Off-season Chatter

[MrsThortonMelon]

You are right - this is a big reason why Saban left - how do you coach and build a team when you aren't ever sure who is going to be there - you count on a part of your team being good and lets recruit to our needs but then guys leave creating new holes - if he thought it was hard at Alabama how is it at D2 and at the upper level teams in D2 where full rides get dangled at underclassman that typically don't have them at the D2 level PLUS the possibility of some cash - we need to all switch to the Harding model where you are taking undersize guys anyway that can't ever move up and run an option giving more money to top defensive guys - not knocking Harding so don't anyone get in an uproar, they have a nice system that allows them to recruit undersize guys for o-line and rb's because that option system works excellently with that player, it does not require big o-line for pass blocking - CN under their former great coach did the same thing and were successful for decades with it and we see NMU making strides with the same thought process - I'm very familiar with it in that I played in that same system in the 70's - anyway I agree, something needs to be done to tighten up the NIL/Portal situation for NCAA football - thoughts?

Which Harding team did you watch, the starting Oline was 295, 295, 305, etc...these are NOT little guys. GVSU line is way smaller than that. And get real Harding has a support plan for their guys that is hard to beat...

[FSUBulldogs]

Bummer to see some GV players enter the portal, but that is to be expected now. Curious how many FSU will have when it is all said and done.

On another note, I saw the AD at Ferris mentioned who they are playing in 2026 in their non-conference games. Pitt State, Bentley, and Central Washington. Oh, and an NAIA opponent he mentioned but didn't name.

[Redwing]

The biggest issue is the unregulated "agents/handlers" that are out there. Most of them are just in it to make money and have 0% of the player's best interest in mind. They are promising some wild things and for a few of the players they are able to come through but for most it falls way short of what was promised. Many of the players are listening to the bad advice by what these "agents" are selling. I'm not against kids moving up who have a real legitimate shot, they absolutely deserve to if they want, but unfortunately a large percentage are moving up on false pretences or flat out lies. Way too many players are ending up in bad situations at new schools or not ending up anywhere at all.

That's true for too many. Still, the best talent at D2 seems to get scooped up by a D1 school with added NIL dollars. Just look at who GV will likely lose... kids going to G5 or even lesser conferences with big dollars. I suspect other schools are facing the same issues. I admit, the Harding model is a bit of a mystery. But I think there is more there then what we see on the surface. Not implying cheating, but more resources are there than what we see. A D2 program MIGHT find a way to keep one guy.. but even then it's doubtful I don't have the solution. But it doesn't mean I can support the current system.

[Gliac_fan10]

The biggest issue is the unregulated "agents/handlers" that are out there. Most of them are just in it to make money and have 0% of the player's best interest in mind. They are promising some wild things and for a few of the players they are able to come through but for most it falls way short of what was promised. Many of the players are listening to the bad advice by what these "agents" are selling. I'm not against kids moving up who have a real legitimate shot, they absolutely deserve to if they want, but unfortunately a large percentage are moving up on false pretences or flat out lies. Way too many players are ending up in bad situations at new schools or not ending up anywhere at all.

[BillyGV]

You are right - this is a big reason why Saban left - how do you coach and build a team when you aren't ever sure who is going to be there - you count on a part of your team being good and lets recruit to our needs but then guys leave creating new holes - if he thought it was hard at Alabama how is it at D2 and at the upper level teams in D2 where full rides get dangled at underclassman that typically don't have them at the D2 level PLUS the possibility of some cash - we need to all switch to the Harding model where you are taking undersize guys anyway that can't ever move up and run an option giving more money to top defensive guys - not knocking Harding so don't anyone get in an uproar, they have a nice system that allows them to recruit undersize guys for o-line and rb's because that option system works excellently with that player, it does not require big o-line for pass blocking - CN under their former great coach did the same thing and were successful for decades with it and we see NMU making strides with the same thought process - I'm very familiar with it in that I played in that same system in the 70's - anyway I agree, something needs to be done to tighten up the NIL/Portal situation for NCAA football - thoughts?

[KleShreen]

Saw that quite a few GVSU players are in the portal, so I thought I'd start a topic here for off-season stuff.

So far, I've seen the following GV players announce their transfer portal intentions:

DL Jibriel Conde, who has offers from basically everyone. Basically same recruitment as Suggs.
DL Khamani Potts, who has offers from some G5 schools so far
DL Jamari Buddin, but have not seen any offers for him yet on social media
DB Quinn Wills, who has some G5 offers
Center Cannon Mackey, haven't seen offers posted for him yet
K Jay Cady

Every year, the d2 model feels so unsustainable lol. I can't imagine coaching in d2 anymore. We're now essentially junior colleges. You're coaching guys for, at most, two years with one of them actually consisting of playing time on the field, and then they're gone. Rebuilding entire rosters every single year. I just don't know how you sustain that.