So, Nebraska has never been a juggernaut in recruiting. They've had success with their walk-on program, the prop 48 days and most recently in the Big12 recruiting Texas. However, it looks like they are about to try out players from the transfer portal like nobody's business. In my opinion, it makes a lot of sense and I can see more programs (that struggle to sign elite talent) trying this approach. Most programs fill up their class after the early signing period with maybe a scholarship or two to spare for ultra talented players that may come down the pike. Nebraska has only signed (as of 1/11/2022) 14 players, but it seems like NU is hyperactive in the transfer portal.
Here's the dirty little secret about the portal...far more players enter than ever come out, and a slew of "invincible" feeling 19 -21 year-olds feel disrespected and leave good situations so there is more than enough talent than will ever get called upon out of the portal.
While most schools are selectively active in the portal most schools still more highly prize high school recruit over transfers (even though with the portal they are no safer bets to stay with the program than transfers additional benefits of pulling players out of the portal are that you probably have college level film on them and it may be harder to transfer and play immediately without sitting out a year after the first transfer.
For those of you too young to remember...Bill Synder changed the game and built Kansas State into a National power by going hard after junior college players and winning big with them. I feel like Nebraska leaving open 11 initial place counters for the 2022 recruiting cycle could be the start of a serious trend for some programs to make the transfer portal the #1 focus in talent acquisition instead of high school talent...especially in non-talent laden regions of the country. In the long term perhaps the portal could level the playing field in terms of talent spread out around the nation.

It makes complete sense that Frost would lean heavily on transfers this year, because he might need to win 7, might even need to win more than 7, to be back in 2023. Can't count on incoming freshmen alone when you need at least a 4-win improvement to keep your job.

Also, he has the in-conference example of Michigan State making a huge improvement in 2021 by loading up on transfers.

Agree with Wedge, that would make sense for Frost. On the other hand perhaps his recruiting just isn't going well.

I find it rather distasteful for some old dude (I'm an old dude too) like Big Ron Buckeye to spout off negatively, insinuating childish motivations.

(01-11-2022 10:56 PM)Big Ron Buckeye Wrote:  ... a slew of "invincible" feeling 19 -21 year-olds feel disrespected and leave good situations ...

Yeesh, people make career moves all the time, especially the first few years as they try to find a fit. How many places when you were 17 or 18 gave you this super pitch you bought, but when you check it out it's not right for you? How many of us stayed in that first job out of school, rather than use it to figure out what we really wanted to do? Is that childish and leaving a good situation? Good for whom, the company that hired you, or good for you looking at your career.

Ridiculous.

(01-12-2022 12:39 AM)Stugray2 Wrote:  Agree with Wedge, that would make sense for Frost. On the other hand perhaps his recruiting just isn't going well.

I find it rather distasteful for some old dude (I'm an old dude too) like Big Ron Buckeye to spout off negatively, insinuating childish motivations.

(01-11-2022 10:56 PM)Big Ron Buckeye Wrote:  ... a slew of "invincible" feeling 19 -21 year-olds feel disrespected and leave good situations ...

Yeesh, people make career moves all the time, especially the first few years as they try to find a fit. How many places when you were 17 or 18 gave you this super pitch you bought, but when you check it out it's not right for you? How many of us stayed in that first job out of school, rather than use it to figure out what we really wanted to do? Is that childish and leaving a good situation? Good for whom, the company that hired you, or good for you looking at your career.

Ridiculous.

Point taken. I'm just saying, and I did say, many more kids go into the portal than ever come out. I'm not sure of the throughout rate but there are kids who voluntarily gave up a full ride, and now have...nothing. They are adults and must face the consequences of their actions, it just seems a steep cliff for mistakes.

(01-11-2022 10:56 PM)Big Ron Buckeye Wrote:  So, Nebraska has never been a juggernaut in recruiting. They've had success with their walk-on program, the prop 48 days and most recently in the Big12 recruiting Texas. However, it looks like they are about to try out players from the transfer portal like nobody's business. In my opinion, it makes a lot of sense and I can see more programs (that struggle to sign elite talent) trying this approach. Most programs fill up their class after the early signing period with maybe a scholarship or two to spare for ultra talented players that may come down the pike. Nebraska has only signed (as of 1/11/2022) 14 players, but it seems like NU is hyperactive in the transfer portal.
Here's the dirty little secret about the portal...far more players enter than ever come out, and a slew of "invincible" feeling 19 -21 year-olds feel disrespected and leave good situations so there is more than enough talent than will ever get called upon out of the portal.
While most schools are selectively active in the portal most schools still more highly prize high school recruit over transfers (even though with the portal they are no safer bets to stay with the program than transfers additional benefits of pulling players out of the portal are that you probably have college level film on them and it may be harder to transfer and play immediately without sitting out a year after the first transfer.
For those of you too young to remember...Bill Synder changed the game and built Kansas State into a National power by going hard after junior college players and winning big with them. I feel like Nebraska leaving open 11 initial place counters for the 2022 recruiting cycle could be the start of a serious trend for some programs to make the transfer portal the #1 focus in talent acquisition instead of high school talent...especially in non-talent laden regions of the country. In the long term perhaps the portal could level the playing field in terms of talent spread out around the nation.

I would point out that Bob Huggins was a pioneer in getting kids from JuCo. Herb Jones, Corie Blount, Erik Martin, Terry Nelson, Nick Van Exel... and that was just his the first 2 recruiting seasons at UC. His Final Four team in 1992 had 8 JUCo transfers.

I never understood why that was a "thing" in basketball for so long before it became acceptable in football.

I think there's something to this. In Nebraska's case, it could help save Scott Frost's job.

I heard an interview on Sirius XM a couple of weeks ago about the number of players in the portal, and the ridiculous number of players that don't come out. I forgot the percentages, but it was something like 1/2 to 2/3 of players don't come out of the portal. If a guy goes into the portal looking for another place to play, there is no guarantee there will be an opening at another school.

As mentioned upthread, transfers have always been part of college basketball, especially from the junior college ranks. And, Bill Snyder took advantage of the large number of Kansas junior colleges to build his program at K-State. Nebraska is in a similar geographic position.

There are a ton of guys in the portal, and comparably fewer places to play. If Nebraska can get enough B1G caliber guys out of the portal with two or three years of eligibility, it'll work for them.

Here's an article I found regarding statistics on the portal. It's a couple of weeks old, so the numbers have changed. But, we're seeing that there are more players in the portal than spots to transfer to.

https://thespun.com/college-football/tel...fer-portal

Good take. I see that Nebraska has recently attracted the following players via the portal:

CB from Arizona State
QB from Texas
WR from LSU
RB from Texas A&M
OL from Oklahoma State
WR from NMSU
OL from Northern Colorado
P from Montana
K from Furman

They've also lost a handful of players to the portal.

(01-12-2022 11:49 AM)YNot Wrote:  Good take. I see that Nebraska has recently attracted the following players via the portal:

CB from Arizona State
QB from Texas
WR from LSU
RB from Texas A&M
OL from Oklahoma State
WR from NMSU
OL from Northern Colorado
P from Montana
K from Furman

They've also lost a handful of players to the portal.

My point exactly. A lot of former P5s, and high P5 level talent in that list. Everybody is losing some amount of players, but for a tradition rich, well financed program like Nebraska, it's an attractive landing spot for a second chance at a Big time program.

(01-12-2022 11:39 AM)johnintx Wrote:  I think there's something to this. In Nebraska's case, it could help save Scott Frost's job.

I heard an interview on Sirius XM a couple of weeks ago about the number of players in the portal, and the ridiculous number of players that don't come out. I forgot the percentages, but it was something like 1/2 to 2/3 of players don't come out of the portal. If a guy goes into the portal looking for another place to play, there is no guarantee there will be an opening at another school.

As mentioned upthread, transfers have always been part of college basketball, especially from the junior college ranks. And, Bill Snyder took advantage of the large number of Kansas junior colleges to build his program at K-State. Nebraska is in a similar geographic position.

There are a ton of guys in the portal, and comparably fewer places to play. If Nebraska can get enough B1G caliber guys out of the portal with two or three years of eligibility, it'll work for them.

Here's an article I found regarding statistics on the portal. It's a couple of weeks old, so the numbers have changed. But, we're seeing that there are more players in the portal than spots to transfer to.

https://thespun.com/college-football/tel...fer-portal

Thanks for the link. 50% or 66%... either way, that's a lot of young people giving up a free education.

(01-12-2022 07:52 PM)Big Ron Buckeye Wrote:  

(01-12-2022 11:39 AM)johnintx Wrote:  I think there's something to this. In Nebraska's case, it could help save Scott Frost's job.

I heard an interview on Sirius XM a couple of weeks ago about the number of players in the portal, and the ridiculous number of players that don't come out. I forgot the percentages, but it was something like 1/2 to 2/3 of players don't come out of the portal. If a guy goes into the portal looking for another place to play, there is no guarantee there will be an opening at another school.

As mentioned upthread, transfers have always been part of college basketball, especially from the junior college ranks. And, Bill Snyder took advantage of the large number of Kansas junior colleges to build his program at K-State. Nebraska is in a similar geographic position.

There are a ton of guys in the portal, and comparably fewer places to play. If Nebraska can get enough B1G caliber guys out of the portal with two or three years of eligibility, it'll work for them.

Here's an article I found regarding statistics on the portal. It's a couple of weeks old, so the numbers have changed. But, we're seeing that there are more players in the portal than spots to transfer to.

https://thespun.com/college-football/tel...fer-portal

Thanks for the link. 50% or 66%... either way, that's a lot of young people giving up a free education.

I don't know the % but there are a number of players that leave the portal and are welcomed back by their original schools.

(01-12-2022 09:49 PM)MinerInWisconsin Wrote:  

(01-12-2022 07:52 PM)Big Ron Buckeye Wrote:  

(01-12-2022 11:39 AM)johnintx Wrote:  I think there's something to this. In Nebraska's case, it could help save Scott Frost's job.

I heard an interview on Sirius XM a couple of weeks ago about the number of players in the portal, and the ridiculous number of players that don't come out. I forgot the percentages, but it was something like 1/2 to 2/3 of players don't come out of the portal. If a guy goes into the portal looking for another place to play, there is no guarantee there will be an opening at another school.

As mentioned upthread, transfers have always been part of college basketball, especially from the junior college ranks. And, Bill Snyder took advantage of the large number of Kansas junior colleges to build his program at K-State. Nebraska is in a similar geographic position.

There are a ton of guys in the portal, and comparably fewer places to play. If Nebraska can get enough B1G caliber guys out of the portal with two or three years of eligibility, it'll work for them.

Here's an article I found regarding statistics on the portal. It's a couple of weeks old, so the numbers have changed. But, we're seeing that there are more players in the portal than spots to transfer to.

https://thespun.com/college-football/tel...fer-portal

Thanks for the link. 50% or 66%... either way, that's a lot of young people giving up a free education.

I don't know the % but there are a number of players that leave the portal and are welcomed back by their original schools.

This is absolutely true. I haven't seen the percentages on it, but it is happening. The transfer portal simply opens the player up to (legal) re-recruitment. It is not necessarily a commitment to leave the player's current school.

According to the radio interview, the lower the level, the higher the percentage of players in the portal without a place to land. So, it cascades down from the P5.

And there are coaches that are taking advantage of the new rules to push players into the portal in order to clear roster space. So some players are being forced into the portal, while other players are going there voluntarily.

Still, the portal is a risky place, especially for an athlete on a full ride at a big-time university.

Not just Nebraksa using the transfer portal. The transfer portal has become college footballs free agency method and as important as regular recruiting for many teams. If Caleb Williams and Jaxson Dart have success in their new destinations, we could see even more good players use it to upgrade / change teams or get more play time.

Rico's time is now! Never thought the kid had much upside." So true for most of those kid's in the transfer portal.

Frost has been hamstrung by his qb play. This year he won’t have a running back playing QB. He has to win 7 or 8 games this season. He stuck with Martinez way too long because of his athleticism but the kid is not a QB.

(01-12-2022 08:07 AM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  

(01-11-2022 10:56 PM)Big Ron Buckeye Wrote:  So, Nebraska has never been a juggernaut in recruiting. They've had success with their walk-on program, the prop 48 days and most recently in the Big12 recruiting Texas. However, it looks like they are about to try out players from the transfer portal like nobody's business. In my opinion, it makes a lot of sense and I can see more programs (that struggle to sign elite talent) trying this approach. Most programs fill up their class after the early signing period with maybe a scholarship or two to spare for ultra talented players that may come down the pike. Nebraska has only signed (as of 1/11/2022) 14 players, but it seems like NU is hyperactive in the transfer portal.
Here's the dirty little secret about the portal...far more players enter than ever come out, and a slew of "invincible" feeling 19 -21 year-olds feel disrespected and leave good situations so there is more than enough talent than will ever get called upon out of the portal.
While most schools are selectively active in the portal most schools still more highly prize high school recruit over transfers (even though with the portal they are no safer bets to stay with the program than transfers additional benefits of pulling players out of the portal are that you probably have college level film on them and it may be harder to transfer and play immediately without sitting out a year after the first transfer.
For those of you too young to remember...Bill Synder changed the game and built Kansas State into a National power by going hard after junior college players and winning big with them. I feel like Nebraska leaving open 11 initial place counters for the 2022 recruiting cycle could be the start of a serious trend for some programs to make the transfer portal the #1 focus in talent acquisition instead of high school talent...especially in non-talent laden regions of the country. In the long term perhaps the portal could level the playing field in terms of talent spread out around the nation.

I would point out that Bob Huggins was a pioneer in getting kids from JuCo. Herb Jones, Corie Blount, Erik Martin, Terry Nelson, Nick Van Exel... and that was just his the first 2 recruiting seasons at UC. His Final Four team in 1992 had 8 JUCo transfers.

I never understood why that was a "thing" in basketball for so long before it became acceptable in football.

I thought I had remembered that Kansas was a JuCo power, and I was at least partly right. The NJCAA is dominated by conferences in Mississippi, Kansas, and Iowa. In Kansas this might due to the woefullness of Kansas, K-State, and Wichita State at football over the years. Snyder may have been making lemonade. I don't know for sure, but it is possible that a typical football-playing JuCo grad is older than a 3rd-year football player. Maybe they didn't start post-secondary education 3 months out of high school. Maybe they tried to walk on at a four year college, failed, dropped out and started up a year later. Just a guess.

Nolan Richardson brought his entire West Texas Junior College national championship with him to Tulsa. I think there were maybe two others that he had essentially scouted at the national tournament (which is played at a single site over a week).

Perhaps it is easier to develop (offensive) basketball skills by one's self or at the local gym or park. A lineman might weight train alone, but certainly can't practice blocking or rushing technique. A running back by eating, sleeping, etc. with a football, a QB with a tire hung from a tree, but they are not quite the skills needed for on-field play.

Incidentally, there were five JuCo transfers in the NCAA DI Playoff, 3 for Georgia, two for Alabama.

I don't know what the f you're talking about . . . Nebraska was a recruiting juggernaut for 30 plus years . . .

Nebraska is very unlikely to ever make a come back. If you are a Teen football stud, do you want to go live in Nebraska for 3 or 4 years?

Not me.

(01-17-2022 09:24 AM)goodknightfl Wrote:  Nebraska is very unlikely to ever make a come back. If you are a Teen football stud, do you want to go live in Nebraska for 3 or 4 years?

Not me.

Depends on what the boosters are able to pay. If they can offer 50k+ some kids will show up. There’s an interesting article out about A&M’s recruiting efforts and what they are offering recruits to sign and stick around for three to four years.

(01-12-2022 08:07 AM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  

(01-11-2022 10:56 PM)Big Ron Buckeye Wrote:  So, Nebraska has never been a juggernaut in recruiting. They've had success with their walk-on program, the prop 48 days and most recently in the Big12 recruiting Texas. However, it looks like they are about to try out players from the transfer portal like nobody's business. In my opinion, it makes a lot of sense and I can see more programs (that struggle to sign elite talent) trying this approach. Most programs fill up their class after the early signing period with maybe a scholarship or two to spare for ultra talented players that may come down the pike. Nebraska has only signed (as of 1/11/2022) 14 players, but it seems like NU is hyperactive in the transfer portal.
Here's the dirty little secret about the portal...far more players enter than ever come out, and a slew of "invincible" feeling 19 -21 year-olds feel disrespected and leave good situations so there is more than enough talent than will ever get called upon out of the portal.
While most schools are selectively active in the portal most schools still more highly prize high school recruit over transfers (even though with the portal they are no safer bets to stay with the program than transfers additional benefits of pulling players out of the portal are that you probably have college level film on them and it may be harder to transfer and play immediately without sitting out a year after the first transfer.
For those of you too young to remember...Bill Synder changed the game and built Kansas State into a National power by going hard after junior college players and winning big with them. I feel like Nebraska leaving open 11 initial place counters for the 2022 recruiting cycle could be the start of a serious trend for some programs to make the transfer portal the #1 focus in talent acquisition instead of high school talent...especially in non-talent laden regions of the country. In the long term perhaps the portal could level the playing field in terms of talent spread out around the nation.

I would point out that Bob Huggins was a pioneer in getting kids from JuCo. Herb Jones, Corie Blount, Erik Martin, Terry Nelson, Nick Van Exel... and that was just his the first 2 recruiting seasons at UC. His Final Four team in 1992 had 8 JUCo transfers.

I never understood why that was a "thing" in basketball for so long before it became acceptable in football.

Part of it, I would assume, has been that there are so many more juco basketball programs compared to juco football programs. The numbers work better with the former than the latter. As such, it has been easier in hoops than in football.

(01-17-2022 09:40 AM)cottager Wrote:  

(01-17-2022 09:24 AM)goodknightfl Wrote:  Nebraska is very unlikely to ever make a come back. If you are a Teen football stud, do you want to go live in Nebraska for 3 or 4 years?

Not me.

Depends on what the boosters are able to pay. If they can offer 50k+ some kids will show up. There’s an interesting article out about A&M’s recruiting efforts and what they are offering recruits to sign and stick around for three to four years.

That last part will be interesting to see how it develops. If a booster helps fund a kid to the tune of $50K (for the player, not the booster) and the kid gets lured away after a year that's going to slow down the freight train that's unlimited NIL. They're going to want some guarantees. In the case where a non-profit is going to pay all Texas offensive linemen, do those kids have to sign a contract that says they can't transfer?