Portal Watch 2022-23

CINCYMETJACKET

Helluva Engineer
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1,219
In a weird sense of deja vu, I think that our Congress also closed shop awhile back and forgot to tell anyone, although they do keep cashing the checks. The probability of Congress to intervene in anything in a meaningful way is exactly the same as waiting on Batman, Isis, the Justice League of America, Neptune, etc. to do something of import. But i digress and hope to get things back on track...I am looking forward to the upcoming football season.
I'm looking forward to baseball season. For those that are in ATL, come out and support the Jackets! I'll be there opening weekend! Also looking forward to football, but baseball comes first.
 

MaverickGT

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
133
I'm looking forward to baseball season. For those that are in ATL, come out and support the Jackets! I'll be there opening weekend! Also looking forward to football, but baseball comes first.
Baseball is going to be rough this year. We have zero legit pitchers and lost almost all of our bats from last year. This will be a tough way to go out for ol Danny Hall. I will be shocked if we even make it to a regional
 

Richard7125

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
466
Walton is obvious tampering. Just because he's a grad transfer doesn't mean that didn't happen. He was tweeting out being on board with our Techway NIL. Then, out of nowhere he went in the portal on the last day or last couple days of eligibility for that period.
I completely agree that happened or most likely happened. My point is he gradauted (or was graduating) from school. The point for an SA is to go to school and play football while you're there. If you finish school, game over. It doesn't (or shouldn't) matter if you have eligibility remaining. If you want to stay at Tech for grad school, great. If you want to go to a different school for grad school, fine. Grad school is a new game. Having athletic eligibility remaining shouldn't matter.
 

orientalnc

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Retired Staff
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I completely agree that happened or most likely happened. My point is he gradauted (or was graduating) from school. The point for an SA is to go to school and play football while you're there. If you finish school, game over. It doesn't (or shouldn't) matter if you have eligibility remaining. If you want to stay at Tech for grad school, great. If you want to go to a different school for grad school, fine. Grad school is a new game. Having athletic eligibility remaining shouldn't matter.
Walton is a curious case because he did not enter the portal until the last day. That said, there are a lot of legit reasons that do not hint at tampering:

1- He was busy applying to grad schools with D1 football programs and made his decision at the last moment.
2- He hoped to be accepted to GT grad school and did not learn until late that it wasn't to be.
3- His family or friends were actively looking around for him.
4- He was looking around at places where he might be a one year impact player in a different system in order to enhance his draft prospects.
 

croberts

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
875
Walton is a curious case because he did not enter the portal until the last day. That said, there are a lot of legit reasons that do not hint at tampering:

1- He was busy applying to grad schools with D1 football programs and made his decision at the last moment.
2- He hoped to be accepted to GT grad school and did not learn until late that it wasn't to be.
3- His family or friends were actively looking around for him.
4- He was looking around at places where he might be a one year impact player in a different system in order to enhance his draft prospects.
#2 says it all. Wish the young man the best.
 

Augusta_Jacket

Moderator
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8,125
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Augusta, Georgia
Walton is a curious case because he did not enter the portal until the last day. That said, there are a lot of legit reasons that do not hint at tampering:

1- He was busy applying to grad schools with D1 football programs and made his decision at the last moment.
2- He hoped to be accepted to GT grad school and did not learn until late that it wasn't to be.
3- His family or friends were actively looking around for him.
4- He was looking around at places where he might be a one year impact player in a different system in order to enhance his draft prospects.

Do we know #2 to be true or is it speculation?
 

slugboy

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11,726
That is correct. A number of people were stating he was surely involved in tampering by Mississippi and I wanted to state there are legit reasons why that might not be true. Everything stated about this transfer is speculation save his commitment to Ole Miss.
there’s general speculation about the program, not an isolated belief about Walton. As a program, Ole Miss does unusually well in the transfer portal, and Kiffin has a reputation in cutting corners in recruiting, although the NCAA has not had as much involvement with him at Ole Miss than at previous spots.

 

orientalnc

Helluva Engineer
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For there to be tampering by Ole Miss relative Walton he is a willing participant. It is not just a program. I was trying to find/speculate a reason Walton wasn't playing their game.
 

forensicbuzz

21st Century Throwback Dad
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North Shore, Chicago
The thing about Ole Miss that seems suspicious is that it doesn’t jump out as a place someone with a Tech degree would apply for grad school at
We're talking about student-athletes, not the general student body. In this population, there are very few engineering or science majors looking to go to grad school and play football (probably none). So, Ole Miss as grad school doesn't seem unreasonable to me.
 

orientalnc

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We're talking about student-athletes, not the general student body. In this population, there are very few engineering or science majors looking to go to grad school and play football (probably none). So, Ole Miss as grad school doesn't seem unreasonable to me.
 

Jerry the Jacket

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As AC/DC sang, "It's a long way to the top" at #44. I guess it is all in how you spin it. Kiffin is a known cheat. He knows the NCAA will not do anything as long as he does not murder someone on live TV. He pushes the envelope and goes over the line because he knows to compete with the other SEC and National Cheaters he has to go big or go home.

Go Jackets!
 

orientalnc

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As AC/DC sang, "It's a long way to the top" at #44. I guess it is all in how you spin it. Kiffin is a known cheat. He knows the NCAA will not do anything as long as he does not murder someone on live TV. He pushes the envelope and goes over the line because he knows to compete with the other SEC and National Cheaters he has to go big or go home.

Go Jackets!
This a question which will likely never be answered. We probably need to get comfortable with that. I want to think Walton is a smarter than average football player who kept his nose down and graduated from a top university with middling grades. GT is very picky about their admissions to the MBA program and Walton likely realized his chances of making an NFL roster are pretty slim. Getting his MBA on a free ride and getting too play football is not a bad deal. And, Ole Miss with Kiffin at the helm is a good choice.

Looking at it from Kiffin's POV is similar. He has a need on his defense and is looking at the portal to fill that need. Walton is there and might be a starter for one year. I cannot see Ole Miss throwing a ton of money at him. They know he could have stayed at GT if there was a place for him in school, so he is leaving to go somewhere. That they were able scoop him up at the last minute probably means they failed to lure someone they preferred.

But, the bottom line for me is that I don't want to view Walton through a negative lens. He seems like a good, hard working young man with his sights set on his post collegiate life. It seems out of character for him to collude with Kiffin to break the NCAA rules.
 

slugboy

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11,726
This a question which will likely never be answered. We probably need to get comfortable with that. I want to think Walton is a smarter than average football player who kept his nose down and graduated from a top university with middling grades. GT is very picky about their admissions to the MBA program and Walton likely realized his chances of making an NFL roster are pretty slim. Getting his MBA on a free ride and getting too play football is not a bad deal. And, Ole Miss with Kiffin at the helm is a good choice.

Looking at it from Kiffin's POV is similar. He has a need on his defense and is looking at the portal to fill that need. Walton is there and might be a starter for one year. I cannot see Ole Miss throwing a ton of money at him. They know he could have stayed at GT if there was a place for him in school, so he is leaving to go somewhere. That they were able scoop him up at the last minute probably means they failed to lure someone they preferred.

But, the bottom line for me is that I don't want to view Walton through a negative lens. He seems like a good, hard working young man with his sights set on his post collegiate life. It seems out of character for him to collude with Kiffin to break the NCAA rules.
Two years in a row, one of our better-performing starting players unexpectedly goes into the portal, and quickly commits to Ole Miss.

That’s a heckuva coincidence.
 

bobongo

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7,757
It seems out of character for him to collude with Kiffin to break the NCAA rules.
A rule that's routinely ignored and unenforced? I may not usually jaywalk, but if the whole crowd is crossing the street, I might just fall in line and join them.
 

Madison Grant

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2,276
Two years in a row, one of our better-performing starting players unexpectedly goes into the portal, and quickly commits to Ole Miss.

That’s a heckuva coincidence.
It will be interesting to see when we go off Ole Miss's schedule if Lane keeps targeting our players for NIL-induced transfer.
 
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