I thought I'd get us started with a thread about portal entrants, both from Virginia Tech and elsewhere, so we could get a view of the landscape of the Portal.
A good rule of thumb would be, similar to the recruiting threads, to keep announcements as top level comments with discussion below, and have a top thread of the page catch-all for general discussion.
Forums:
DISCLAIMER: Forum topics may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
Comments
General Discussion Thread
So with the Portal opening in a week, there is an increasing trickle of players putting their names in.
Top QB prospect, as of this moment is Matthew Sluka, formerly of UNLV, though I would expect Rickie Collins, formerly of LSU or Holden Geriner (Auburn) to move into that spot.
RB is very thin, though we did strike gold with Tuten back in the day. Top is Malachi Hosley, formerly of Penn
WR looks deep, with seemingly all of Mississippi State's WRs in the portal, as well as Texas' Johntay Cook II. Former Hokie Da"Wain Lofton is back in the portal
Louisville's Madden Sanker is likely to be the top OL for the time being.
DL is led by another Alabama DT looking for a new place. Maybe Gilliam can spread a good word or two.
No news on if any of the available LBs are any good
I would love for Tech to make a run at former GA CB Julian Humphrey and Louisville CB Aaron Williams
Funny seeing Rickie Collins name here as his being at LSU was one of the tipping factors on Drones staying here if I remember correctly.
Maybe we can do a trade.
Regarding bama DL, i think you mean Khurtiss Perry. Gilliam came from Oklahoma iirc
WR also has Concepcion from NC ST and Eric Rivers from FIU.
Concepcion from NC ST - was better than anyone we had on defense last year. He fucking dominated us.
Unless Ryan Williams or Jeremiah Smith go into the portal, Concepcion should be #1 on everybody's big board. That dude is unbelievable and his little brother is going to KState.
Anthony Colandrea announced he is entering the portal. Folks like to take shots at him, but I think he has good upside and playing behind a sieve has hurt the perception of him. If he goes to a good G5 team, he will have success.
I do love taking shots at him, but I agree. I am actually interested in how he does at his next stop and think he will be fun to watch.
Same - as long as it isn't an ACC school 😅
Not sure about his upside but I like schadenfreude with those that open their mouths.
This is more a loss for TKP than it is for UVA.
Thanks for the memories, Anthony. We're gonna miss you.
Yeah I'm one taking the shots. I've watched him play enough games and make absolutely boneheaded decisions and I think he throws a terrible ball. He's athletic and can move well but I don't see the upside he's a gunslinger with a watergun that finds the other team as often as he finds his WR which have actually been pretty good at UVA
He will go to a 6-6 or worse ACC team and beat us... like Brennan Armstrong did.
OK, OK, it's easy to make fun of him, but he's a competitor. And I wish him well.
Somewhere ELSE.
I just can't unsee it.
KC Concepcion is in the portal. He can seriously ball. A big fish will land him.
I think it's in between Miami and Kansas State. His brother (low 3 star) recently committed to K-State after de-comitting from NC State, and it's said it's their goal to play together.
Please Kstate, I dont want to play against him
Of fucking course Miami. As if that fucking Prick Restrepo isn't annoying enough
Not strictly portal related but Clemson may be forced to finally test the portal waters as they just lost a 7th commitment in their incoming class. This one a 4 🌟 Safety that flipped to Michigan money.
Their seven lost commits had an average ranking of 92 on 247Sports.
Wishing we had those kind of recruiting chops to get 7 of those type of guys in the first place.
Hopefully the Keshawn Davila visit during the UVA game went well. He is the top JUCO CB.
Hope Hokies look at Fresno St LB Phoenix Jackson. No idea if he would cross the country but would be a huge get in a position of need.
LineBacker needs to be a heavy priority for the VT staff.
I think DB is way more important, Keller and Woodson are back and played a lot better down the stretch.
Strong is gone, Delane might be, Jones is gone, Stroman probably back though. Phillips looked lost at times. Lovett was inconsistent and I dont remember seeing Johnson that much.
Yeah defensive back and both DL and OL. A new DC has got to sure up the LB issues.
If we're not gonna get a new dc we can line up anyone out of the gap at linebacker
And maybe could bring some players with him.
Seeing multiple places give Delane 1st Rd grades leads me to think he is gone.
Those GMs may be job hunting shortly after making that pick. I don't see it.
I mean....they have made worse picks than that in the first round
Yes but those typically are for LT, DE, QB or freak athlete. Reaching for a corner that has film proving he's not a lock down corner doesn't happen a lot.
Well, despite everything, he did lead the team in interceptions. But he got beat on way too many coverages. As long as getting him drafted reflects well on us and recruits who want to get drafted, I'll take it.
I think after they watch his 2024 film, he would have to have an absolutely outstanding Combine performance to be a First-rounder.
I honestly am fascinated to see what he runs in the 40 at the Combine, because I have significant questions about his long speed.
lololololol. takes breath...lolololol. A guy that can't cover ACC Wrs going in the first round- riiiiigggghht
He was listed as a top 5 draft-eligible corner before the season started. You're right, his 2024 tape hasn't been to that level, but he has shown talent/tape for that level previously.
https://www.thekeyplay.com/comment/1264525#comment-1264525
I have a bad habit of watching the games. I know. Watch him against a good WR in a game.
With all due respect, you are really laying it on real thick lately. Maybe back off just a bit.
Little Bobby Tales is a good friend of mine in real life, thus my reply. He will get what I am saying. I wasn't trying to be a jerk to him
I'm ADD and well over 40, where memory is the third thing to go. Outside of a handful of big plays each game, it's hard for me to remember exactly what a specific defender does in coverage on a regular basis. /shrug
That's why I depend on the experts here to lay out performance metrics. ;^)
I was close to the field at Duke. The receiver would run out, then quickly drop back. Delane bit on that pretty much every time and would keep going down the field before correcting, leaving a big gap for the receiver. I don't remember if that's what happened for Duke's long first reception, but I did see Delane's receiver open a bunch.
They give him a 1st round grade and then select him in the 3rd.
Same folks that put Isaiah Ford 1st round? Or told Jerod Evans he should leave?
lol Jerod was told that he would go undrafted, but he went anyways.
I think that had more to do with how little he played school and the reality that he was probably going to be academically ineligible the following year.
Interesting, had not heard that
Oh yeah. He knew coming in he was one and done and never did anything school related while he was in Blacksburg.
Lovett's mom loves VT.. having said that, I'm sure he will transfer to UNC.
My wish list #1- a 7th year, 25 year old QB. Experience, savvy, etc. Find a 7th year QB and go from there.
with 3 years of eligibility, right? lol
That didn't work out so well for Oklahoma State. See Alan Bowman. My buddy is a huge OSU fan and if your dog was named Bowman, he would probably kick him.
Virginia born/FUMA DE Kamari Olds is in the portal.
https://x.com/kam_olds2/status/1863352316084322326
Kent State went 0-12. Hard pass on anyone on that roster.
Good players can be stuck on bad teams. If he can ball, I say Welcome to Sacksburg
True but to go 0-12 is not easy... lol. gawd they were bad
did we back off of him last year? i recall being surprised when he went from Buffalo to Kent State when it was rumored we were gonna take him
And that quick, Kemari Copeland is reposting his former JUCO teammate Clev Lubin's portal announcement.
https://x.com/KemariCopeland/status/1863667574979822056?ref_src=twsrc%5E...
Lubin had 9.5 sacks at Coastal Carolina last year. 6-3 245 with two years of eligibility.
Malachai Madison has entered the portal:
First of several tough conversations?
Disappointing. Hopefully that means Ricard flashed some promise. I also hope Laws showed out as he adds size.
Is Ricard playing defense now? As far as I know at DT in addition to Gilliam, Copeland, Perry and Laws, we have Hanchuck, Findlayter and Gerard Johnson.
let's give our own portal entrants their own threads
Liberty's starting QB just hit the portal. Just hate to see it.
So did the right tackle and right guard both who were all conference for them.
French, would they be takes for us?
I would have to see them to make that assessment. If they commit I will take a look. But when it comes to linemen on either side of the ball, the eyes tell a better story than PFF/stats.
None of you will ever convince me that Adam Dolan, transferring from Butler, is an actual college football player, and not the beat writer for the sports page of your local newspaper
https://247sports.com/player/adam-dolan-46153817/college-325253/
this looks like my freshman year roommate if he decided to be mike mcdaniels for halloween
Did anyone see this from Dwight Vick yesterday? I noticed that French reposted it. Interesting prospect for sure
https://x.com/vick757/status/1863741214584967641
https://x.com/ishfindlayter/status/1864021327343960456
Ish Findlayter, an undersized DT, is leaving VT for the portal.
let's give our own portal entrants their own threads too
Khurtis Perry in the portal. If you aren't better than Josh Fuga... peace bro... good luck.
let's give our own portal entrants their own threads too
Done... please add to it
DCWilson40's new favorite player
Lol I had a thread queued up for that very reason (needling dc) but I couldn't find a second source to corroborate the report and I'm not sure how valid this one is
Why do you feel the need to needle anybody? Does he not bleed orange and maroon like the rest of us?
dc is a good sport about it - I don't think there's a problem with some ribbing
lol. I love the ribbing. It's all good. This kid playing 8 years is a shock (not)
But again I'm not sure if the info is good. Couldn't find a secondary source to say the 8th year was legit
As someone with ties to OK State, I would kindly ask them to please rescind this, don't let him stay, please.
I second this! Dude has the worst footwork of any college quarterback I've ever seen.
Like folks have said, not sure how legit this eighth year is, but this guy originally committed to Kliff Kingsbury at Texas Tech in 2018. The fact that he's still playing this year is wild.
It's easy when you think about it- Freshman year, redshirt, covid (enter how ever many free years you want/need) sophmore year, injured after 9 games, junior year, senior year, grad transfer to a school with a major yours doesn't have for free. It totally jives with the spirit of "college student"
Guy has a sense of humor about it. This was him at the start of this school year.
This makes Cade McNamara's 7th year look like child's play. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/42775285/iowa-qb-cade-m...
McNamara and Bowmans cases are rare (many every year in every conference)
Wow. My math might be slightly off, but I think this guy has been playing since Gundy "was a man and 40!" /s
The meme posts on X on this guy are great.
This one goes to your comment
Just read Gundy is fired at OKST. Guess Bowman's career there will outlast Gundy's.
He signed a restructured deal, will remain as coach
In my defense, Sporting News lied to me:
https://apple.news/AZKZpc9ueQlaZWpMbn5Lk7Q
Sherrod Covil Jr. entering into the portal (Link Here). Recruited by Fuente's staff, didn't come to VT because he was worried Fuente was going to get fired.
Little bro is '26 at Oscar Smith and a dawg as well.
I remember his recruitment. It would be nice to add to the list of under utilized VA prospects making their way back to VT.
Tony Grimes back in the portal as a "Gradauate Student"
There are totally eligibility rules.
Lmao, I'm very glad we never ended up wasting time with this kid
We waste our time whenever he's mentioned here lol
Is VT the only school Grimes hasn't played for? Should be eligible for AARP checks next year right?
Did he spend 2 years anywhere?
Apparently he hasn't transferred as much as I thought 3 seasons at UNC 1 at UNLV
wasn't he at texas a&m one year too? i thought unc 2 yrs, a&m, unlv
You're right ESPN doesn't list A&M.
it was more so his dad that was the issue imo. Trying get that pay-day getting his son to the league.
Hampton native, have to think he's absolutely on the radar to help backfill what we are losing with Tuten. Thought he looked decent against us this year when he went for 103 on our defense.
Would love to see us pursue. Also Sherrod Covil from Clemson (Chesapeake native) could slot in nicely for Stroman at Safety.
Tracker of the guys Hokies have shown interest in
Hokies offered Kameron Olds as well.
He had been a PWO commit before deciding to go to Kent State.
Not sure it's likely he comes as he is getting interest from several SEC programs.
BREAKING: UL Monroe QB GENERAL BOOTY has entered the portal.
Elite name... can he play?
Wonder if he's related to former USC QB John David Booty? I believe he was also from Louisiana.
He's the nephew of John David Booty
He'll end up at ECU because pirates love the Booty
Too bad Mike Leach isn't around any more.
Anyone got a bead on the national average of players on the portal per team. My guess is it's somewhere between 12-15 and may be a good measuring stick for how well Pry is holding things together at Tech
Per the Athletic, approximately 20% of all FBS scholarship players transferred in the past year.
We don't have a good baseline for what's 'normal' - In addition to the portal/NIL, we've also seen (1) COVID eligibility create more players, (2) elimination of the annual scholarship limit, meaning more 'flexibility' in roster spots, (3) the house ruling likely creating 20 additional scholarships per team, also creating new roster spots. We've seen 4 decades worth of rules changes in the last 5 years.
If you're looking to judge Pry, I think On3 is the best place to get well rounded information - they do a 'net' portal ranking where they subtract the talent leaving the program and add the talent entering the program to determine how much the team's talent level improved/regressed.
Last year there were 3600 Division 1 players in the portal, per CBS. At approximately 270 teams, that's 13 players per team.
Keep in mind you are going to see two waves of movement this year that we haven't seen before. Teams are coming to terms with 105 roster spots. That cuts both ways. It gives some guys the chance to move up to a bigger school that now has 20 more scholarships but it also means kids deemed outside of the 105 spots are looking for new homes.
Likely going to be significantly more this year than prior years where it's ranged from 2700-3300 kids in the portal. I would put a guesstimate at 5400-5700 this time.
The real crunch will be how many guys that didn't have scholarships at 85 scholarship limit now do at the same school at 105. Going to be interesting to see if schools flex to grab higher rated guys over keeping their PWO guys.
Yup. It's basically relegation but for players instead of teams.
Malik Murphy from Duke is in I can't imagine he finds a better landing spot than Duke he was not exactly good
Not sure what he's thinking. Duke is his best spot, and they gave him quite a chunk of change to be there.
Yeah I mean Thamel and the X crowd seem to have him as a hot commodity but idk who looks at his film and wants to pick him up for anything more than a P4 backup. When I first saw the news I assumed Diaz wanted an upgrade.
This screams they had the tough conversation with Murphy
And he has committed to Duke
Don't think its official but lots of smoke that Castellanos to FSU is nearly a done-deal.
I am guessing Malzahn wants a mobile QB but I don't really see this one working out well. None of the FSU crowd seems enthused either.
Why would anyone want a quarterback that loses to UVA? And yeah, he looked no bueno this year. Just a smaller DJU.
Still better than what they had?
But, FSU isn't Ivy.
Lol this whole sport is so broken
Pretty sure every FL LB that played games this year put up better stats than he did too.
It's just not fair that these players only get a scholarship, food, room, world class coaching, exposure, etc. They also deserve 45K dollars a month.
it's a complete sham!
this isn't surprising at all. NIL went live with no guardrails or regulation so naturally parties on both sides are going to push and pull as much as they can to see what they can get. With both sides trying to maximize the value to them you're going to see this type of back and forth until things settle. It is the wild west right now and as schools give more and more kids will continue to ask for more and more until each side starts to find their limits. I think, in time, things will settle down and there will be mutual understanding on both sides what each party can get for what they can offer. I don't know how long that will take. I don't know what sort of future changes may occur and what kind of impacts those changes would have on the landscape or whether they will prolong or shorten the craziness that is the wild west of NIL today.
I hate all of it but I do think that eventually things will settle down and we won't see these types of crazy stories as often. For now, though, we're going to see an uptick in kids trying to get outlandish guarantees in the short term.
Michigan just got the #1 recruit to flip from LSU. Know how? The billionaire part owner of google's 5th wife is a Michigan alum. Yes. So as long as THAT stuff is in America, you will have absurd money in collge football. A loose association to a billionaire is all you need to buy the best player on the board. Why? Go Blue- above all else.
I had to read this 3 times before I figured it out. Part owner of google is a billionaire and his 5th wife is a Michigan alum.
yes. lol
what did google's four ex-wives do to it?
My first thought was how does google have a wife (let alone 4 exes?) and how can someone be a part owner of google's wife?
everything is possible if youre a billionaire
After serious discussions with my friends and family, I'm willing to part ways with them to consider the role of Google's wife if offered.
The Barstool Sports owner also committed $10M a year for Michigan to get a QB.
Wonder what he is going to do when nobody agrees to his demands and he is stuck without a team, scholarship, or way to advance to the NFL?
pfffftttt. This is america remember. College football is jussssst like the "real world", it's not special. If his demands don't work out for him at UF or another major school, he can go into the workforce, sign a 6 figure bonus on his first day with no experience, quit when he wants, get donations from the board of directors to give him more money, and get a free apartment and food. College football is not different than reality, remember. lol.
In this world of NIL I get saying "I'm gonna see what I can get and if you want to keep me I'd like this...."
However, to say "I want a guaranteed starting position, and to play every 3d down (which made me laugh actually)" is ridiculous. What coach is going to say you have a guaranteed starting position if your not already an entrenched starter.
Definition of "entitlement"
Sounds like he should be a Hoo
FSU couldn't keep their 5 🌟 freshman QB
Now retread Castellanos is going to be their QB.
Couldn't have happened to a nicer school.
Arkansas has had 25 players enter the portal.
Colorado has had over 40.
Only difference is Colorado plans their's and Deion will take full advantage of the 20 new scholarships by shedding all of his walk ons to bring in scholarship level guys.
247Sports and ON3 are only tracking 15 Colorado scholarship guys in the portal, which says the other 25 are walk-ons.
Pretty sure 247 lists walk-ons as well.
It varies school to school by the staff running it. Colorado list of 15 there are only four that look like a walk-on rating wise.
That was when Sanders was first hired and he pretty much told people to pack their shit, right? Looks like as of today Colorado has fewer portal entries than we do
He still tells people to pack their shit but seems to be a bit more selective about it.
It would be irresponsible not to go after Rocky and Rowdy Beers.
What's better than a couple of Beers on Saturday?
A bunch of beers on a Saturday.
Portal entries that Ben found interesting - not targets, just interesting
- Billy Edwards, QB, Maryland (his mom was my high school bio teacher)
- Riley Trujillo, QB, UCF (wasn't he considering us at one point)
- KC Concepcion, WR, NCST (IMO best player on the market)
- Noah Kim, QB, Coastal (former Hokie commit from Westfield, ended up at MSU)
- Karun Prunty, CB, NCAT (IC Norcom, 247 says he was recruited by Zohn Burden. Went to Kansas then SCar)
- Yanni Karlaftis, LB, Purdue (little brother of George Karlaftis, probably ends up at Louisville)
- Ta'Quan Roberson, QB, KState (former PSU QB, not a P4 player)
- DJ Justice, CB, UCLA (I like the idea of a DJ named DJ Justice. His dad is David Justice)
- Curt Neal, DT, Wisconsin (lol, Fuente never offered this dude)
- Princewill Umanmielen, DE, Nebraska (brothers are named Prince and Princely)
- Willie Nelson, S, OKST (He's on the road again)
- Josiah Trotter, LB, WVU (Jeremiah Trotter's son, I was hoping we could get him out of HS)
- DJ Harvey, CB, SJSU (former Hokie)
- Isaac Wilson, QB, Utah (Zach Wilson's little brother, sucked this year)
- Tony Grimes, CB, UNLV (lol)
- Marcellus Barnes Jr, CB, Syracuse (former Hokie commit)
- Bryce Carter, DL, UVA (lol)
- K'vion Thunderbird, LB, ASU (duh)
- Antonio Gates Jr, WR, MSU (*eyes emoji*)
- Tyler van Dyke, QB, Wisconsin (dude, just retire already)
- Amare Campbell, WR, UNC (Manassas)
- Buom Jock, WR, Colorado St (BOOM JOCK! he's from Alexandria)
- Logologo Va'a, DT, UTEP (How many logos you need?)
- Tristan Bounds, OT, Michigan (Vice tried to recruit him)
- Chandler Morris, QB, North Texas (Yes, that Chandler Morris)
- David Ojiegbe, DE, Pitt (from DC, originally went to Clemson)
- Durell Robinson, RB, UConn (pretty sure he was really interested in us out of St Frances)
- Chantz Johnson, LB, TAMU (Give us another Chantz, Chanz, Chance)
- Kendal Daniels, S, OKST (why does this name sound familiar?)
- JJ Kohl, QB, ISU (A 6-7 quarterback!!!!)
- Michael van Buren, QB, Miss St (St Frances, looked decent during the Egg Bowl)
- Robby Ashford, QB?, SCar (This dude can't play qb)
- Jalil Farooq, WR, OU (from DMV)
- Grayson Loftis, QB, Duke (Bro, you can't transfer away from Duke if your name is Grayson Loftis)
- Chubba Purdy, QB, Nevada (Brock Purdy's little brother. Once went 15 for 15 in a spring game)
- Jack Hollifield, OL, App St (Hey, we need OL. Also he has dreds now)
- Fernando Mendoza, QB, Cal (https://youtu.be/MOk4hQXbGDs?si=nA-15g92qg_fG6fB&t=50)
- Ty Thompson, QB, Tulane (Was once the next big thing at Oregon)
- Joshua Miller, OL, Syracuse (Colonial Heights, followed Fran Brown from Georgia to Syracuse)
- Ben Smiley, DT, UVA (lol)
- Da'Shawn Womack, DE, LSU-->Ole Miss (Formerly the #1 player in Maryland)
- Malachi Nelson, QB, Boise (5 star qb followed Lincoln Riley from OU to USC)
Oof.
Guess he really wanted to fit the crowd in Boone (from what I've heard)
Accurate (having been there once)
Orji in the portal! We got an Orji in the portal!
Gotta love a good Orji every now and again...
I thought he was getting a lot of playing time at UM?
They have the #1 Recruit in the country coming in at QB. About to be holding a clipboard for his remaining time.
Yup, some recruiting people are saying Underwood is the best QB prospect since Cam Newton. Orji can't throw, which we knew before he flipped, and they thought they could have him as a starter going into spring camp. Then everything we saw this year was a result of that totally not working.
Makes sense
DJ Harvey to USC
RB Udoh from Army in the portal. Would be a great add to the room especially since Thomas went into the portal.
Why leaving West Point? Disciplinary? Own choice?
I think the reason matters....
He has an opportunity to sign a 7 figure NIL deal. You don't accrue required service at the Academy until your Junior year so if he was going to leave to pursue football, this was the year to do it.
He was in good standing with acceptable grades so not a discipline issue.
The academies have no NIL deals at all.
Thanks. I was aware of the requires service rqmt. My son went to the USAFA.
He ain't there to play Army.
Last year there were 3,900 TOTAL between Winter and Spring. Full text from tweet below.
Avg 15 players per FBS school for those playing along at home.
It's not a fair to compare this year with last year in consideration of the loss of walk-ons and such due to the change in roster size.
No context on how many are in portal because they had no spot on their team.
UVA with a portal QB battle this spring. Got commitments from Danny Kaelin, a redshirt QB from Nebraska and now Chandler Morris, senior from North Texas.
Curious to see if Kaelin decommits/enters portal again based on this latest change.
Clemson got a portal commit before the Hokies. Dabo never uses the portal but after a rash of decommits he was forced in.
Good to know we can choke in the portal too. /s
We are not choking any more than other schools right nw.
Everyone is trying to figure it out and it's all a big swirly right now.
This has to be the most portal resume out there...on to school FIVE
Or this one
In the past we had signing day flips, now we have portal flips. Beamer and SCar lost a LB two days after he committed to Ole Miss. Days of the Bag...