'25 Portal Thread

#2,776
#2,776
RandomUTfan said:
Look at what Florida is dealing with. Their biggest boosters are refusing to give to NIL. Some are holding money in escrow to buy out Billy's contract whenever that becomes necessary. Others don't want any of their money going to NIL based on 'principle' (which is really just saying you preferred when players were slaves). This is going to continue to be a problem for Florida even if they replace Napier. Who is going to want that job when this is the reality they would be facing?

note: I think these are in reverse order. The second is supposed to be read first. Not sure how to fix it.
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And yet, they are throwing “big money” at kids and some how convincing them they’re good for it. Hegonza.
 
#2,778
#2,778
Adam Sandler said:
And yet, they are throwing “big money” at kids and some how convincing them they’re good for it. Hegonza.
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I'm not sure they are making that mistake twice. It probably has contributed to why it's so tough for them to land portal players. There are schools lighting it up in the portal and I think Florida has a punter so there's that. At least they found a punter to compete with the guy they already have.
 
#2,780
#2,780
HoleInTheRoof said:
www.espn.com

Ismail Mahdi - Texas State Bobcats Running Back - ESPN

View the profile of Texas State Bobcats Running Back Ismail Mahdi on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Looking at his espn page, he seems a bit undersized but apparently a good receiver out of the backfield and also was a returner. Sophomore year was better than his junior year.

I approve of this signing. Looks like a potential quality one Year rental.
Click to expand...

He looks like he could be a Darren Sproles type RB always dangerous with the ball in his hands.
And he can return kicks.

 
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#2,782
#2,782
RandomUTfan said:
Stud WRs don't go to teams already stacked with stud WRs. They are transferring to play larger roles. That's why a guy like Farooq would be ideal. He'd come in and slot behind the guys we have and provide experienced depth. We only need one guy and that's the role we need him to be willing to play.
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We aren’t stacked with stud WRs.
 
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#2,786
#2,786
TrippieRedd said:
Seems like a Bishop clone. Not complaining and would love to have him, just figured we would go after a bigger guy.
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Wonder why our offense doesn’t use a bigger back more often. I know we thrive on speed, but has this offense used a bigger back with success yet? Seems like occasionally a bigger back would be good. Had high hopes for Keith.
 
#2,787
#2,787
VOLATNES said:
Wonder why our offense doesn’t use a bigger back more often. I know we thrive on speed, but has this offense used a bigger back with success yet? Seems like occasionally a bigger back would be good. Had high hopes for Keith.
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Payton Lewis is a pretty downhill power back who also possesses speed. Mix him in with Bishop and Mahdi and you got a pretty dynamic group
 
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#2,788
#2,788
csprig9 said:
Players weren’t slaves…
They got free schooling and everything else associated with being a college athlete in the past
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Getting "free school" isn't that hard. There are thousands of various scholarships available that make state schools relatively free to attend.

Colleges have made billions of dollars on the backs of college athletes whose compensation has been disproportionally smaller than their contribution. While they are not slave's, using a bit of hyperbole to describe the prior environment is hardly worthy of making the fuss you've made.
 
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#2,792
#2,792
HoleInTheRoof said:
www.espn.com

Ismail Mahdi - Texas State Bobcats Running Back - ESPN

View the profile of Texas State Bobcats Running Back Ismail Mahdi on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Looking at his espn page, he seems a bit undersized but apparently a good receiver out of the backfield and also was a returner. Sophomore year was better than his junior year.

I approve of this signing. Looks like a potential quality one Year rental.
Click to expand...

Yep. Exactly what we need. Someone who can rotate in with Bishop and Lewis, but doesn’t need to be the bell cow. Also seems like a guy we could utilize in different ways in this offense.
 
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#2,794
#2,794
NighthawkVol said:
He’s faster than Bishop.

Lewis is our bigger guy.
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I know this kid is faster, just talking size wise.

Was mostly holding out hope for that Tulane kid or someone similar mold as him.

Again, to make this clear (not to you) I’m fine with this kid. He is very, very similar to De’Anthony Thomas from Oregon years ago. Same size, same speed.

I envision us using Mahdi like that. If we don’t, we did this kid a HUGE disservice.
 
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#2,795
#2,795
TrippieRedd said:
I know this kid is faster, just talking size wise.

Was mostly holding out hope for that Tulane kid or someone similar mold as him.

Again, to make this clear (not to you) I’m fine with this kid. He is very, very similar to De’Anthony Thomas from Oregon years ago. Same size, same speed.

I envision us using Mahdi like that. If we don’t, we did this kid a HUGE disservice.
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This is a bit tangential, but I was thinking that Bishop reminds me a little of Henry. If we land Mahdi, we sort of have a similar set up to the 98 running backs. Obviously a very different style of offense, but consider:

Big, fast RB: Jamal Lewis/Peyton Lewis

Bowling Ball RB who isn’t super fast, but has good vision and tough to bring down: Travis Henry/DeSean Bishop

Small, fast, quick twitch: Travis Stephens/Ismael Mahdi
 
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#2,796
#2,796
TrippieRedd said:
I know this kid is faster, just talking size wise.

Was mostly holding out hope for that Tulane kid or someone similar mold as him.

Again, to make this clear (not to you) I’m fine with this kid. He is very, very similar to De’Anthony Thomas from Oregon years ago. Same size, same speed.

I envision us using Mahdi like that. If we don’t, we did this kid a HUGE disservice.
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He's the same size as Jabari Small but is a good bit faster.

If we land him, I expect he will likely be the favorite to be the lead back, though it's very unlikely that he will get the work Sampson got this year.
 
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#2,797
#2,797
dascoop said:
Texas State RB Ismail Mahdi visiting Tennessee tomorrow
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a guy we recruited as a HS Sr is in the portal
Carp said:
He's the same size as Jabari Small but is MUCH faster.

If we land him, I expect he will likely be the favorite to be the lead back, though it's very unlikely that he will get the work Sampson got this year.
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We played against Russell, and he whipped our asses.

Why, in the World would we not go back after him? Sometimes you have to get the best players. Kid has Heistman potential. Now Bammers, Georgias, and LSU's can just go get him, rich get richer.

Not every kid fits you exactly to a T.
 
#2,798
#2,798
Jackcrevol said:
a guy we recruited as a HS Sr is in the portal

We played against Russell, and he whipped our asses.

Why, in the World would we not go back after him? Sometimes you have to get the best players. Kid has Heistman potential. Now Bammers, Georgias, and LSU's can just go get him, rich get richer.

Not every kid fits you exactly to a T.
Click to expand...

A) the kid lied to our staff during his recruitment
B) there seems to have been drama around the kid at Arkansas (though not sure of the specifics). Leaving them for the portal after a successful freshman year may be reflective of that.

Seems like a talented player who isn’t a culture fit.
 
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#2,799
#2,799
NighthawkVol said:
A) the kid lied to our staff during his recruitment
B) there seems to have been drama around the kid at Arkansas (though not sure of the specifics). Leaving them for the portal after a successful freshman year may be reflective of that.

Seems like a talented player who isn’t a culture fit.
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My point is that sometimes talent is talent. The talking heads routinely talk about how we oft forsake said talent for cultural fit.

You have to have both.
 
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