The Portal, 2025 Style

[Fightingscot82]

Wilson, Rampart and ?????
who is the third?

WR Mike Solomon. Entered April 30, committed to YSU May 4 hmmm

Also lost LB Jake Miller to Mercyhurst.

[SRU 88]

I'm not an SRU basher. I have a lot of respect for their program and I think highly of Lutz. I dislike them, of course, but realize they are good. I'd go as far to say Lutz should be a low-level D1 HC.

That said, they have taken some serious losses here this off-season.

They obviously have some money and Lutz is a good recruiter. But, they've lost three serious dudes here.

Wilson, Rampart and ?????
who is the third?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

He's got the size and some production. He's 6-4 and caught 42 passes for over 700 yards and 8 TD. He had 3 TDs against Ferris State. Was already a grad student in public health, so maybe an easy way to upgrade.

I'm not an SRU basher. I have a lot of respect for their program and I think highly of Lutz. I dislike them, of course, but realize they are good. I'd go as far to say Lutz should be a low-level D1 HC.

That said, they have taken some serious losses here this off-season.

They obviously have some money and Lutz is a good recruiter. But, they've lost three serious dudes here.

[Fightingscot82]

Izzy Ramos LB from Lock Haven has entered the portal. Lock Haven has lost a lot of starters from last season entering the portal.

Spring ball with the new staff maybe didn't go as he wished. He's got some nice experience in two years that are certainly flippable.

[Fightingscot82]

Just saw that Logan Ramper, WR from SRU, has committed to WVU.

Does he have all the tools to succeed at that level?

He's got the size and some production. He's 6-4 and caught 42 passes for over 700 yards and 8 TD. He had 3 TDs against Ferris State. Was already a grad student in public health, so maybe an easy way to upgrade.

[PSAC77]

Izzy Ramos LB from Lock Haven has entered the portal. Lock Haven has lost a lot of starters from last season entering the portal.

[iupgroundhog]

Just saw that Logan Ramper, WR from SRU, has committed to WVU.

Does he have all the tools to succeed at that level?

[IUP24]

I’m not sure I agree with this. House might be good for competitive balance and it is going to open up pay for play BUT it lets the schools and conferences skate on television revenue. I’ve been apprehensive about House on two other grounds and I’ve yet to see any reason to change my stance:

1. The NCAA is essentially using this settlement to get a CBA without actually collectively bargaining.
2. A large number of member institutions are public schools and some portion of athletic department money (and potential salary cap money) is coming out of the general fund. The business of college athletics is also highly dependent on public goods like radio and television; given this I’m not convinced that NCAA structure for the next 10 years is something that should be settled by a random judge rather than by legislative or executive action and with little to no input from the public.

No, we are aligned. I agree with you 100%.

I'm basically saying that I don't think how this is being adjudicated in courts accomplishes what they were actually ever intending to do with this entire settlement. The entire process has been so odd. It's perplexing that, as you said, a random judge is interpreting and settling this entire thing lol.

[TheBigCat2192]

The way that so much of this is being handled is ultimately just going to result in more isolated court cases down the road to hash out all the finite details that she's refusing to rule on here. The window of this settlement will be over and they'll be onto the next farce of a college athletics model before this is ever even fully codified.

They had a fantastic opportunity to create a very balanced and appropriate new model and arrangement that worked for student athletes and was fair for potential competitive balance, but this has been a failure at nearly every turn.

I’m not sure I agree with this. House might be good for competitive balance and it is going to open up pay for play BUT it lets the schools and conferences skate on television revenue. I’ve been apprehensive about House on two other grounds and I’ve yet to see any reason to change my stance:

1. The NCAA is essentially using this settlement to get a CBA without actually collectively bargaining.
2. A large number of member institutions are public schools and some portion of athletic department money (and potential salary cap money) is coming out of the general fund. The business of college athletics is also highly dependent on public goods like radio and television; given this I’m not convinced that NCAA structure for the next 10 years is something that should be settled by a random judge rather than by legislative or executive action and with little to no input from the public.

[IUP24]

The big House settlement is also on hold because of those roster limits:



Based on some other quotes in the article they will probably come eventually through year-over-year cuts rather than the immediate change that a lot of athletic departments have been working under the assumption would occur.

The way that so much of this is being handled is ultimately just going to result in more isolated court cases down the road to hash out all the finite details that she's refusing to rule on here. The window of this settlement will be over and they'll be onto the next farce of a college athletics model before this is ever even fully codified.

They had a fantastic opportunity to create a very balanced and appropriate new model and arrangement that worked for student athletes and was fair for potential competitive balance, but this has been a failure at nearly every turn.

[TheBigCat2192]

I would not bank on that. That was what originally was going to happen when the planned roster cap was going to be 85 or 90 players. The laughable public outcry regarding “eliminating walk ons” just resulted in them raising the roster limit to 105. With that number, basically every player on your roster, including your current “walk ons” will fit under that roster limit.

What the lower cap would have done would have resulted in a domino effect of seeing walk ons and fringe guys not making the D1 FBS roster cut. That would have resulted in those guys filtering down to FCS, D2, and D3 - places where they actually should have been all along. But that’s not going to be the case anymore.

The big House settlement is also on hold because of those roster limits:

A federal judge told the NCAA and its members Wednesday that she would not approve the multibillion-dollar antitrust settlement that is expected to reshape the business of college sports unless they change a proposed policy for limiting roster sizes.

Judge Claudia Wilken said the NCAA's insistence on immediately implementing roster limits would cause some college athletes to lose their spot on their current teams and that she could not approve a settlement that would cause harm to some members of the plaintiff's class. She wrote that she did not have issues with any other parts of the proposed settlement and that the court "tentatively finds it can grant final approval" to the remainder of the settlement if the roster limits issue is resolved.

Based on some other quotes in the article they will probably come eventually through year-over-year cuts rather than the immediate change that a lot of athletic departments have been working under the assumption would occur.

[IUP24]

As I understand it, the new roster limits are going into effect and this will create a tsunami of D1 transfers to lower levels? I'm asking.

I would not bank on that. That was what originally was going to happen when the planned roster cap was going to be 85 or 90 players. The laughable public outcry regarding “eliminating walk ons” just resulted in them raising the roster limit to 105. With that number, basically every player on your roster, including your current “walk ons” will fit under that roster limit.

What the lower cap would have done would have resulted in a domino effect of seeing walk ons and fringe guys not making the D1 FBS roster cut. That would have resulted in those guys filtering down to FCS, D2, and D3 - places where they actually should have been all along. But that’s not going to be the case anymore.

[goalieman]

It's hard to say where Nico will land. He's not from the East Coast so he likely has a lot of possibilities. He has good size and has some game tape. He's also a faster runner than most realize.

IUP signed (4) transfers over winter break -- All-PSAC DB David Awuah (Seton Hill), QB Matthew Rueve (Boston College / Findlay), WR Devin Whitlock (Pitt) and DB Mehki Johnson (Millersville).

Awuah is an extremely talented defensive back (and he'll let you know about it). He's kind of a throwback, personality-wise, to the bad boy teams at IUP in the 90s. He backs it up, too.

Rueve is reuniting with OC Frank Cignetti (who was his OC at BC). He's solid and should hit the ground running. Big arm. Experienced. Great size.

Whitlock is on the smaller side but is a burner. He should thrive in the PSAC. He also played under Cignetti (at Pitt). He's not easy to catch once he has the ball - break-away speed and very elusive.

Johnson had a strong freshman year at Millersville. He has a season of experience under his belt and will be surrounded with vastly superior talent in Indiana. He has nice size for a DB (about 6'2" and 190 lbs).

They will sign a few more in the coming weeks. The market is flooded right now with guys looking for new homes. I'd say it's all but a certainty they will sign at least (1) RB and probably (2) OL.

Tort is also getting back a slew of players who missed the majority - or all - of last season.

DE Randy Okungu (played in just 1.5 games last year)
DL Quadir Jacobs (missed all of 2024)
WR Zachary Boyd (missed all of 2024)
WR Omar Stewart (missed all of 2024)

Okungu, when fully healthy, is a real handful. He and Terell Williams - finally teamed up - will be a terror. They are both big, strong, physical players.

Jacobs is a house at about 6'2" and 330 lbs. He won't be an every down player but he will certainly clog some holes.

Stewart and Boyd were both hyped high school recruits a couple years back. Both were injured prior to the season last year.

One other key player (who won't get much buzz on here) is OL Matthew Nelson. He got bumped in to the starting lineup last season and played really well. He was going to retire and enter the workforce but at some point decided to stay for his final season.

Keep in mind Tort's last two classes (2023 & 2024) were very, very 'high school heavy' -- unlike most. He has some guys most on here haven't heard of yet but, well, they will soon. IUP has also done extremely, extremely well in player retention. So, we are going to see a lot of home-grown players this Fall.

Devin Whitlock is an interesting prospect ...... as you said, he is small, good speed and a great athlete (listed at 5'8", 165 in high school and 5'10", 165 at Pitt so not sure how big he really is) ..... he played QB and DB at Belle Vernon High School as a senior and ran and passed for more then a 1000 yards each ....... also returned punts and kick-offs in high school ...... Whitlock was at Pitt the last 2 seasons and Cignetti was there Whitlock's 1st year ...... however to be clear, Whitlock was a preferred walk-on at Pitt, not a scholarship player, and never played in a game.

I agree with you though that Whitlock may become a factor in D2 with his speed and athleticism ..... he is listed at WR and I think he could be a solid slot receiver, may be able to also run jet sweeps and might be good in a wildcat package on offense, he also could return punts and kick-offs as well ..... if all else fails, he was a pretty good DB in high school ..... as a Pitt and IUP fan, I'll be interested to see if he makes an impact at IUP.

[iupgroundhog]

It's hard to say where Nico will land. He's not from the East Coast so he likely has a lot of possibilities. He has good size and has some game tape. He's also a faster runner than most realize.

IUP signed (4) transfers over winter break -- All-PSAC DB David Awuah (Seton Hill), QB Matthew Rueve (Boston College / Findlay), WR Devin Whitlock (Pitt) and DB Mehki Johnson (Millersville).

Awuah is an extremely talented defensive back (and he'll let you know about it). He's kind of a throwback, personality-wise, to the bad boy teams at IUP in the 90s. He backs it up, too.

Rueve is reuniting with OC Frank Cignetti (who was his OC at BC). He's solid and should hit the ground running. Big arm. Experienced. Great size.

Whitlock is on the smaller side but is a burner. He should thrive in the PSAC. He also played under Cignetti (at Pitt). He's not easy to catch once he has the ball - break-away speed and very elusive.

Johnson had a strong freshman year at Millersville. He has a season of experience under his belt and will be surrounded with vastly superior talent in Indiana. He has nice size for a DB (about 6'2" and 190 lbs).

They will sign a few more in the coming weeks. The market is flooded right now with guys looking for new homes. I'd say it's all but a certainty they will sign at least (1) RB and probably (2) OL.

Tort is also getting back a slew of players who missed the majority - or all - of last season.

DE Randy Okungu (played in just 1.5 games last year)
DL Quadir Jacobs (missed all of 2024)
WR Zachary Boyd (missed all of 2024)
WR Omar Stewart (missed all of 2024)

Okungu, when fully healthy, is a real handful. He and Terell Williams - finally teamed up - will be a terror. They are both big, strong, physical players.

Jacobs is a house at about 6'2" and 330 lbs. He won't be an every down player but he will certainly clog some holes.

Stewart and Boyd were both hyped high school recruits a couple years back. Both were injured prior to the season last year.

One other key player (who won't get much buzz on here) is OL Matthew Nelson. He got bumped in to the starting lineup last season and played really well. He was going to retire and enter the workforce but at some point decided to stay for his final season.

Keep in mind Tort's last two classes (2023 & 2024) were very, very 'high school heavy' -- unlike most. He has some guys most on here haven't heard of yet but, well, they will soon. IUP has also done extremely, extremely well in player retention. So, we are going to see a lot of home-grown players this Fall.

RB is interesting. I fully expect IUP to sign a RB. They do have some decent building blocks at RB, in my opinion. Of course, Younger was originally supposed to be a DB but was called into service on offense due to injuries over the past 3 years. In that time, I think he has amassed just under 1,000 yards rushing. Washington is listed as a RB. They switched him to offense last year. He has had injuries the last 2 years but has a lot of speed and could be a surprise. The R-Freshman, Major and Marquez looked pretty good to me on film from high school and they both competed at a high level. A transfer would make the backfield complete. And don't forget Parker Gregg, listed as a FB, has a lot of talent. Hancox is also listed at FB. He came in as a QB, switched to TE last year and now FB. I can see him contributing.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I was wondering if there was any idea where Nico (IUP backup quarterback) might land?

also, has IUP picked up any players from the portal?

It's hard to say where Nico will land. He's not from the East Coast so he likely has a lot of possibilities. He has good size and has some game tape. He's also a faster runner than most realize.

IUP signed (4) transfers over winter break -- All-PSAC DB David Awuah (Seton Hill), QB Matthew Rueve (Boston College / Findlay), WR Devin Whitlock (Pitt) and DB Mehki Johnson (Millersville).

Awuah is an extremely talented defensive back (and he'll let you know about it). He's kind of a throwback, personality-wise, to the bad boy teams at IUP in the 90s. He backs it up, too.

Rueve is reuniting with OC Frank Cignetti (who was his OC at BC). He's solid and should hit the ground running. Big arm. Experienced. Great size.

Whitlock is on the smaller side but is a burner. He should thrive in the PSAC. He also played under Cignetti (at Pitt). He's not easy to catch once he has the ball - break-away speed and very elusive.

Johnson had a strong freshman year at Millersville. He has a season of experience under his belt and will be surrounded with vastly superior talent in Indiana. He has nice size for a DB (about 6'2" and 190 lbs).

They will sign a few more in the coming weeks. The market is flooded right now with guys looking for new homes. I'd say it's all but a certainty they will sign at least (1) RB and probably (2) OL.

Tort is also getting back a slew of players who missed the majority - or all - of last season.

DE Randy Okungu (played in just 1.5 games last year)
DL Quadir Jacobs (missed all of 2024)
WR Zachary Boyd (missed all of 2024)
WR Omar Stewart (missed all of 2024)

Okungu, when fully healthy, is a real handful. He and Terell Williams - finally teamed up - will be a terror. They are both big, strong, physical players.

Jacobs is a house at about 6'2" and 330 lbs. He won't be an every down player but he will certainly clog some holes.

Stewart and Boyd were both hyped high school recruits a couple years back. Both were injured prior to the season last year.

One other key player (who won't get much buzz on here) is OL Matthew Nelson. He got bumped in to the starting lineup last season and played really well. He was going to retire and enter the workforce but at some point decided to stay for his final season.

Keep in mind Tort's last two classes (2023 & 2024) were very, very 'high school heavy' -- unlike most. He has some guys most on here haven't heard of yet but, well, they will soon. IUP has also done extremely, extremely well in player retention. So, we are going to see a lot of home-grown players this Fall.