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Link: 2026 Transfer Portal

KrAzY3 said:
As far as the age thing, I would note that DeBoer's 2023 Washington team had 26 5th and 6th year seniors. I think Michigan was similarly stacked in terms of veteran players, and it is notable at least in terms of DeBoer's team that these were primarily 3 star players. I think about half of those guys were 6th year Covid seniors, so it was a pretty old team and DeBoer is certainly familiar with the concept.

I don't think people should over-react though. Cignetti did it that way because of limited resources, and so did DeBoer as well, he wasn't recruiting well there. The flip side is that Indiana despite the age gap still only beat Ohio State by 3 points.

The key is balance in my opinion, don't go too hard on recruiting when it's primarily for depth. Don't rely too much on the portal because it's harder to build around portal additions and that can lead to instability. Don't forget the downside, Deion famously leaned hard on the portal, produced instant results going 9-4 then fell to 3-9. His last recruiting class was ranked 73, if you miss on the portal under those circumstances you are in trouble.

This is where Cignetti is pulling away from the pack. It isn't the formula that's so much better, it's his evaluation. He's finding the gems in the portal, that's the key here. If you find the right recruits you can build a really strong foundation and if you can find the right portal players you can build off of that foundation. Cignetti was able to use JMU players for his foundation in this case. He brought 13 players! So those were his guys, his "recruits". DeBoer brought 4, and while those have all been impactful that's a heck of a lot less.
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Saban teams tended towards the younger side because so many juniors left for the NFL... The leftover seniors were frequently passed as well.
 
sanjosecrimson said:
Thompson was not a priority for the staff due to his lackluster stat the last 2 seasons. . HE SHOULD HAVE NEVER FLIPPED TO THE BARN IN THE FIRST PLACE. I don't care for Coleman and like many others say, money should be spent on the OL/DL. our WRs corps is good and hopefully even better with Nix at the helm.
Simmons would be my choice if we added another WR,
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I'd take C. Coleman way over Simmons. Simmons if you will remember was arrested prior to the season for a domestic violence issue. Besides that, Cam is much better imo and has a higher ceiling.
 
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NoNC4Tubs said:
Great question!

What exactly happens on the 17th to the players still in the portal?
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Given the new hard limit on the roster of 105 and the fact that walk-ons are a feature of the past... I suspect a bunch of them will get snatched up from the 9.99$ bargain bin to serve as practice players and deep depth with the hope of the occasional gem being found.
 
bamaslammer said:
So just for my education, the googler says the portal closes on the 16th. Currently there are vastly more players in the portal than have been plucked out of the portal. What happens when the music stops and everybody needs a chair? What happens to the ones that are not picked up?
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I'm pretty sure they are free to go back to the team they last played for, assuming the coach still wants them. The really good ones would likely be taken back while the marginal ones will have to scramble to find a team.
 
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arthurdawg said:
Given the new hard limit on the roster of 105 and the fact that walk-ons are a feature of the past... I suspect a bunch of them will get snatched up from the 9.99$ bargain bin to serve as practice players and deep depth with the hope of the occasional gem being found.
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It will probably be a lot like those free agent signings that happen right after the NFL draft. Teams have their lists, and they're ready to act. If Alabama is well prepared they should have a lot of nice depth pieces and this is where the strength of the program and the athletic department as a whole should come into play. If a kid isn't getting much NIL money, being at a program like Alabama is a better situation than a lot of others.
 
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I can see it now. Player sitting the portal in April calls up his old coach:

“Hey Coach. No hard feelings, right?
“Nope…none at all…”
“So what are the chances of getting back on the team?”
“Sure, I think we could make that work? How does 50k sound?”
“Awesome!!! $50,000 in NIL sounds terrific…”
“No…no…no…You pay us $50,000 and we’ll let you back on the team…
 
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KrAzY3 said:
As far as the age thing, I would note that DeBoer's 2023 Washington team had 26 5th and 6th year seniors. I think Michigan was similarly stacked in terms of veteran players, and it is notable at least in terms of DeBoer's team that these were primarily 3 star players. I think about half of those guys were 6th year Covid seniors, so it was a pretty old team and DeBoer is certainly familiar with the concept.

I don't think people should over-react though. Cignetti did it that way because of limited resources, and so did DeBoer as well, he wasn't recruiting well there. The flip side is that Indiana despite the age gap still only beat Ohio State by 3 points.

The key is balance in my opinion, don't go too hard on recruiting when it's primarily for depth. Don't rely too much on the portal because it's harder to build around portal additions and that can lead to instability. Don't forget the downside, Deion famously leaned hard on the portal, produced instant results going 9-4 then fell to 3-9. His last recruiting class was ranked 73, if you miss on the portal under those circumstances you are in trouble.

This is where Cignetti is pulling away from the pack. It isn't the formula that's so much better, it's his evaluation. He's finding the gems in the portal, that's the key here. If you find the right recruits you can build a really strong foundation and if you can find the right portal players you can build off of that foundation. Cignetti was able to use JMU players for his foundation in this case. He brought 13 players! So those were his guys, his "recruits". DeBoer brought 4, and while those have all been impactful that's a heck of a lot less.
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We are all star struck by the stars in recruiting and that is a misleading data point IMHO. Especially today, the transfer portal is full of guys every year (tweeners, late bloomers, overlooked guys, incredibly hard workers, etc.) that may have been evaluated in high school at one time (either correctly or ad hoc) but that evaluation is way outdated. So you are right, it puts a premium on programs to make their own evals of players currently playing college football at all 100+ schools throughout the year. Need a staff alone to do that and that effort is a worthwhile endeavor for a school lacking billionaire contributors like Alabama.
 
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Bamabuzzard said:
And this is what D-1 baseball teams are doing. They are going to older rosters because a player in his second, third or fourth year is light years stronger and more mature than an incoming freshman. If we're going to stay competitive in football, we're going to have to start moving more toward this model.
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I agree. Which means, National Signing Day, which really has lost it's importance, is about to become completely irrelevant. These guys might sign out of high school, but it becomes very low likelihood that they will stay. Portal periods after the season are going to become where a team is built, and it'll have to be every year, the only thing it has in common with the old National Signing Day.
 
Bamabuzzard said:
I think we start seeing in football what's been happening in college baseball. The big D-1 schools are giving less and less scholarships to HS kids and giving more and more to transfers. More roster spots are being taken up by transfers than HS recruits. It sucks for the HS recruit because a lot of times it forces them to go to smaller schools with less quality scholarship offers, but it is what it is. I know football has more roster numbers, so they cannot completely abandon HS recruiting but I think teams like Indiana have provided a blue print for the future. Alabama is going to (IMO) have to start moving in this direction. Having the mindset of bringing in a HS recruit and developing him for two years is not realistic. That player won't be around that long because he's not going to sit that long. So all we'll be doing is coaching them up for some other team to benefit from.
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College baseball is worse than football with the portal.
 
CoolBreeze said:
rolltidewire.usatoday.com

Alabama offensive lineman reportedly enters NCAA transfer portal

Alabama offensive lineman Arkel Anugwom has reportedly entered the NCAA transfer portal after one season in Tuscaloosa.
rolltidewire.usatoday.com
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An excellent example of the expectations of these guys coming to T-Town, either through transfer or out of high school. If they don't play, or even start, they are gone.

This mess won't end until it destroys a Notre Dame, a Michigan, an Ohio State, or some other "blue blood". And it WILL catch up to one of these programs eventually.....They'll have a year, disappointing couple of games, 10 or more guys hit the portal, including a couple that had big production, then a bad result for the old program in the following year. Like we're trapped in right now.

THEN, then the folks in charge (certainly not the NCAA) will step in and put curbs on the mess.
 
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NoNC4Tubs said:
Great question!

What exactly happens on the 17th to the players still in the portal?
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Over the last few years, at least half the players who entered the portal didn't find a place to play, and lost their roster spots, scholarships and for many, their chances at a good education.
 
gtgilbert said:
Over the last few years, at least half the players who entered the portal didn't find a place to play, and lost their roster spots, scholarships and for many, their chances at a good education.
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I have zero sympathy because greed led them out the door.

Can you imagine the entitlement complex necessary to walk away from $50k a year and a free education? Aesop would be proud of these greedy dogs.
 
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KrAzY3 said:
This is where Cignetti is pulling away from the pack. It isn't the formula that's so much better, it's his evaluation. He's finding the gems in the portal, that's the key here. If you find the right recruits you can build a really strong foundation and if you can find the right portal players you can build off of that foundation. Cignetti was able to use JMU players for his foundation in this case. He brought 13 players! So those were his guys, his "recruits". DeBoer brought 4, and while those have all been impactful that's a heck of a lot less.
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This. I'm really hoping CKD and Morgan can pull off this same kind of magic.

As for the Portal and all the names ... I'm pretty close to Information Overload on all this. I cannot keep up!
 
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