Given the situation this year with the Miami QBs, I’m trying to be look ahead to next year….
Gotkowski will be in year three of the program. Finn and Hesson will be gone. The Carr kid, highly touted, will arrive.
So, will Carr emulate Gabbert and be the starter on Day 1 (against Pitt on the road) or is Gotkowski likely to be the starter….or will the Chuckster opt for the portal again?
Let’s make sure Carr gets here and doesn’t jump to a higher offer. I like the idea of a portal QB if they come with two years. I didn’t see Gotkowski pass but is a nice runner.
The thing I think we’d benefit most from is a little simpler offense that we can always run up tempo.
Tommy’s brother CJ is starting as a redshirt freshman at ND. Maybe he can one up him and start as a true freshman
Portal
I think QB recruiting at our level is about to totally shift. Its probably the expectation for non-power schools in the MAC and Sun Belt going forward you will be finding a new portal QB every 2 years or so. It sucks to narrow the opportunities for guys, but most 21-22 year olds with 2-3 years of time in D1 (either moving down from power or up from FCS) are just going to be more physically prepared and mature than an 18 year old, as well as adjusted to the pace and mental complexity of the game which is a huge step up from high school ball.
There will always be guys that power schools have decided aren’t good enough looking to portal down or guys that showed success in FCS that are ready to move up. If I were a guy like Hesson or Gotkowski today, I’d much sooner be looking at an FCS school where I could start immediately for 1-2 years and then come to the MAC (where I can hopefully ball out for a year and get a call to play for a lower Big Ten or ACC team) rather than sit on the bench at a MAC school where I will likely never play a snap.
It used to be it was worth it to spend the year or two developing a young guy to reap the rewards of their year 3 and 4, but now if you take those bumps, you’re just going to lose him to the portal so why develop the young guy? Just grab a 5th year senior that wasn’t quite good enough at the level above.
If we have our NIL in order (I believe we are getting there), then the sky’s the limit.
The shameful thing is that all of this shuffling denies young men the opportunity of a real college experience—- including an education, a fun time on campus—-while they are exposed to the portal and all the downsides of exploitation by “agents,” coaches, etc., etc.
Granted a few get to the NFL….but the numbers don’t work well for the majority who are cogs in a badly-structured wheel.
I would change that to read “the sky is the limit in relation to other similarly situated G5 schools”.
Waxing nostalgic is all that is, waxing nostalgic. The “college experience” trails far behind the shower of dollar bills. I don’t like it either but the days gone by are days go by.
“I’m changin’ lanes and talkin’ on the phone
Drivin’ way too fast
And the interstate’s jammed with gunners like me
Afraid of comin’ in last
But somewhere in the race we run
We’re comin’ undone”
Lot of 2-3 careers. Kids from G5 proving their worth and moving up. Others at P4 schools that go and don’t make the cut and move down.The tweeners are the ones who stay at their original school and wind up playing enough to want to stay and hopefully graduating. They probably made the right choice.