Several weeks ago, I posted that a radio show host predicted Alabama would have a large number of players enter the transfer portal, which has occurred, but apparently even more are own the way. I found out the guy's name is Jimmy Stein from On3 and he appears to know what he's talking about. According to his bio, he's giving up his law practice to become a fulltime Alabama insider. As an LSU fan, I can't tolerate much talk about Alabama, but this guy seems to know what he's talking about. Based on Stein's projections, Alabama is right around 90 players on scholarship, so they have to still "process" some players to get to 85. He added that he expects even more players than the 5 to hit the portal because he expects Alabama to also grab a few in the transfer portal, but only if the player is an upgrade to what they already have on the roster. It's amazing to see the drastic and immediate impact that the transfer portal and NIL has made on college football at every level. If there's a bright spot for LSU fans, it's the fact that we are nowhere near the 85 scholarship limit and the transfer portal has proven to be a quick way to turn your program around. Imagine Alabama without Ohio State transfer Jameson Williams this year! I'm sure CBK and his staff are well aware of what players are out there, so hopefully they can reel in a couple of monsters to get this program headed back in the right direction as soon as possible!
I suspect the new "normal" in College Football recruiting is going to be (if you have 25 spots per year to fill): 18-20 with High School kids and 5-7 with transfer kids. It's happening and those coaches who figure out the correct ratio to "grow" the program with High School kids and the correct ratio to "fill needed gaps" with portal kids are going to do well.
You're absolutely correct about figuring out the correct ratio. There is so much unknown right now with NIL that I think it will take some time to figure out the correct formula. A few years from now it's going to be interesting to look back at previous recruiting classes and see how many stayed and how many left and how that particular class really graded out after all the dust settles.
@CagedTiger Jimmy has been around forums for a long time as a fan. He's fascinated with recruiting especially the quarterbacks around college football. For "site content," I think it's a good hire for On3: I've enjoyed his insights over the years: longer than I've been here. I scrolled through the roster this past week and by my count they were at 88: possibly 89 because I don't know the status of the punter. Alabama's 247 site reported 89 but they also had two on their list who are entering the draft. When I think about the two deep for the defense going into this fall I could name, at the minimum, a half of a dozen that considered hitting the portal this past season. It's the new norm and some of the decisions make perfect sense.
It's amazing that just a couple of years ago a coach couldn't buy a recruit a cup of coffee, but now companies (who we all know are connected to the universities) can now offer money, houses, cars and just about anything else you can think of. Every couple of days I check out the transfer portal and it's amazing to see the amount of talent that is listed. I guess it's just odd to see players from Alabama and Georgia hit the portal, but that's the reality of college football today. School loyalty is definitely a thing of the past, but that can be a great thing for a team like LSU in its current situation. Burrow is a perfect example how one big transfer recruit can help change your program, so hopefully CBK can pluck a few diamonds off the list and get the program quickly turned around to where it was just a couple of years ago.
Earlier this week roughly 1200 had entered the portal with a little less than half finding a new school. After watching others before them, even under more restrictive rules, a lot of these players don't understand it's still a zero sum game.
Even though there is a lot of talent in the portal, it's such a guessing game picking the right one for your program. If they left their current team, what's to say they won't leave your team? A close friend of mine is a huge Alabama fan and was not happy about Alabama getting Ricks, but he made a good point. He said Ricks left his HS team in California for IMG and now has left LSU, so what's to say he stays with them. Another classic example is the big Louisiana DL recruit Sopsher that everyone was upset when he signed Alabama. Well, after leaving Alabama for USC, he's now entered the transfer portal again. So there is talent in the portal, but the key is getting the right pieces that will buy into the team concept. So far, I've really been impressed with the players CBK has landed, but I guess time will only tell if they were the right pieces.