Transfer Portal '23....

[Ship69]

Bloomsburg and Shippensburg seem about the weakest in portal recruits, so they are probably ranked last in the east today, they both also lose a bunch to the portal.

Coach Mac made it a point to go after recruits in our area this year and brought in 42 freshmen to go along with the six transfers. Obviously is looking to the future more than this particular season.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Former Slippery Rock WR Jawon Hall has signed with Youngstown State.

[BloomFan]

Bloomsburg and Shippensburg seem about the weakest in portal recruits, so they are probably ranked last in the east today, they both also lose a bunch to the portal.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I agree with you. Until games are played, SRU still owns the field in the west. I'm impressed with their D2 transfer haul. Now that you can "steal" players from other teams, as long as you're winning and have the scholarship money, you're the major market MLB teams of D2 football. That should keep Slip & IUP around for the long haul.

It's going to just keep getting more and more ugly. The bottom half of the league is just going to be a feeder system (more than it already is).

Stories like the DE from Gannon going to Oklahoma State and starting is only going to further motivate our stars to follow the same path (or, at least try). So, the IUP's and SRU's will lose stars to D1 and then replenish from within the league. It's going to get ugly.

In the West, Clarion and Edinboro are at such a disadvantage. I don't think most realize how bad it actually is ... 3 to 1 (or more) scholarship disadvantage, etc. A .500 season for those programs is a gigantic success. The PSAC is as bad as MLB.

[Fightingscot82]

We'll see. I'd agree 'on paper' it appears they had a great portal haul. That said ... doesn't always translate. Some of these guys are 'coming down' for a reason. They can't all be stars. There's only so many touches to go around. Some years you hit the transfer wire perfectly, while other years you bring in a bunch of knucklehead team cancers.

As for IUP, I tend to think Tort has a pretty strong roster. Yes, he has a ton back from a pretty so-so team. But, they had a lot go wrong last year. Things snowballed quickly. I think we saw that team at even close to full strength one time all season. Add in some coaching travesties, and, well, they were 6-5.

Now, will IUP win games on coaching strategy and X's and O's? No. IUP's defense is what it is and hasn't changed much in years. IUP's offense is extremely predictable (like Tecmo Bowl with four plays predictable). Tort's best teams have won on shear talent and overpowering opponents.

Tort had a very young roster last year. This team has a slew of juniors and seniors. They've had a year of turmoil. Tort's teams also seem to play best when he plays the card of them being perceived to be down. He's very good at talking that angle up. His teams tend to be pretty average when they are expected to be strong.

Like I said last week ... betting any real money on this season would be a risky proposition. I see a 9-1 path and I see a 6-4 path. I think his starting units will be very strong. Depth at certain positions is alarming. Hopefully that is being addressed with some last-minute mercenaries.

Make no mistake, they best be looking at this trip to Ashland as a playoff game. It pretty much is.

I agree with you. Until games are played, SRU still owns the field in the west. I'm impressed with their D2 transfer haul. Now that you can "steal" players from other teams, as long as you're winning and have the scholarship money, you're the major market MLB teams of D2 football. That should keep Slip & IUP around for the long haul.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

SRU should breeze to another PSAC West title this fall. I don’t see any reason y’all can’t win the PSAC if you could just figure out Kutztown. I really don’t see IUP or Cal being too big of a problem. I just like the SRU material quite a bit more than what the other contenders bring. Of course that’s on paper and who knows what can happen with injuries, team chemistry with so many new faces, etc.

We'll see. I'd agree 'on paper' it appears they had a great portal haul. That said ... doesn't always translate. Some of these guys are 'coming down' for a reason. They can't all be stars. There's only so many touches to go around. Some years you hit the transfer wire perfectly, while other years you bring in a bunch of knucklehead team cancers.

As for IUP, I tend to think Tort has a pretty strong roster. Yes, he has a ton back from a pretty so-so team. But, they had a lot go wrong last year. Things snowballed quickly. I think we saw that team at even close to full strength one time all season. Add in some coaching travesties, and, well, they were 6-5.

Now, will IUP win games on coaching strategy and X's and O's? No. IUP's defense is what it is and hasn't changed much in years. IUP's offense is extremely predictable (like Tecmo Bowl with four plays predictable). Tort's best teams have won on shear talent and overpowering opponents.

Tort had a very young roster last year. This team has a slew of juniors and seniors. They've had a year of turmoil. Tort's teams also seem to play best when he plays the card of them being perceived to be down. He's very good at talking that angle up. His teams tend to be pretty average when they are expected to be strong.

Like I said last week ... betting any real money on this season would be a risky proposition. I see a 9-1 path and I see a 6-4 path. I think his starting units will be very strong. Depth at certain positions is alarming. Hopefully that is being addressed with some last-minute mercenaries.

Make no mistake, they best be looking at this trip to Ashland as a playoff game. It pretty much is.

[SRU 88]

SRU should breeze to another PSAC West title this fall. I don’t see any reason y’all can’t win the PSAC if you could just figure out Kutztown. I really don’t see IUP or Cal being too big of a problem. I just like the SRU material quite a bit more than what the other contenders bring. Of course that’s on paper and who knows what can happen with injuries, team chemistry with so many new faces, etc.

They have a brutal schedule. 3 teams that made playoffs last year, in the first 5 weeks of the season; and 2 of them are on the road; plus have to travel to Cal as well. The O-line is a huge question mark, as is the depth on the D-line

[EyeoftheHawk]

Two transfers announced in Feb., not on fall roster

Jeff Bonnette Cal

Davion Daniels Bowling Green

SRU should breeze to another PSAC West title this fall. I don’t see any reason y’all can’t win the PSAC if you could just figure out Kutztown. I really don’t see IUP or Cal being too big of a problem. I just like the SRU material quite a bit more than what the other contenders bring. Of course that’s on paper and who knows what can happen with injuries, team chemistry with so many new faces, etc.

[Ship69]

Former Gannon DE Obi Ezeigbo (2023 1st Team All-PSAC West) is having a huge camp and is expected to play a lot (possibly start) for Top 25 Oklahoma State.

Gannon has been a strange team. They seemingly get good talent in there, but have lost the last two seasons to sub-par Ship teams.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Former Gannon DE Obi Ezeigbo (2023 1st Team All-PSAC West) is having a huge camp and is expected to play a lot (possibly start) for Top 25 Oklahoma State.

[SRU 88]

SRU transfer rundown:

John Brown, DL, from West Liberty, two time All MEC

Demeatric Crenshaw, QB, from Tennessee State but played 2 seasons at Youngstown State and was Missouri Valley Freshman of the Year in 21

Marshall Futrell, OL, from Charlotte

Rashawn Harvey, WR, from West Liberty was First Team All MEC in 2023, top 15 D2 receiver

Todd Hill, DL, from Duquesne, multiple time All NEC

Anthony Jackson, OL, from Gannon

Nassir Jones, TE, from Bloomsburg, all PSAC East in 23

Thomas Lane, DL, from McNeese State, had committed to Marshall

Idris Lawrence, RB, from Notre Dame OH, All American and All MEC in 2023, top 10 D2 RB

Willie Page, DB, from St Augustines

Brandon Ross, WR, from Notre Dame OH

Mike Solomon, WR, from Notre Dame OH, 55 catches for 724 yards and 3 TD over two seasons

Latrell Sutton, WR, from Virginia Tech. Appeared in one game

Mark Williams, TE, from Norfolk State but played 23 games at Kent State

Lutz is pretty good at finding last minute guys. They don't report for a week or so.

Two transfers announced in Feb., not on fall roster

Jeff Bonnette Cal

Davion Daniels Bowling Green

[Fightingscot82]

Speaking of transfers ... it's interesting to follow all the WPIAL hearings regarding this topic.

Shockingly, Pittsburgh Central Catholic is involved in many of them.

They're the closest thing we've got to the Philly catholic league schools where there's such an ambiguous natural community. So many kids can argue mom got a job in Oakland or Shadyside so it now works instead of the hometown schoold like Jeanette or Mars.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Speaking of transfers ... it's interesting to follow all the WPIAL hearings regarding this topic.

Shockingly, Pittsburgh Central Catholic is involved in many of them.

[TheBigCat2192]

SRU transfer rundown:

John Brown, DL, from West Liberty, two time All MEC

Demeatric Crenshaw, QB, from Tennessee State but played 2 seasons at Youngstown State and was Missouri Valley Freshman of the Year in 21

Marshall Futrell, OL, from Charlotte

Rashawn Harvey, WR, from West Liberty was First Team All MEC in 2023, top 15 D2 receiver

Todd Hill, DL, from Duquesne, multiple time All NEC

Anthony Jackson, OL, from Gannon

Nassir Jones, TE, from Bloomsburg, all PSAC East in 23

Thomas Lane, DL, from McNeese State, had committed to Marshall

Idris Lawrence, RB, from Notre Dame OH, All American and All MEC in 2023, top 10 D2 RB

Willie Page, DB, from St Augustines

Brandon Ross, WR, from Notre Dame OH

Mike Solomon, WR, from Notre Dame OH, 55 catches for 724 yards and 3 TD over two seasons

Latrell Sutton, WR, from Virginia Tech. Appeared in one game

Mark Williams, TE, from Norfolk State but played 23 games at Kent State

Lutz is pretty good at finding last minute guys. They don't report for a week or so.

Obviously hard to say with certainty how they’ll work out in SRU’s system but the WR/RB pickups here, especially Harvey and Lawrence, look good in a scouting the statline/accolades way. The DLs from WLU and Duquesne also look promising on paper and could be very good gets. You can never have enough line depth.

[Ram040506]

SRU transfer rundown:

John Brown, DL, from West Liberty, two time All MEC

Demeatric Crenshaw, QB, from Tennessee State but played 2 seasons at Youngstown State and was Missouri Valley Freshman of the Year in 21

Marshall Futrell, OL, from Charlotte

Rashawn Harvey, WR, from West Liberty was First Team All MEC in 2023, top 15 D2 receiver

Todd Hill, DL, from Duquesne, multiple time All NEC

Anthony Jackson, OL, from Gannon

Nassir Jones, TE, from Bloomsburg, all PSAC East in 23

Thomas Lane, DL, from McNeese State, had committed to Marshall

Idris Lawrence, RB, from Notre Dame OH, All American and All MEC in 2023, top 10 D2 RB

Willie Page, DB, from St Augustines

Brandon Ross, WR, from Notre Dame OH

Mike Solomon, WR, from Notre Dame OH, 55 catches for 724 yards and 3 TD over two seasons

Latrell Sutton, WR, from Virginia Tech. Appeared in one game

Mark Williams, TE, from Norfolk State but played 23 games at Kent State

Lutz is pretty good at finding last minute guys. They don't report for a week or so.

That is a hell of a WR/RB class to bring in with proven production. Impressive.