Cam Bright, the best linebacker and defensive captain for Pitt has entered the portal.
I am Officially in the Transfer Portal. Thank You Coaches & Teammates For a Lifetime Of Memories. My Next Chapter Begins Now! pic.twitter.com/GULaEt6361— Cam Bright (@_cam38) January 3, 2022
Wake Forest star running back Christian Beal-Smith joined him.
Wake leading rusher Beal-Smith enters portal https://t.co/31kcwp4H9h— Phil Steele (@philsteele042) January 3, 2022
Some major earth shaking in the ACC today.
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Add Quinn Carroll, a former five star OL recruit and brother of former VT long snapper Colin Carroll, has entered the portal. I am not sure how meaningful this is, as Notre Dame's OL was not good and he wasn't getting a look.
Going to row the boat. Headed to Minnesota.
Both these guys would be great gets for VT. I know we have 59 RBs, but when you have 59, you don't have the 1.
These guys need to go where they will get great blocking and room to run. Not sure we'll be ready to provide that next year.
I know there is a lot of talk about the Hokies needing to be active in the portal. I have not heard Pry's feelings on the topic. Quarterback and offensive tackle seem like must address areas, but other pick ups are going to be more about fit than about the guy who was most productive or most highly rated on his previous team.
Penn State did have two transfer portal DL starters (one from Temple, one from Duke) last year. They also have mined JUCO (particularly Lackawanna College) for years. I believe Brisker, their best DB and likely first round pick, was a JUCO.
Pry has stated publicly that they will hire a staffer who's sole purpose is to watch the portal, so I don't think he's anti portal.
Hopefully that hire gets made soon.......
I assumed that would be part of Villagrana's role as GM.
Damn, talk about a gravy job.
Could be wrong, but I don't think that's actually what he said. Said he'd have someone focused on the portal, not an entire position dedicated to the portal.
I may have heard him wrong, I think he said it during the signing day presser.
depends on the portal
I'm pretty sure it involves actually scouting the guys in the portal, and not just hitting refresh, and sending an email to Pry that Spencer Rattler is in the portal.
Wait, actual work? In that case, I'm out.
That's how they get you
We used to have so many post grad players but with FUMA and Hargrave I think both dropping their post grad programs we never seem to have any. I remember a day where we would have at least 3 or so commits a year getting "grey-shirted" and then going to one of these two to improve grades to qualify while still being able to play football.
Baron was the last great greyshirt. Darrisaw the last great FUMA kid.
We hope our offerings have pleased Portal.
all praise the portal!!
Pretty sure this is how Doom starts.
Cameron Ward is the major domino here...if he commits to Blacksburg, we can build an offense on the fly around him via the portal and get guys like to commit easy. Unlikely? Duh.
The portal has allowed for the NBA-superteams to be built on the fly for college football. Make it happen Pry.
What is the back story here? The Incarnate Word QB is a major get? What am I missing?
He won the Jerry Rice award and is considered a 93 on the portal rankings.
He played in a Wing T offense in high school so there wasn't really film on him, and he threw for 4,500 yards and 47 TDs during the Spring FCS season. The assumption is that had he had better tape he probably would've been a highly rated guy.
I know it's lower competition, but 4500 yards, 47 tds and 10 picks in 13 games ain't nothing to shake a stick at. He was also the best player in FCS last year, which probably means he's more than good enough to start for 90% of FBS teams. He may not come in and be a world beater, but he'd probably be the best QB we have on roster.
For comparison Jerod Evans had 3100 yards and 38 TDs in 8 games at Trinity Valley Community College. Granted Evans came in to a team with a much better supporting cast, but I think that's why the suggestion is we'd try to build around Ward.
Lets also be clear that VT isn't the only team looking to pick up Ward....
He's got offers from Ole Miss, Wash St, Indiana, Arizona, WVU, Florida, Nebraska...he's gonna have his pick of school. He jumps off the screen in his film, has an effortless extremely fast throwing motion, and moves around the pocket well. He'd be a really good pick up but I don't think we should get our hopes up here.
Oh yeah. I think he'd be a great get. Just explaining why people are excited about him. Those are video game numbers.
And, Ward entered the portal AFTER his HC at IW (Eric Morris) got hired as OC at WAst.......sigh.
He's had an official visit there and got an offer from them.
His 4 years of eligibility would be nice
So we'll get a whole offseason of hearing how he's a strong lean to transfer to VT only for him to end up elsewhere?
Lol you know it
Well before Pry was rudely interrupted by one of the many ass kicking moments we got from Maryland, I think I recall him saying we were going to have a dynamic quarterback. "Our survey says" thats Ward or Caleb Williams unless someone knows of another available quarterback out there.
Much as I would like to see him live up to those words, I ain't holding my breath. Keep seeing good players go into the portal and then materialize everywhere except Blacksburg.
Here's 247sports transfer portal tracker, which can be filtered for position, school, etc.
Change list filters: ALL to UNCOMMITTED, and POSITION to QB
247sports transfer portal tracker - uncommited QBs
Grant Wells transferring out of Marshall:
QB has to be priority numero uno for Pry. No chance he goes into next year with the QBs we have now
This would be a good get and certainly manageable. He has a big arm and decent mobility. His dad went to VT, as well, so there is a connection there.
Grant's biggest concern obviously is his interception numbers. I believe this was more of a product of the quarterbacks coach Tim Cramsey than Grant. Both starting quarterbacks Cramsey has coached regressed under his tutelage and entered the portal. Grant developed a habit of throwing mostly off his back foot from what I could see. I don't think he was receiving the proper guidance.
With that being said, the talent is there. Check this video: Grant Wells Freshman Highlights
And now 247 has him listed as 100% to VT. Yay, we got one! And a good one. If it really happens.
Crystal balls trending our way. This will be a nice pickup for the good guys.
I want to believe he will be good. Highlights are pretty good. Stats were excellent against weak competition but upside down against better teams.
Many Marshall fans were clamoring for him to get benched. This is from their msg board prior to him entering the portal:
"His measurables are average, his decision making is poor, ability to read a defense is nonexistent and he is not good in the read option run game."
Could he come in and ball out in a new system with new coaching? Perhaps. But, a giant leap like that is extraordinary rare. Will he upgrade our QB room? Likely. But, I sincerely hope we continue to pursue other options.
Going to a new program with different coaches certainly helped HH.
I was going to make this comparison and thought everyone would get so caught up on how Hendon was a 4* yada yada but he's certainly proof that getting in the right system with the right coaches can make you a very different player.
How the previous staff mismanaged Hooker is going to an obstacle for the new staff to overcome in the Triad (Greensboro / Winston-Salem) recruiting wise, especially since he's seen success at Tennessee, that's going to open the door for them to get back into NC recruiting.
Why so?
"Yeah, I hear you, but there's a reason those guys aren't here anymore. We won't do that to your guy."
Hendon's Dad has a lot of sway in the Triad. It all depends on how he feels about VT overall rather than just the coaching staff. That's the funny thing with (if there is one) grudges, you don't know how they're going to manifest themselves.
For instance, in my profession I've run into people who have held deep seeded grudges for 15+ years and when I came calling to work on projects, I was told why I'd never get work there.
Deablo went pro from Winston. Turner went to school with Hooker. Getting him picked would help.
Disagree, how that relationship ended with the previous staff with HH dad is a concern if it wasn't handled right, considering the guy who pulled all those guys out of the Triad is now at NC State.
And turners mom was actively calling out the coaching staff for wasting his talent by the end
And she's publicly stated she can't wait for Tre's brother to get a scholarship to VT. It's not too bad.
If Fuente were still around, absolutely be worried, but he's gone now.
Also, I'll say that even the more outspoken of the players who've left have predominantly expressed love for VT, just not for the former staff. At least based on what I've seen, for whatever that's worth.
I don't think HH was a different player at Tenn. I think they were just able to utilize his skills. JF wasn't a guy that altered his system for the player, he expected the player to alter to meet the system. Good coaches don't think that way.
This...
When Wells is good, he is really, really good. When he is bad, he's really, really bad. Someone said below he is a headcase, and I agree.
Let me clarify though: by headcase, he's not shouting at teammates and coaches, throwing his helmet, etc. He simply just has trouble getting past mistakes on a drive-to-drive basis.
The Marshall players all love Wells. They look to him as a leader. And those people who wanted him benched immediately retracted that statement when they got a good look at the backup when Wells got a concussion.
Grant has the potential to be an excellent college quarterback. He has a strong arm, he's accurate, and he has decent mobility. Get him here, let Brad Glenn improve his footwork, and teach the kid to have some confidence. This would be a great get for Tech.
Sounds like he plays like Ryan Willis.
Hopefully he'll have much better coaching.
In a sense. Willis was much more careless than Wells though.
It's a shame that Corn/Fu will not be here anymore. You know quarterback whisperer and all. And he was also very patient with quarterbacks and did so much to build their confidence. He never pulled anyone after a bad turnover either.....
Nice to see a QB who can hit his receivers in stride.
I talked with a good friend who is in the know at Marshall. He told me they have three incoming freshman and Wells was told he had to earn his spot. He also described him as a 'head case' and further explained that one mistake often led to several more mistakes or a bad game all together. I have watched his highlight film. He has a strong arm and can certainly sling it better than Burmeister. He throws off his back foot a lot. These seem like correctable issues. One mistake leading to another sounds like a maturity issue that good coaching can help smooth out hopefully. Certainly would be the leader in the clubhouse at this point.
And to be honest we don't need the next Mike Vick at this stage in the rebuild, just someone who can ball and get us at .5 in year 1.
Agreed. We need to build the culture and set the tone first. We need our next Furrer or Deshazo first.
insert Obi Wan gif!
I think any option that is realistic for us at QB this offseason was going to come with a few flaws. I agree with you that most of these sound correctable with proper coaching and natural progression of maturity and comfort in a college offense. I think with Brad Glenn's track record of QB development, Wells is an excellent first test case for his coaching acumen in Blacksburg.
USCe or USCw, I'd assume. Either Shane or Lincoln. Shane was his primary recruiter. And South Carolina is closer to home.
USCe already picked up a commitment from Spencer Rattler
Forgot about him. Maybe he could beat out Spencer Rattler again and Rattler becomes the next Tate Martell transferring every year because he isn't good enough to beat out the people on the roster.
Rattler will never be like Martell because he has proven he is a conference championship caliber P5 QB, like the very good season he had last year where he won the Big12 corroborates.
I really don't think he would follow Rattler to USCe
EDIT: these are technically saying different things, right? Right?? ...so long dry January
The epic Rattler breakdown might be fun to watch though. Agreed that there's low/zero chance of him going to USCe.
Spoiler alert: According to Madden, QBs often follow each other because they're vindictive assholes. Fucking asshole coaches bench me after 100% completion for 400+ yards, another 100 rushing and like 6 total tds.
Edit: fixed typo
I think UNC is actually a real threat to get him...1 Sam Howell is leaving. 2. His girlfriend goes to UNC.
My favorite portal conspiracy is if you want to know where a portal entry kid will go find out where his girlfriend is a student athlete at.
That's how my granddad lost his scholarship.
He was a running back for NC State on one of Earle Edwards' earlier teams. One of the bigger star's girlfriend wanted to go to UNC, so the State football team paid her way to go to UNC. They eventually broke up. She told the UNC what was going on. UNC reported State. State lost scholarships, my granddad was one of them.
Why would State pay to have the girlfriend of one of their players go to a different school? Not sure if that makes sense in the first place. Unless they thought she was a distraction to their player, but if I was someone on State's staff, I'd be worried that our guy would transfer to follow her.
It was the 50s. People didn't really transfer then
Not only that, but IIRC it has been said that before there were scholarship limits Bear Bryant would pretty much get all the best players and then a bunch of them would never end up playing in a game. I think he did this just to keep other programs from getting the players.
I guess it did not matter as much back then since pro-football was not really that great of a money maker for players who did go pro, but man that is messed up if you ended up going to Bama as a top player in the country and never getting to play a down.
Edit: Does not really apply to this thread it was just an anecdote I remembered that this comment made me think about.
Fits in quite well with one of the crime shows I once watched. Interviewing (I think) a federal marshal, although it could be someone else whose job is fugitive apprehension. He said when someone gets away, you try and trap him when he slips up trying to contact or meet with one of the three key M s. His:
Mom
Money
Main squeeze
Find where those are, watch them, and you have a good chance of catching a fugitive. We can use it t catch recruits too!
UNC has a stud QB (I know he hasn't taken a college snap yet) waiting. Most UNC people I know (some former players) think he's a better talent than Howell.
The good thing is that UNC people have never been known to overhype their talent at QB
Maye looked good in the spring
I've heard he's an early Heisman hopeful.... (sauce = espn commentator)
UGA.
Makes a lot of sense. Most cash, best recruiting class not labled Texas A&M.
There's also message board rumors about this happening, not that those are worth the digital ink they're printed on, but it's not the first I saw UGA mentioned. Either way, he'll be cashing fat stacks of NIL money whether he stays or goes.
Not so sure about Kirby's track record with QB's. Rumors about Caleb connections to Russel Wilson and Austin Davis. SEC fanbases are crowd sourcing for NIL money. All out monetary arms race.
VT gotta slide into those DMs. Shooters gotta shoot, right?
How much money does Shelor have? Gotta get them to kick in some, I mean they have a whole mile of motors!
We have an entire mile of motors and a whole lot of hardee's coupons. Pretty hard to top that NIL deal
We're gonna have to make our mark shopping smart in the discount aisle and on FB Marketplace deals. Not gonna have the juice to compete with the big boys in this $$ race.
I've bought three vehicles there in the last 10ish years and my salesman has bought me lottery tickets every time. Nice fella.
Not my current vehicle, but the vehicle I had before this one I got from Shelor. Sales lady was super nice and helpful even though I was getting a used car and was dicey financially speaking. That car lasted me close to 10 years, so I think she did pretty good by me.
Yeah I've went two used (me) and one new (wife) and all three were terribly smooth transactions. I'm not a great negotiator and she's much worse than I am...so, we're amazing customers lol
Let the craziness keep rolling. Due to Caleb Williams' potential departure, Dillon Gabriel (UCF transfer) flips from UCLA where he was supposed to start classes today to Oklahoma
IT START SNOW.
Should I even bother hoping we get Caleb Williams or is that just a pipe dream?
No and yes, respectively.
Unless you have a couple million dollars burning in your pocket, it's a pipe dream
Both
WELL LOOK WHAT WE HAVE HERE
Lol, if Caleb Williams comes to VT, I'll donate $50 to Hokie Club that day
I'll double that
That's a firm hondo, a crisp Hamilton, in VT's NIL fund awaiting you CW. Come on down Caleb, we talking that big money plus some Hardee's coupons, here.
Come on. The song literally says, "The ten dollar founding father."
"You can call us Aaron Burr because we dropping Hamiltons"
.
I remember this when it came out and that Aaron Burr line always cracked me up.
count me in for $100
So you're telling me there's a chance?
This guy also said Napier to VT was a done deal. Seems to me, he just wants people to think he has inside info.
you can probably name the programs in america "not in the mix" on one hand. this sounds like wishful thinking more than anything else
You are correct. Hell, he is in play for my kid's rec flag football league too. If he calls, we definitely would welcome him and buy him lunch.
He's not coming to VT, did y'all see what Maryland just did to us in a bowl game? Why on gods green earth would he come to us? It's not happening, I'd rather not even see it here
in a funny way, nothing gives me more confidence that we will get him than NUMBER1 proclaiming it'll never happen XD
Uh, the bowl game screamed we need a good QB. And from there, players would know we got rid of Cornelson, and picked up Brad Glenn. So the question is, how good would a prospective QB feel about playing for Glenn, because they'd be pretty much guaranteed to be the starter, whereas at other teams, there may be other QBs in the fold they'd have to compete with for the starting job.
The bowl game screamed we may win 2 games next year. If y'all think we're getting the #1 qb in the country then you're on some good dope. Let's just hope we have someone that's not a walk-on as our 3rd qb by seasons end as a starter.
I want to hope, I really do. Unfortunately, 'in the mix' has far too often translated into recruiting's version of 'friend status'.
Crap. I'm still hopeful.
It's like the Ladder Theory of recruiting.
How does this usually go when VT is recruiting against top teams for a top player?
Dominoes
So does it not count as two transfers since he never attended a class? Find it hard to believe he wasn't officially enrolled even if he didn't set foot in a classroom.
Pretty sure at most places, if you withdraw before the semester starts it's as if you were never enrolled in the first place.
Grant Wells QB from Marshall transferring. Realistic get and he's actually really good
And we have some one from the coaching staff that recruited him....
And support staff that has worked with him.
and he will be allowed to throw to any receiver.
This is way too radical of a philosophy. It will never work.
But will he be allowed to make decisions on the read option?
He'll be given free reigns to run the RJSO.....
RunJetSweepOption. /s
When you think about what a transfer QB is looking for, particularly any of the top-tier QB's, they want to go somewhere that can offer them a great set-up, where they are likely the only missing piece, so that they can have 1, MAYBE 2 great years (Caleb Williams would have to stay for 2) years to show out and look good for the NFL.
We, as fans, are excited about the future of VT football, and with good reason. However, Cam Ward, Spencer Rattler, and Caleb Williams are not looking at our OL and WR situations and thinking "these are known quantities I can trust to best show-off for the NFL in the IMMEDIATE future." So while we can be excited, we are just beginning the opening phase of a complete rebuild. I think someone like Grant Wells, who has shown he can play in college, and isn't afraid to sling the ball all over the field (for better and for worse) is probably one of the best options in the portal that is realistic for us given what we will likely be going through the next year or two.
It worked out for UVA with two outstanding transfer QBs in a row. Who really knows what they are thinking?
But, the NIL funding is a new variable that is likely to work against all teams without big endorsement deals for top tier transfer QBs.
I'm confused, I thought Brennan Armstrong was a UVA signee and this was his 4th year in their program?
Before him, Bryce Perkins was a mid 3* JUCO recruit, after being a mid 3* HS recruit. He was nowhere close to the profile of proven P5 college playmakers like Caleb Williams and Spencer Rattler. Obviously, Cam Ward was an FCS standout, but he's inarguably a bigger fish in terms of the interest he is generating than Perkins did coming out of JUCO.
I worked in JuCo athletics. I watched Perkins in the National Championship game and he was atrocious. Arizona Western was bringing in a different quarterback on pass plays. I think his development at UVA was great. Luckily, their QB coach is headed to 'Cuse.
Well damn he's still in the ACC.
LISTEN TO THE MAN.
I see alot of folks setting a mighty high bar here and on social media thinking the new staff are going to start raking in talent from day one. The cuppards are bare and empty as can be and will take some time to rebuild from the ashes cornfu left behind. We all need to be patient and start looking at more realistic targets.
I wouldn't expect it, but I wouldn't automatically discount it either. We have no idea how soon the coaches could bring in talent. Yes, we're not good, but that also means we can offer pretty much immediate starts to good players. Coordinate a really good QB with at least one really good receiver and that might help. Even though we have young lines, we did just sign a lot of beef, could potentially pick up a lineman or two in the portal, and we've got good coaches for the lines. So we may be more of a high-risk, high reward proposition for guys. If they could come to Tech and win games with us despite how bad we were last year, that has to look good, right?
This. And besides with all of the money we saved not getting a "splash hire" we can afford to bring in a really good QB! That's how it works now, isn't it?
Sadly, I think your statement is more universal
When you think about what a transfer
QBPLAYER is looking for, particularly any of the top-tierQBPLAYERS's, they want to go somewhere that can offer them a great set-up, where they are likely the only missing piece, so that they can have 1, MAYBE 2 great years (Caleb Williams would have to stay for 2) years to show out and look good for the NFL.We are not that team. As I have said I keep watching good players enter the portal and materialize everywhere except Blacksburg.
So far we have six players in the portal, one immediate impact and one probable future impact, both of whom found schools immediately. Curiously, our overloaded RB room has had no one enter the portal. Meanwhile, we have gotten no one out of the portal, despite the amazing volume it is generating this year (The transfer portal ratings are here https://247sports.com/Season/2022-Football/TransferTeamRankings/ and we are not listed. Yeah, Austin Peay is ahead of us in these rankings).
We may well have a new all star coaching lineup but they have a barebones roster that desperately needs some pruning and some hits from the portal. Someone asked what the new team identity is and to me so far it is Dionne Warwick singing Wishin' and Hopin' which is all I am seeing in this forum.
Sorry to be such a Debbie Downer and wish it wasn't what it is but this team desperately needs some good news player (particularly QB) wise.
Wishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin'
Plannin' and dreamin' each night of his plays
That won't get him into your days........
Not disagreeing with you at all.
Just logged on to say I would have never guessed that TKP would have had a "Dionne Warwick" reference today.
Nice pull and good job 👍 adding a little bit of class to the joint today.
This is true for any school in our situation. Top tier talent seldom transfers to mid tier schools. If that's your expectation I'd adjust it.
We have a reallly long time to capitalize on the portal. We don't have a full staff assembled yet. It's smarter to let things shake out right now than start jumping on a mass of transfer portal entries. We have 8 to work with and a staff that has hardly to have time to evaluate what we have and no listed OC. There's no rush here we can wait on most of the guys that we have a realistic shot at landing.
Yeah we had a rough go with the portal with the previous staff but who materialized at a higher level after they left VT? Hooker and KP? Who else?
obviously we're not listed we haven't taken any transfers.
Yeah Chris I agree but Caleb is a true sophomore so he has 2yrs before he can go pro. If CBP is a excellent salesman he can show Caleb how we have the pieces so show off his many skills. I don't dislike our O pieces if our OC is creative....
But I'm on record wanting to roll with Ferrell...
Antwane Wells a redshirt freshman wide receiver from JMU transferring. He had 83 catches, 1250yds, and 15TDs this year. Absolutely a guy I'd think we'd look at. A wells to wells connection would be pretty cool
Can't go to the Wells too many times.
Giving Wells to the Receiving Wells.
Maybe someone can toss an NIL coin into the Wishing Wells so they become Hokies
We never got Ford-to-Ford did we?
Not intentionally.
If only we could have gotten my all time favorite Wells. I mean a new era of VT football dawns, right?
He's going to get a bunch of looks, and I hope we extend an offer. Dynamic kid who can absolutely play at the P5 level.
I've read that he has some existing connections to the USCe staff, so it wouldn't shock me to see him end up there though.
Antwane pls
Going to USCe
Edit... Old news
Yeah, that happened a week or two ago. He'll be good, but I don't think he'll be Pickett this year good. Plus the Pitt OC left for Nebraska.
Lets be honest, Nebraska needs all the help they can find. They still think it is the 90's.
One of my favorite SEC Shorts about Nebraska as a "Blue Blood"
https://youtu.be/HOdtG0ZRHpw
The ones about Georgia and Hope have been hilarious.
How that channel only has 174k subscribers is a mystery to me.
I also have no idea how I missed that video when it came out.
Since this seems to be the newer portal thread, DeJuan Ellis is back in the portal and it's clear how he feels about his situation
Him, and everyone else in the portal.
It's where players who feel unappreciated go.
Usually there's at least some form of "Thank you (school). On to the next chapter." This one is more of a "Fuck UMD. Who wants me?"
I guess we're touching on part of the problem...
Dude is cleaning out his closet right now haha
Frostburg needs a qb, jus sayn
I know nothing of his Football talents or whether he did or didn't deserve more time on the field but he certainly comes off as a spoiled, entitled, and 100% me-first.
Bringing VT into the conversation is laughable..how long was he here? My memory is he only made it thru one Spring Camp...we didn't even have time to "bash" him.
It's just like the saying says...when the going gets tough, blame everybody else, right??
Part of the problem is he probably is making the common mistake of taking twitter too seriously. I'm sure he can pull a few morons from his twitter feed as evidence that VT fans bashed him. In reality I have a feeling most VT fans have no idea who this guy is.
I mean he looks pretty silly right now but so does the guy calling him out. I feel like don't tweet @ croots is well known but pretty confident it should be don't tweet @ college athletes either.
Yeah, I mean it just doesn't look good to recruits to see fans antagonizing players. No one wins here, folks.
That is a whole lot tougher argument to sell after you have now been beat out at two schools.
Seems somewhat relevant
So if it wasn't because of his talent level, why didn't he earn any playing time? Hmm
Does UVa really have 20 players in the portal? If so, that's nuts. Especially when we have 5. Would have thought both VT and UVa would have around 10.
Looks like WVU has around 14 or so. Miami has around 8. Pitt has around 8.
From the discourse I've seen on reddit, a lot (maybe all?) of their mormon players are transferring, in addition to the normal portal attrition you would expect from a coaching change.
Expecting that highly ranked OL from out west who went on his mission to ask for his release also.
Why the LDS players? Was Bronco a Mormon or something?
Yes. Bronco brought a lot of things, including heavy mormon influence, from BYU.
Wait you were serious when you asked this? He coached at BYU every HC there has been LDS. While not official policy they didn't hire their first head coach (the LDS church owns and runs the school) hired their first none Mormon head coach for any sport just last year. In women's cross country.
Yes, Bronco played for and coached at BYU. That school is 98% mormon, in fact you need an unwritten exemption (star athlete/foreign study exchange) to get in if you are NOT mormon. They would never let a non-mormon be the head coach at BYU.
There was an ESPN story back in 07 or 08 where they interviewed non-Mormon players who left BYU and how they were treated differently than the Mormon players. It was eye opening.
I've heard the same from non-Mormons who live in predominantly Mormon neighborhoods in Utah. They're generally very polite, but you are not invited to anything, your kids can't play with theirs, etc.
Amazing episode
I'm sure we will have a bunch as well after spring practice. Heck, we need to have about 5 RB's transfer to get that position back to a normal amount of players.
I absolutely loathe the practice of "processing out" athletes, but it does feel necessary in the RB room.
Holston & Lee seem like prime candidates for the "we don't see playing time in the cards for you next year" conversation. The rest of the guys are young & unproven since we've really only sing King & Thomas, so it's hard to say who the coaching staff will want to stick around.
It'll be interesting to see how the new coaching staff evaluates the RB room. It was interesting at the time and even more so now how Dragon was a star under Beamer and fell off once Fuente came in.
McMillian had issues in pass protection and IIrC some of the analysts on this site were extremely critical on that front. Great runner, absolutely limited the plays you could call with him in the game
I feel like this is a major issue we have had in the RB room of late, save for the transfers we got that already knew how to pass block. Seems to me that would point to a lack of coaching rather than a lack of ability, although both could be true. I didn't watch him play after he transferred to see if he improved in that area
When you make your players adapt to the playbook, rather than designed plays to take advantage of strengths and hide weakness, very player limitation can become a problem/excuse. Have running backs that struggle with pass pro? Design more plays where they release into empty space or attack where a blitz comes from as a receiver, and make the defense take someone away from the pass rush to cover. Not a solution for every down and situation, but it certainly helps. Of course, the QB has to be able to check down to them, audible based on the blitz, and be able to make that pass.
Caught one of his games and one of the first plays we saw was he completing whiffing a block in pass pro and the qb getting drilled.
This is what good RB blitz pick up looks like
Last pass play in the ACC championship against Clemson, I believe.
Edited- Unsourced rumor deleted. Exiting now. :-(
This is the internet sir! Unfounded rumor innuendo and heresay is what this whole thing is built on! /s
Southern Cal's Jaxon Dart just entered the Portal.
It's been rumored in USC circles that if Caleb Williams was following Lincoln Riley that Dart would enter the Portal. Well, Williams was in LA this past weekend for a visit and now Dart is in the Portal...
Shane is dominating the portal. After getting Wells (JMU) earlier today, they get Christian Beal-Smith tonight. Also, Ward to Wazzou as some expected.