Z Evans in the portal….

[Dogfrog]

One would think that, with that pedigree, Donati would be out in front, leading the pack with this Brave New World we have spreading out before us. It wasn't but a few weeks ago that Shannon on the Podcast was lamenting that TCU didn't have anything set up to deal with NIL, and that he and some other ex-players were trying to arrange something to get such funding flowing.

This cannot come as a shock, considering the rumored money sloshing around the Usual Suspect Programs since this thing came down. The shocking aspect is that TCU hasn't moved to engage in something as clearly important to the future of the program.

The other thing is, yeah, I'm an old fuddy-duddy. Used to be there was loyalty, camaraderie, esprit de corps amongst teammates. Now it's "Show Me The MONEY!!!" Kinda makes it hard to get terribly enthusiastic about following the progress of a young player when you now know that, should he show any promise, some Big Program will whisk him off on a flying carpet of Benjamins. Somebody blew a big hole through the head of College Football As We Knew It, and the body just hasn't hit the floor yet.

No doubt it is an old school loyalty thing for those of us with TCU degrees and of a certain age. Looking forward, though, I doubt younger generations feel exactly the same way. This will be semi-pro with a TCU jersey. Maybe part of the justification is that a distancing of the college game from college degrees might make it more interesting to locals not associated with TCU? We’ll see.

 

[AroundWorldFrog]

No zack yet, but Spencer Rattler showed up today

2022 College Football Transfer Portal

2022 College Football Transfer Portal

247sports.com

Interesting that Charlie Brewer is back in the portal. That new QB at Baylor almost has as punchable a face as Brewer.

 

[AroundWorldFrog]

Any one that thinks that coaches ever did their job solely for the love of the sport need to read Meat on the Hoof or Bleeding Orange.

 

[Wexahu]

bunch of butthurt negative nancies. i wish evans all the success and hope he finds a good spot.

Butthurt negative nancies?

I'm not butthurt at all, I've been saying all along we'd be better off if he went elsewhere. I think it's time to move on. Best of luck to the kid.

 

[Wexahu]

Interesting that Charlie Brewer is back in the portal. That new QB at Baylor almost has as punchable a face as Brewer.

Seriously, when I switched over to the Baylor game I thought I was watching a replay from a couple years ago or something. Didn't know Bohanon wasn't playing and that kid looks exactly like Brewer in his helmet.

 

[AroundWorldFrog]

Seriously, when I switched over to the Baylor game I thought I was watching a replay from a couple years ago or something. Didn't know Bohanon wasn't playing and that kid looks exactly like Brewer in his helmet.

Same number, had to do a double take.

 

[gofor2]

A lot of people think every athlete chooses a school, but sometimes that's only part of it. What I have seen a lot over the years is that players often choose a school because of a specific coach that recruited them.

If that coach is no longer there, sometimes they have little to no incentive to stay. Every athlete is different and there are of course multiple factors involved and I don't view it as a slam on the school, nor a reason to slam the kid.

 

[gofor2]

that kid looks exactly like Brewer in his helmet.

Well you know what they say, all white people look the same

 

[Zubaz]

Brewer left Utah a few months ago, didn't he? I didn't think that was new.

 

[Wexahu]

A lot of people think every athlete chooses a school, but sometimes that's only part of it. What I have seen a lot over the years is that players often choose a school because of a specific coach that recruited them.

If that coach is no longer there, sometimes they have little to no incentive to stay. Every athlete is different and there are of course multiple factors involved and I don't view it as a slam on the school, nor a reason to slam the kid.

I just find it extremely odd that a kid would be that strongly attached to a specific coach. Seems incredibly short sighted, but oh well.

It's kind of like picking a college based on where you're best friend or maybe a high school teammate is going. You go to school there, and then a month later you find out you have 5 better friends you never knew you had.

 

[AroundWorldFrog]

A few OL and DL I'd like to see picked out of the portal although it doesn't look like any particularly great ones.

And maybe ZE is giving Sonny a chance to talk to him.

 

[Zubaz]

I just find it extremely odd that a kid would be that strongly attached to a specific coach. Seems incredibly short sighted, but oh well.

It's kind of like picking a college based on where you're best friend or maybe a high school teammate is going. You go to school there, and then a month later you find out you have 5 better friends you never knew you had.

Sounds to me like it's more like going to work somewhere because you're strongly attached to your boss, and then following him if he left and offered to take you with him.....which happens all of the time. At that level, we know those guys are going to college to play football, the head coach of the program is way more important to those players' prospects than who their friends are.

Imagine an extreme example of Kliff Kingsbury leaving a program and being replaced by Paul Johnson. That would clearly impact an elite level wide receiver's production and therefore his prospects at the next level. Doesn't sound short sighted at all for that WR to be concerned, or to entertain other opportunities if they're made available.

 

[CountryFrog]

It is interconnected, but free agency is a FAR bigger detriment to college sports as a whole.

If we're heading toward minor league sports, which I don't doubt they are, players are going to have to be contractually bound to teams/schools or the thing will never work.

That's where the union/cba stuff will come in to figure payment and player movement parameters. Who knows if that will get rid of the "free agency" or make it worse than it already is though.

 

[westoverhillbilly]

I really have no idea what the real situation with ZE is other than I've been told by those in the athletic department that he really is a good kid. However, I do find it perplexing that he appeared to call himself out of games after a run or when he broke free down the sidelines he would step out of bounds to avoid a hit when I thought he may be able to break a tackle or drag a tackler another 5-10 yards, but so did our other RBs and WRs at times- maybe this is what was coached to keep skill guys healthy.

If, and I'm making an assumption here, ZE did in fact state that he wanted no more than 10-15 carries per game (Patterson said that's what he wanted to preserve him), I believe he cost TCU a win against Texas when Bijon Robinson carried 35 times for over 200 yards and ZE 15 times for a bunch- had he run it 35 times, I really believe we win that game.

If ZE did negotiate fewer runs or called himself out to preserve himself, good riddance.. If not, and Sonny and the staff thinks he can be productive and he's willing to stay, then good for him and us..

 

[Pure Purple]

Wonder if Evans could have decided to transfer early in the season and was simply

prolonging the time of recovery from his initial injury to avoid playing anymore?

 

[Double D]

I wish there was NIL for employees of big companies. What if there was a transfer portal for employees?
What would my employer say if I said 'I have entered the transfer portal' aka interviewing elsewhere?
Do you think they would support my decision?

 

[Wexahu]

Sounds to me like it's more like going to work somewhere because you're strongly attached to your boss, and then following him if he left and offered to take you with him.....which happens all of the time. At that level, we know those guys are going to college to play football, the head coach of the program is way more important to those players' prospects than who their friends are.

Imagine an extreme example of Kliff Kingsbury leaving a program and being replaced by Paul Johnson. That would clearly impact an elite level wide receiver's production and therefore his prospects at the next level. Doesn't sound short sighted at all for that WR to be concerned, or to entertain other opportunities if they're made available.

I'm talking more about situations where a kid follows a recruiter who is quite a bit below the level of head coach. I hear all the time that we need to hold on to Coach X or Player Y will probably leave, and Coach X is just a low-level position coach, essentially a recruiter more than anything else. Doesn't seem to make much sense, but oh well.

Your example IS extreme. And these days, with all the scouting that is done, you will be found if you are a good player. I could probably come up with quite a few examples of really productive college players that didn't get drafted or didn't get drafted high, and vice versa. It was quite a bit different 30 years ago.

Imagine if they just had a draft like every other professional sports league has. Maybe they should. It's minor league sports after all.

 

[Zubaz]

I'm talking more about situations where a kid follows a recruiter who is quite a bit below the level of head coach. I hear all the time that we need to hold on to Coach X or Player Y will probably leave, and Coach X is just a low-level position coach, essentially a recruiter more than anything else. Doesn't seem to make much sense, but oh well.

I would agree this doesn't make much sense. OC/DC or head coach, maybe a position coach MAYBE. A recruiter or whatever....nah.

Your example IS extreme. And these days, with all the scouting that is done, you will be found if you are a good player. I could probably come up with quite a few examples of really productive college players that didn't get drafted or didn't get drafted high, and vice versa. It was quite a bit different 30 years ago.

Sure. Megatron is probably the best example of that. But for that middle part of the curve, where people need every advantage they can get, we know a good coach is going to make a difference so it's not unreasonable to consider that when deciding where to play, or explore different opportunities when there's a coaching change.

Imagine if they just had a draft like every other professional sports league has. Maybe they should. It's minor league sports after all.

If they totally separated from the University model I wouldn't mind. Drafting a kid to go to school in Lubbock when he already has a high school degree should be an 8th Amendment violation.

 

[Wexahu]

I would agree this doesn't make much sense. OC/DC or head coach, maybe a position coach MAYBE. A recruiter or whatever....nah.

Sure. Megatron is probably the best example of that. But for that middle part of the curve, where people need every advantage they can get, we know a good coach is going to make a difference so it's not unreasonable to consider that when deciding where to play, or explore different opportunities when there's a coaching change.

If they totally separated from the University model I wouldn't mind. Drafting a kid to go to school in Lubbock when he already has a high school degree should be an 8th Amendment violation.

Being drafted by Green Bay or Buffalo probably isn’t what every kid dreams of either. You wanna be like the pros (which I’m told it already is and has been) that’s the way it works.

 

[Zubaz]

Being drafted by Green Bay or Buffalo probably isn’t what every kid dreams of either. You wanna be like the pros (which I’m told it already is and has been) that’s the way it works.

The NFL drafts kids to play football absent any other requirements like school. As I said, if that was the case with a "U-18 Football" divorced from the University requirements, that would be different, but that's not what we have right now.

It should also be noted that there are plenty of professional sports leagues that do not have a draft model. Fairly certain that's a largely North American phenomenon, actually (though I think Australian rugby might do it?).