation. A supplement is filling a deficit, an augmentation is making something better, I won't provide any visuals here. In the past we have done extremely well with Running Backs and QB's in this regard, along with some other positions. Maurice Morris and Blount helped our program and assisted an already strong RB history. Adams and Masoli also helped a very strong position with depth and talent when injuries and development were an issue. I think the transfer portal will play an even larger role going forward as injuries will still be an issue. Development is also something where there is no guarantee, and the ability to pick up a proven player is enticing and a smart move. Development absolutely has to be part of any program, a large part. Knowing you can develop a kid is iffy, and with the transfer portal it is even easier to leave a program. This will hit Oregon maybe harder than some. Homesickness will be extremely easy to remedy. A kid may become more attractive to his hometown, home state school. We have to be ready to fill transfer spots, and look to augment what we had, not just fill a hole. I think the transfer portal offers Oregon an opportunity to build positions we see becoming weak either through a lack of development or from kids transferring out. I don't think we should be shy about using it for the purpose of bringing even more competition on the practice field. The transfer portal is another development in college football. A program shouldn't rely on it, but a savvy program can become even better with the right use. Fortunately we have a proven record of bringing on some student athletes in the past. I hope to see the same type of moves, and an increase in talent while we do it. It is a new day in recruiting and as the saying goes, we need to win the day! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
idontrollonshobbas No. 10 Share Posted February 1, 2022 Over the years, the JC recruiting stream had dried up. Not sure why? Maybe with academic advising and tutors, the JC route became less of an academic route than before. In the late 90's, the Ducks lived and died by the JC transfer, particularly at DL. James Rose, Junior Siavii, Chris Solomona, etc. Akili was another. The transfer portal is going to harm a lot of students as well....basically it allows teams to shed players that aren't working out for whatever reason. As the game becomes more "professional" it is going to benefit the elite players. What will be the incentive for institutions to honor scholarships (a la Cam McCormick) when given the transfer portal option? These may be some of the unintended consequences of the new era. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woundedknees No. 11 Share Posted February 1, 2022 I think the high number of portal recruits USC is after are a sign Riley is attempting to "WIN Now" with players obtained by high grading other teams development process. It remains to be seen if this is a truly viable avenue for long term success. I'm a little surprised that, given the amount of time he has been in place with the new staff, that more concentrated effort was not on fresh recruits. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 12 Share Posted February 1, 2022 On 2/1/2022 at 8:38 AM, idontrollonshobbas said: What will be the incentive for institutions to honor scholarships (a la Cam McCormick) when given the transfer portal option? Institutions can't really revoke scholarships.. they can force kids out the door by saying they are low on the depth chart and won't see the field and will be relegated to the scout team which would force them into the transfer portal. But a program can't just take a scholarship back without a real reason... usually it is disciplinary. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 13 Share Posted February 1, 2022 On 2/1/2022 at 12:49 PM, David Marsh said: Institutions can't really revoke scholarships.. they can force kids out the door by saying they are low on the depth chart and won't see the field and will be relegated to the scout team which would force them into the transfer portal. But a program can't just take a scholarship back without a real reason... usually it is disciplinary. Absolutely. Can only revoke for reasons of discipline and when a player enters the portal. Entering the portal does not mean ipso facto scholarship cancellation but cancellation is what happens to the majority of players who enter the portal and many do not get a new offer. I think there are lots of folks out there giving many the player bad advice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Washington Waddler Moderator No. 14 Share Posted February 1, 2022 How can the teams who produce the talent ensure that they keep it? Excellent question David. I’d hazard a guess and say that the current unrestricted, free-for-all conditions under which the portal operates, and NILS — to the extent that it’s value is manipulated by portal opportunities — is a temporary situation, morally grounded in the long term financial abuse of once powerless student athletes whose moral outrage will run its course, and eventually be reeled in by the need for financial balance between the athletes and those who have a stake in them. How long that will take, and who will assume responsibility to make it happen is anybody’s guess. Once this euphoric, student-athlete playground is no longer tolerated, my guess is the corollary would have to be the NFL, and modeled on the precedence of free agency: the athlete who wants money owes something to those who have invested money, time and energy in their development. Again, what they would owe, in terms of time, is anybody’s guess. Once this unsustainable and unrealistic approach to the portal and it’s abuse of NILS hits the wall, then we can hopefully see a balance return to the process, and a degree of power returned to the teams we love. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 15 Share Posted February 1, 2022 Superb article David, and while we are doing fewer articles per week during the off-season (Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday) it is great the see the high quality as you always do--even outside the season. College football and being a college football coach just got a lot harder and more complicated, IMHO! 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 16 Share Posted February 1, 2022 On 2/1/2022 at 2:35 PM, Washington Waddler said: How can the teams who produce the talent ensure that they keep it? Excellent question David. I’d hazard a guess and say that the current unrestricted, free-for-all conditions under which the portal operates, and NILS — to the extent that it’s value is manipulated by portal opportunities — is a temporary situation, morally grounded in the long term financial abuse of once powerless student athletes whose moral outrage will run its course, and eventually be reeled in by the need for financial balance between the athletes and those who have a stake in them. How long that will take, and who will assume responsibility to make it happen is anybody’s guess. Once this euphoric, student-athlete playground is no longer tolerated, my guess is the corollary would have to be the NFL, and modeled on the precedence of free agency: the athlete who wants money owes something to those who have invested money, time and energy in their development. Again, what they would owe, in terms of time, is anybody’s guess. Once this unsustainable and unrealistic approach to the portal and it’s abuse of NILS hits the wall, then we can hopefully see a balance return to the process, and a degree of power returned to the teams we love. I'd agree but I'm not certain the 'usual' business model applies to Fanatics with lots of dinero? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Washington Waddler Moderator No. 17 Share Posted February 1, 2022 (edited) On 2/1/2022 at 12:09 PM, Jon Joseph said: I'd agree but I'm not certain the 'usual' business model applies to Fanatics with lots of dinero? Yes, greed left unattended will have its way. If by ‘usual’ you’re referring to the current hands-off policy gifted by the Supreme Court to the NCAA, and adopted by the universities, then that represents the absence of a business model rather than any reality-based give and take. That is why the NFL business model needs to replace the current absence of one at the collegiate level. The NFL understands excessive desire and wants. It’s ownership is the definition of greed, which is why it is forced to regulate and control those urges in order to guarantee its own survival. Edited February 1, 2022 by Washington Waddler Grammar 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck No. 18 Share Posted February 1, 2022 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 19 Share Posted February 2, 2022 On 2/1/2022 at 12:09 PM, Jon Joseph said: I'd agree but I'm not certain the 'usual' business model applies to Fanatics with lots of dinero? Right now I think things are going absolutely bonkers with NIL ... Especially for players who haven't played a down of college ball. I do think the recruiting side of NIL will slow in several years as even those deep pocketed fanatics may grow weary of paying for players who don't see the field ... It does happen. So maybe some get paid while others get perspective deals that take effect of they do make it. Lots of players don't see the field for a year or two, if not more. How would boosters paying there players feel about letting their investments sit without knowing if they'll ever pay out? Pay for play is one thing... Pay for no play... That will start to dry up the NIL money pretty quick. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 20 Share Posted February 2, 2022 David, I don't know. Intuitively it makes sense to think that handing mucho dinero to untested kids who do not pan out will slow 'this' down? But boosters are not rationale business people. Would any rationale business people hand over close to $100M to Mel Tucker? What would the NFL be like without a salary cap and 'NFL boosters' being allowed to pay free agents above and beyond? CFB is emotion based far more than is the 'regular' market. If A+M spends enough the Aggies will win a title, right? Wrong. But that does not mean that well-heeled A+M grads are going to stop spending. The NFL has a salary cap for a reason. The NFL is run like a one for all, all for one, Business. The guys who own NFL teams understand the value of a dollar. Crazed CFB fans do not. I do not believe that NIL pay-for-play is a marketplace that can or will regulate itself. Remember SMU? What went on at SMU yesterday would be perfectly kosher today. And Reggie Bush? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
