Transfer Portal 2023-2024...

[RammerJammer14]

But we did. Not to the portal, but to the draft. We lost big time players every year. I don't really think the portal exits are as much of a big deal as everyone is making it out to be. We're not as deep as we once were, but the guys left are still majority 4*s and 5*s. Even the guys left in the secondary, a lot of them are young and inexperienced, but they're all highly touted guys, so it's not like we're left with a bunch of scrubs. Does losing guys like Downs hurt? Absolutely. However, sometimes chemistry is more important than pure talent. We've seen it before where we do lose key guys, and the team ends up improving because they gel better together. Who is to say that can't happen with this team?

Draft loses are projected losses. We’ve recruited accordingly. Transfers of starters who should be here another 2yrs are not projected.

Again, I am not saying we can’t win it all with who we have. I just find the sunshine pumping, the inventing of arguments for why it is totally normal and fine to lose unprojected All-American caliber starters and in fact we didn’t actually want any of them anyways, to be a little ridiculous. A month ago everyone was happy at Alabama attracting top talent. Now it’s being poo pooed as unimportant. I think it’s ok to admit these loses suck and not pretend they don’t hurt, while also being optimistic for the upcoming season and this new era.

 

[RammerJammer14]

Dude, we are still in the National Championship hunt.

I don’t believe I said we weren’t.

 

[twofbyc]

He also maybe the player who helps the rest of the defensive players learn the system faster and it not take a full season and three to four losses to boot.

Not for nothing- the linebacker coach at South got fired after the bowl game as well as three offensive coaches. Last two games, backup QB comes in and lights it up.
Word from some of my USA alum coworkers was the coaches were the problem at South this year - may be why Jacob’s didn’t play so much, but his stats indicate he made the most of playing time.
Gerald Everett was a tight end at South. Six years in the NFL.
I think Wommack wasn’t quite ready to be a HC; he does seem to be a quick learner. Some of his assistant coaches didn’t perform last season, and he knew he had to get rid of them to win and he wasted no time. KW knows Jacobs, he knows what they’re getting and I’m not second guessing the move.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Draft loses are projected losses. We’ve recruited accordingly. Transfers of starters who should be here another 2yrs are not projected.

Again, I am not saying we can’t win it all with who we have. I just find the sunshine pumping, the inventing of arguments for why it is totally normal and fine to lose unprojected All-American caliber starters and in fact we didn’t actually want any of them anyways, to be a little ridiculous. A month ago everyone was happy at Alabama attracting top talent. Now it’s being poo pooed as unimportant. I think it’s ok to admit these loses suck and not pretend they don’t hurt, while also being optimistic for the upcoming season and this new era.

I think in pointing out one extreme you're steadily headed to the other end of the extreme. Losing talent isn't fun, and yes, we've lost talent due to Saban's retirement. But until you see the season play out you cannot make a judgment or assessment of how bad "it hurt" or if it ends up hurting at all. You simply cannot. There are A LOT of things to be excited about and how this is playing out is NOWHERE CLOSE to the worst way it could have. We still have a crapload of talent on this roster and maybe people are focusing on those things and waiting until actual evidence on the field proves them wrong.

 

[CrimsonTitles]

Draft loses are projected losses. We’ve recruited accordingly. Transfers of starters who should be here another 2yrs are not projected.

Again, I am not saying we can’t win it all with who we have. I just find the sunshine pumping, the inventing of arguments for why it is totally normal and fine to lose unprojected All-American caliber starters and in fact we didn’t actually want any of them anyways, to be a little ridiculous. A month ago everyone was happy at Alabama attracting top talent. Now it’s being poo pooed as unimportant. I think it’s ok to admit these loses suck and not pretend they don’t hurt, while also being optimistic for the upcoming season and this new era.

I don't think anyone has said we don't want them anyways, just that we are well equipped to handle it in most positions. Just look at the secondary. We have 3 of the top 5 corners in this year's class coming in. We also have Domani Jackson. We still have Malachi at one of safeties. We need some help at the other safety, but I'm confident we'll find one in the portal.

I know some will disagree, but I'm honestly more concerned about losing Proctor than Downs. It's a little easier to replace a safety in the portal than it is to replace offensive tackles. The fact that Proctor has to start as a freshman meant that we didn't have enough depth there, to begin with. I know he didn't play great last year, but left tackle is the most difficult position to come in and excel at as a freshman. He was primed imo, for a breakout sophomore season. He's gonna be difficult to replace.

 

[CoolBreeze]

I don’t believe I said we weren’t.

You didn't. I was just putting an exclamation point on you post LOL.

 

[Bama9001]

The difference is who is leaving. We weren’t losing key contributing starters and highly ranked early enrollees in 2022 and 2023. Not saying we won’t weather this, but I don’t think listing just the number of transfers tells us much.

Guys like Javion Cohen (starter) and Drew Sanders (NFL now) were big transfer losses. Yes, this is a little worse from an experience standpoint. Some of the current transfers are head scratchers from a competitive standpoint but probably comes down to money.

I'm pretty optimistic actually. We'll pick up some guys at positions of need and we'll have 85+ guys competing for playing time. We'll coach guys up and not just try to out-talent the opposition. I'm hoping, and believe, the new staff will be more open-minded and merit focused, constantly looking for the player that's going to fight for 60 minutes.

 

[CoolBreeze]

Read a piece on Will Anderson praising Demeco today saying that he might be the best coach he ever had. Now, that is no reflection on Nick, rather, is shows where Will's feet are right now. In that same vein, Coach KD is going to have to make this HIS team and I am sure that he will. That is exactly what he has done on the road to get here. We are going to see a totally different product on the field in 2024 full of new and retuning starters playing for a coach that they believe in. Fun days ahead.

 

[REBELZED]

I don't think it was anywhere near as bad as it could have been regarding the timing. Saban was retiring sooner than later, and it just so happened it was this offseason. He retired soon enough for us to hire probably one of the top five coaches in the country. Not to mention that apparently, DeBoer was Byrne's first choice.

If you want to see "worst" timing, get ready to see Michigan when Harbaugh takes the Chargers job and leaves them in late January or early February JUST BEGINNING a coaching search. That's not counting having to deal with recruits entering the transfer portal. Saban gave us enough time to hire one of the top coaches, assemble a staff and get stability to begin preparing for 2024. Michigan is about to be a stage 5 crapshow.

I agree with you. My point was more that because of the coaching-change-30-day-portal, we are the only top team currently dealing with this. So everybody else can point and laugh because their team is not having to worry about it.

And because we're the only top team experiencing the losses right now, it looks much worse than what it would if these transfers were happening during the normal portal window...

 

[Coach25]

I don’t believe I said we weren’t.

I will go ahead and say it. As of today we are not in the National Championship hunt. Before I get burned at the stake read I said as of today.

We just lost the greatest coach ever, we hired in a good coach, he put together a good staff on paper, he has done the best he can do about transfers outgoing and incoming so far.

As of today, I would only put 3 or 4 teams in the national championship conversation. They have the coaching, staters, depth, and continuity of everything to earn that as of right now.

If we win double digits I will be so excited. If we make it to the playoffs I will be stoked and thrilled. If we win the championship game, I will be in awe and I will be the first to say give Deboer a raise and extension in his first year.

Just wait until we see the Aday game, who is on roster in fall, and how everything comes together in our first few games before we start thinking national title contenders. Saban has built that in to us as a fan base but in reality that is an unheard of expectation everywhere else besides maybe UGA.

 

[Coach25]

I agree with you. My point was more that because of the coaching-change-30-day-portal, we are the only top team currently dealing with this. So everybody else can point and laugh because their team is not having to worry about it.

And because we're the only top team experiencing the losses right now, it looks much worse than what it would if these transfers were happening during the normal portal window...

Washington is getting it just as bad as us and if Michigan loses Harbough to chargers 3 of the 4 playoff teams will be in the same boat. But yes not as bad as it is being reported.

 

[Cruloc]

Washington is getting it just as bad as us and if Michigan loses Harbough to chargers 3 of the 4 playoff teams will be in the same boat. But yes not as bad as it is being reported.

If Michigan promotes from within....yeah, they'll lose all those upper classmen that are out of eligibility....but they won't have a mass exodus like we have.

 

[cbi1972]

I will go ahead and say it. As of today we are not in the National Championship hunt.

I think not everyone thinks of being "in the hunt" the same way.

The playoffs will be expanding to 12 teams, so making the playoffs could constitute being in the hunt, even if the odds aren't great.

There is a difference between "we could maybe win it" and "We should win it" and being "in the hunt" covers both categories of confidence.

With what Texas, Ohio State, and Georgia are returning and spending on their rosters, winning the national championship is going to be a tall order, but making the playoffs and having the opportunity to catch a few breaks like we had this past year is not out of the realm of possibility.

 

[CrimsonMapper]

If Michigan promotes from within....yeah, they'll lose all those upper classmen that are out of eligibility....but they won't have a mass exodus like we have.

Hard to say. I agree that you would not see a ton of transfers in that scenario, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we poached a couple of solid players. Courtney Morgan and Jerret McElwain have a lot of connections there.

 

[dayhiker]

The current portal environment with the retiring GOAT makes me think of Jimmy Buffet:

Can't you feel them circling, honey?
Can't you feel them swimming around?
You got fins to the left, fins to the right
And you're the only bait in town
Oh-whoa, oh-whoa
You got fins to the left, fins to the right
And you're the only (target rich environment?) in town

Sorry for the bad edit in the last line.

 

[Ledsteplin]

But we did. Not to the portal, but to the draft. We lost big time players every year. I don't really think the portal exits are as much of a big deal as everyone is making it out to be. We're not as deep as we once were, but the guys left are still majority 4*s and 5*s. Even the guys left in the secondary, a lot of them are young and inexperienced, but they're all highly touted guys, so it's not like we're left with a bunch of scrubs. Does losing guys like Downs hurt? Absolutely. However, sometimes chemistry is more important than pure talent. We've seen it before where we do lose key guys, and the team ends up improving because they gel better together. Who is to say that can't happen with this team?

I really like some of the true freshmen and recruits. There's a few who might work into the rotation. They all have the right attitude.

 

[NoNC4Tubs]

If Michigan promotes from within....yeah, they'll lose all those upper classmen that are out of eligibility....but they won't have a mass exodus like we have.

Maybe...

 

[RammerJammer14]

I think in pointing out one extreme you're steadily headed to the other end of the extreme. Losing talent isn't fun, and yes, we've lost talent due to Saban's retirement. But until you see the season play out you cannot make a judgment or assessment of how bad "it hurt" or if it ends up hurting at all. You simply cannot. There are A LOT of things to be excited about and how this is playing out is NOWHERE CLOSE to the worst way it could have. We still have a crapload of talent on this roster and maybe people are focusing on those things and waiting until actual evidence on the field proves them wrong.

I’m not disagreeing with you. I was initially replying to a comment that compared our transfers right now to our transfers in 21 and 22 as if they are the same. That’s all.

 

[Snuffy Smith]

I will go ahead and say it. As of today we are not in the National Championship hunt. Before I get burned at the stake read I said as of today.

We just lost the greatest coach ever, we hired in a good coach, he put together a good staff on paper, he has done the best he can do about transfers outgoing and incoming so far.

As of today, I would only put 3 or 4 teams in the national championship conversation. They have the coaching, staters, depth, and continuity of everything to earn that as of right now.

If we win double digits I will be so excited. If we make it to the playoffs I will be stoked and thrilled. If we win the championship game, I will be in awe and I will be the first to say give Deboer a raise and extension in his first year.

Just wait until we see the Aday game, who is on roster in fall, and how everything comes together in our first few games before we start thinking national title contenders. Saban has built that in to us as a fan base but in reality that is an unheard of expectation everywhere else besides maybe UGA.

what about a statue 🤔

 

[bamamc1]

https://www.si.com/nfl/chargers/news/chargers-news-jim-harbaugh-will-reportedly-bring-staff-from-michigan-to-la-rks97