“Might be good news for UK football in portal”
- Thread starter YaketySax
- Start date
Isn't it possible too that UK didn't have many players interested in them and therefore we kind of had to go to smaller schools? I mean we did just have an awful season.
That said obviously I hope they all work out whether they are from a big or small school.
No! This was their strategy 💯. JR reported that b4 the portal started. Grace hasn’t signed yet but if he does they add 3 four star DL and a four star OL all from small schools. I’m not 100 convinced that it will matter but these are legit 4 star guys no matter where they came from. All have proven they can play
It's definitely a different strategy. It could either save or cost Stoops his job depending on how the year goes.
As has been stated before, the staff hasn’t been very successful in developing talent. So taking guys that have already shown they can play makes sense. But can they utilize that talent?
Nah. Pretty sure the staff decided they were going to target some smaller school studs this cycle as they have learned that taking highly recruited HS players that didn’t pan out elsewhere (BVG, Courtland Ford, etc) was for a reason.
Could be. A 4 win record and coach on the hot seat doesn't help attract top talent. OTOH it's still the SEC and UK has plenty of NIL money so there's that. I lean more towards it being their strategy though. A lot of really good, and sometimes overlooked players are in the GO5 schools and even FCS level produces some gems from time to time. Other schools may be overlooking these players.
Its not common but there are players on Sunday who are from FCS schools. Let's hope Stoops and Company have identified a couple of them.
It’s kinda sad that a key consideration is if “money is available” to secure a commitment but unfortunately that’s the reality of the CFB landscape as it exists today.
I hope we compliment pursuing future Wandale, Levis, Ray Davis, and JDJ’s of the world with hungry G5 players. Seems reductive to me to say one type is better than the other writ large. Always come down to the individual eval and their market price…which maybe de-emphasizing high ceiling divas. I’m good with that all things being equal but still gotta vet and eval.
The ONLY key to long term success is recruiting and development. Plain and simple. Do you think that Bama, GA, TX, OSU lives by the portal? They recruit and develop. Evaluation of HS talent is also the starting point.
With the portal being what it is these days, teams don't have as much opportunity to recruit and develop as they once did. The portal is full of former 4 star recruits who bolted after their freshman or RS Freshman seasons. Talented kids simply aren't going to wait their turn. If they can't get a lot of playing time right away at the schools they're at, they are going to seek new schools where they have a better chance of receiving that playing time. Then there are the kids who are ready to jump to the highest bidder. Coaches and fans can no longer count on "recruiting and developing" because half of the kids they bring in as freshmen won't be there beyond their sophomore seasons. It is a mess. I think the reason the SEC has been down somewhat this year is largely due to the portal. Teams like Alabama and Georgia could once stockpile talent to the point where they had 3rd string players just as talented as their starters. For whatever reason, it appears these two specific teams have been hit harder by portal losses than the other top teams. I would imagine that may because of how dominant they've been in recent years and how in demand their players are.
Nice plan until another team comes along and takes the player(s) that you developed.
Not saying you're wrong, but the trend I see coming is more and more high school players are going to wind up in G05 or FCS programs initially out of high school, while P4 schools use their roster spots on portal players. It just make sense numbers wise to have 85 guys on your roster that are already developed and can fill a spot on the depth chart instead of redshirting or just sitting until they have developed more physically and knowlege wise.
OSU and TX both have qbs from the portal. Both had several key players from the portal.
Right. Recruit and develop whether HS or portal recruiting. Stoops’ mantra since 2013 has been recruit and develop…I don’t think he’s changed.
Josh Hines-Allen was a Kentucky offer away from being Monmouth’s greatest player.
Yes, kids can develop in G5 and FCS schools and then earn recognition.
This is a really, really good post and about the best description of the different types of TEs I've ever read in just two paragraphs! I love seeing posts like this and will elaborate just a little more.
There are essentially 3 types of TEs in the modern game:
1. In-line blocker
2. Flex
3. H-Back
The in-line TE is ideally your prototypical large, powerful 6-5/250+ lb monster who plays on the line of scrimmage and goes up against defensive ends. His primary duty is blocking. If he can catch passes that is a plus, but it is somewhat rare to have someone at this poistion who excels at both just because of the enormous number of practice reps it requires to excel at one skill or the other. We'll label this guy TE-Y.
The flex TE tends to be somewhat smaller but faster and really shines as a pass catcher. This is someone you line up in the slot or motion out wide to create bad match-ups for opposing defenses. A flex TE needs to be a good route runner. Though they may not be very good at in-line blocking, they can create havoc out in open space. They are quicker than most MIKE LBers and more powerful than the nickels, corners and safties. This makes them very difficult to cover. This kind of TE at the college level will usually be around 6-3 or 6-4 and weigh somewhere around 230 to 240 lbs. We'll label this guy as TE-F.
Then you have the final type of TE. This guy plays in the backfield and acts much like a FB would. This guy will be the lead blocker for the QB on the edge, the lead blocker for the RB between the tackles or serve as a "trapper" against defensive linemen, allowing the OL to get a double team going. These guys don't mind getting physical but are usually a bit shorter and smaller than your prototypical TE-Y. At the college level they'll typically be 6-2 to 6-3 and weigh around 240 or 245 lbs. They don't have to be great in the passing game and probably aren't. This is TE-H.
Of the guys we have, are looking at or who recently played here, this is how I would label them:
TE-Y = Josh Kattus, Willie Rodriguez, Henry Boyer, Khamari Anderson
TE-F = Rohan Jones, Mikkel Skinner
TE-H = Jordan Dingle
Kattus could also obviously play at H and Dingle could probably play at F. Rodrquez is the only TE we have who is skilled enough and versatile enough that he could realistically do well at either of the 3 jobs.
And for the record, I think UK only lists TE-Y and TE-F on the depth chart, meaning they kinda group the Flex/H-Back together.
Similar threads
