Two BIG losses for ETSU today as TE Nate Adkins and DL Austin Lewis announce they are entering the portal.

I HATE this new era of athletics.

(04-22-2022 12:19 PM)ETSUfan1 Wrote:  Two BIG losses for ETSU today as TE Nate Adkins and DL Austin Lewis announce they are entering the portal.

I HATE this new era of athletics.

I do too. Those are two fine players.

The transfer portal giveth but it also taketh away. It seems to taketh a whole bunch more than it giveth in recent days /weeks at our favorite institute of higher learning here in Johnson City, TN.

I too echo ETSUfan1 and bucfan81 sentiments at the direction that intercollegiate athletics are heading.

(04-22-2022 02:11 PM)bucfan81 Wrote:  

(04-22-2022 12:19 PM)ETSUfan1 Wrote:  Two BIG losses for ETSU today as TE Nate Adkins and DL Austin Lewis announce they are entering the portal.

I HATE this new era of athletics.

I do too. Those are two fine players.

I can find no upside to this for football or basketball mid-majors! It’s rigged to benefit the power brokers much more than the other way. The good mid-major players are moving UP. The not good enough major players are moving DOWN. Do the psychological- motivational dynamic.

I saw both of them play last night and now learn they are leaving. This really hurts.

(04-22-2022 05:22 PM)bucfan81 Wrote:  I saw both of them play last night and now learn they are leaving. This really hurts.

Why did they play if they knew they were leaving? Or, did they suddenly decided within a 24 hour period after the game? If they had decided before this game, they should have bowed out and let those players staying have their minutes.

(04-22-2022 06:21 PM)Buc66 Wrote:  

(04-22-2022 05:22 PM)bucfan81 Wrote:  I saw both of them play last night and now learn they are leaving. This really hurts.

Why did they play if they knew they were leaving? Or, did they suddenly decided within a 24 hour period after the game? If they had decided before this game, they should have bowed out and let those players staying have their minutes.

Yes maybe someone will know why they did it this way. Just does not seem right. Modern college athletics I guess.

Who knows what's going on behind the scenes? It does seem a tad odd to participate in the spring game and announce you're leaving the next day. Maybe Adkins being a TE doesn't like the direction the offense is going with the reported changes to more of an air-raid/ run and shoot (possible WR oriented) approach vs the traditional approach employed by Sanders the last few years.

Lewis? No idea? Will be transferring to his 3rd school now. Who knows for sure?

I do know this, and it comes from age/experience and lots and lots of mistakes made personally by yours truly over all the decades I've been on God's green Earth, the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. As a matter of fact, it may just have a few more thistles in it.

Non P5 conferences are the minor leagues. Are fans ready to accept that our role is to take draftees and make them better so they can move up?

(04-22-2022 07:39 PM)BucDoctor Wrote:  Non P5 conferences are the minor leagues. Are fans ready to accept that our role is to take draftees and make them better so they can move up?

I for one, do not think I am. I will most likely be watching less and less college sports and will spend more of my free time and resources on helping folks out and trying to do more good deeds. Kinda making up for lost time.

These are two big losses to our program. Both of these guys were major difference makers at our level. Hate to see them go, but hope the best for them in their future.
College athletics is currently in a strange place. Who knows what the answer is.
I feel like there is now two different areas to to contribute. The traditional donation to the athletics department and now to contribute to a NIL fund to keep athletes at their current school.

Nate Adkins two catches down the stretch against Kennesaw will forever be etched in Buc football history

(04-22-2022 09:05 PM)BaseballPops Wrote:  

(04-22-2022 07:39 PM)BucDoctor Wrote:  Non P5 conferences are the minor leagues. Are fans ready to accept that our role is to take draftees and make them better so they can move up?

I for one, do not think I am. I will most likely be watching less and less college sports and will spend more of my free time and resources on helping folks out and trying to do more good deeds. Kinda making up for lost time.

This is exactly my thoughts. I have found myself becoming much less of a sports fan over the past couple of years. Have always enjoyed college sports more than professional precisely because we get to see the progression of a team and the development of players over the years. Now, I guess all these players think they have a future in the NFL or something and leave. Once a team becomes unrecognizable (as basketball has done) from year to year, I will just invest my time and money into other things.

(04-22-2022 07:39 PM)BucDoctor Wrote:  Non P5 conferences are the minor leagues. Are fans ready to accept that our role is to take draftees and make them better so they can move up?

Maybe this will evolve into the MLB model. The SoCon, for example, could become the minor league conference of the major league ACC and/or SEC, with financial incentives built in, where players can be sent up as needed and down as needed. Who knows - maybe future fans would see nothing wrong with that. As for me - nay.

I listened to Jay Sandos this morning on the Don Helman show. He had a long talk with Don about all our sports and he said that Nate Adkins' father is the offensive line coach at the University of South Carolina. There is nothing announced but this could explain why he is leaving. Nate is a great player from a very good football family.

On a positive note, the football players are out at Food City on State of Franklin. They were greeting people on the way in and were bagging groceries. Tyler Keltner, amongst others, bagged my groceries for me. Pretty neat as you get to meet them up close and personal. A great event! Thank you Bucs!

(04-22-2022 12:19 PM)ETSUfan1 Wrote:  Two BIG losses for ETSU today as TE Nate Adkins and DL Austin Lewis announce they are entering the portal.

I HATE this new era of athletics.

I hated it, too, but I think we all saw it coming with the transfer portal thing and the NIL deals. Nate Adkins is the son of the SC offensive line coach. I didn't know that.

(04-23-2022 05:22 AM)etsubuc Wrote:  

(04-22-2022 09:05 PM)BaseballPops Wrote:  

(04-22-2022 07:39 PM)BucDoctor Wrote:  Non P5 conferences are the minor leagues. Are fans ready to accept that our role is to take draftees and make them better so they can move up?

I for one, do not think I am. I will most likely be watching less and less college sports and will spend more of my free time and resources on helping folks out and trying to do more good deeds. Kinda making up for lost time.

This is exactly my thoughts. I have found myself becoming much less of a sports fan over the past couple of years. Have always enjoyed college sports more than professional precisely because we get to see the progression of a team and the development of players over the years. Now, I guess all these players think they have a future in the NFL or something and leave. Once a team becomes unrecognizable (as basketball has done) from year to year, I will just invest my time and money into other things.

To say we couldn't see this coming with the portal is an understatement.

Small blurb on espn about the adkins transfer:

https://www.espn.com/college-football/st...ate-adkins

Austin Lewis transferring to Tennessee (i've seen it is as a walk-on)

I saw where a Savannah State WR is transferring to the Bucs. Does anyone know anything about his potential with us?