His speeches to both teams were fascinating. Basically…
To JSU: The grass isn’t necessarily greener, don’t enter the portal and die in the portal because I’m leaving.
To Colorado: I’m bringing some of my players with me. I’m probably not retaining your current staff. Get the hell out.
Anyone who has ever been around Neon knows he has an all-consuming urge to be the center of attention. He’s proven himself to be a good coach at the HBCU level in the Deep South but a move to the PAC 12’s Rocky Mountain outpost will present a whole different set of challenges.
To be fair, Deion knows what he is doing with framing things. He knows he’ll get attention with what he says and does and that’s clearly a challenge to current players to put in work and not bolt. While “enter the portal” is getting the most attention, he also made the CU players collectively repeat his four pillars numerous times, talked about proving your toughness by refusing to quit during the offseason program, and while the theme of “I’m coming” was the whole point of that meeting, he also had the camera turn to face the entire team so they could, as a unit, say “I’m coming.”
There was still a definite “we’ll break you all down and build you up” vibe during his speech.
Maybe it will work, maybe it won’t. But he is already bringing CU more attention than the team has had in 21 years.
This excerpt for this morning’s The Athletic:,
During the 2022 season, transfers earned starting quarterback jobs for 56 FBS teams, including 38 who transferred during the 2021-22 portal cycle. If you go down the list of the top 50 quarterbacks in passing yards this season, 25 of them have entered the portal during their careers.
Ten teams in the final College Football Playoff Top 25 relied on quarterbacks that arrived via the portal. Caleb Williams, Michael Penix Jr., Jayden Daniels and plenty more had a season-changing type of impact for their new programs. How many quarterbacks like that are making moves this offseason?
Nearly 50 FBS quarterbacks have already hit the market or are planning to enter the portal. There’s not a bigger name on that list than Clemson’s DJ Uiagalelei, the 28-game starter who was benched for Cade Klubnik in the Tigers’ ACC championship victory over North Carolina. Reports emerged Sunday night that Uiagalelei is planning to move on, which wasn’t surprising. The former five-star prospect will command significant interest regardless of his ups and downs over the past two seasons. Might he be coming home to the West Coast?
Michigan’s Cade McNamara moved quickly last week and committed to join Iowa as a grad transfer. The rest of the coaches currently hunting for a new QB1 already have many options to consider. Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong, Georgia Tech’s Jeff Sims and Texas’ Hudson Card are among the most intriguing so far, and 11 more former starters have already entered the portal or announced they will soon: John Paddock (Ball State), Hank Bachmeier (Boise State), Phil Jurkovec (Boston College), Brendon Lewis (Colorado), Connor Bazelak (Indiana), Chandler Rogers(Louisiana-Monroe), Brett Gabbert (Miami (Ohio)), Drew Pyne (Notre Dame), Layne Hatcher (Texas State), Davis Brin (Tulsa) and Graham Mertz (Wisconsin). How many more become available on Monday?
There are quite a few talented backups who could prove to be quality takes, too, including Ole Miss’ Luke Altmyer, Texas A&M’s Haynes King, North Carolina’s Jacolby Criswell, Arkansas’ Malik Hornsby and Baylor’s Kyron Drones.
75 more names in the 24/7 portal just in the last 90 minutes. It’s like Black Friday for college football players.
BC QB committed to Pitt. That was quick.
Kedon Slovis had jumped into the portal at Pitt this morning.
At 2 pm there were 803 players in the portal.
Kent’s Dante Cepheus is heading for the portal with two years of eligibility - 24/7 projects him possibly to Notre Dame.
Maybe the best name in football has entered the portal:
Demon Clowney
Dante Cepheus is also on Miami of Florida’s wish list. We might see him on Labor Dsy weekend.
912 in the portal as of 4 pm
Actually, the best name in college football is Decoldest Crawford (also in the transfer portal).
Bumper Pool would like to have a word with you. But he’s not in the portal.
Where’s He Hate Me (or at least He Hate Me 2) if we are getting into great nomenclature?
Not bad but he isn’t a walking advertisement for a Stephen King novel.
According to Athlon, as of this morning there are 67 QB currently in the portal. Only three have been placed at a new school.
JT Daniels (who’s been a professional QB since about 13, poor guy, someone let him live a life) and Kedon Slovis are both in the portal if anyone’s interested in former USC starters.
I’ve found The Gunslinger Buzz to be the most complete list. As of a couple minutes ago, they have 76 FBS QBs listed.
Most recent is JT Daniels who will now be heading to his 4th school. This is the poster child for what’s wrong with the Portal.
My solution would be something along these lines:
Anyone who has 3 or 4 years of eligibility left can get one transfer without losing a year ( as is the case now ).
Anyone who transfers down a Division can do so without penalty, no matter how many years of eligibility remaining. (By down a Division, I mean D1 - D2 or D3, not D1 FBS to D1 FCS unless a non-scholarship league like the Pioneer)
Anyone with only one or two years of eligibility left must either have graduated or transfer down a division.
You can only transfer once within graduate or undergraduate classification without losing a year of eligibility.
I believe this would reduce this revolving door significantly while still allowing for the ability to move on as an undergrad when you are trapped on the depth chart or as a grad student when you’ve fulfilled your academic requirements. Maximum 2 transfers ( one being a Graduate requirement) or you lose a year of eligibility like the previous rules.
There can be a couple limited exceptions like the coach leaving or for family reasons. I know this isn’t all encompassing but between the Portal as it’s now structured and NIL, college football above D3 has become a joke for alumni fan bases (excluding approximately a dozen schools).
Suggestions well worth considering!