Transfer Portal: Who do we need to target this offseason?

[Richard7125]

Hope coaches reach out, but prob a long shot. Would be immediate starter with the Dline losses we will have after this season.

I’m leery of the former 4* or 5* player transferring from School A to School B because of lack of playing time. They obviously have the measurables, but something seems to be missing. I’m not saying they can’t be good, but this is probably where the developed 2* or 3* with some grit is a better option.

 

[stinger78]

He was until he didn't travel up to cuse

OK

 

[jeffgt14]

Can't really fault Leary. He's clearly talented and isn't cracking the depth chart. If he has any NFL aspirations, likely needs to show out somewhere else.

IMO, this is the transfer portal being used correctly. He left his mark with Miami last year.

 

[4shotB]

Can't really fault Leary. He's clearly talented and isn't cracking the depth chart. If he has any NFL aspirations, likely needs to show out somewhere else.

IMO, this is the transfer portal being used correctly. He left his mark with Miami last year.

I think any player who has NFL aspirations would bloom wherever he was planted, possible exception being a QB playing behind a Trevor Lawrence or similar talent as QB's simply do not get rotated as much as other positions. I believe if he was a true NFL caliber prospect, he would be getting into our rotation more than he has. WTBS, wish him all the best going forward and also appreciate his big moment in Miami last year,

 

[57jacket]

DT, LB

 

[yeti92]

I think any player who has NFL aspirations would bloom wherever he was planted, possible exception being a QB playing behind a Trevor Lawrence or similar talent as QB's simply do not get rotated as much as other positions. I believe if he was a true NFL caliber prospect, he would be getting into our rotation more than he has. WTBS, wish him all the best going forward and also appreciate his big moment in Miami last year,

Agreed. Folks should remember, Leary was at Bama before he was at Tech and didn't see the field. Now he was getting limited playing time here, and while we do have some really talented WRs, an NFL talent WR would be seeing the field too. I don't think there are many (if any) NFL players who transferred multiple times in college and didn't blow up until their final season. You're generally a known commodity at that point. That being said, some guys know their NFL aspirations are over but they just want to see the field their final season, which I think is more likely the case for Leary. He can transfer down to G5/FCS or to a team with a weak WR group and get a lot of playing time.


Oatis looks like he's been a solid contributor with 55 tackles over his first 2 seasons at Bama, although not a ton of TFL/sacks. He's a big boy that I imagine commands double teams a decent bit. I'd take him.

 

[CEB]

I’m leery of the former 4* or 5* player transferring from School A to School B because of lack of playing time. They obviously have the measurables, but something seems to be missing. I’m not saying they can’t be good, but this is probably where the developed 2* or 3* with some grit is a better option.

From Bama? Nah. I don’t know A THING about this kid, but a 4/5* leaving Bama isn’t concerning. That place is perennial top 5 recruiting. A team recruiting at that level is going to have a couple 4/5 guys who aren’t getting the PT they want as soon as they want.
I think this is exactly what we all hoped the transfer portal would do because before the portal, this kid may have sat in obscurity at Bama for 3/4 years. Maybe now he sees the field at a mid level P4.

If this kid were leaving a mid level P4 and/or was beaten out on a team that doesn’t pull 5* guys consistently, I’d agree with you 100%.

 

[apatriot1776]

Agreed. Folks should remember, Leary was at Bama before he was at Tech and didn't see the field. Now he was getting limited playing time here, and while we do have some really talented WRs, an NFL talent WR would be seeing the field too. I don't think there are many (if any) NFL players who transferred multiple times in college and didn't blow up until their final season. You're generally a known commodity at that point. That being said, some guys know their NFL aspirations are over but they just want to see the field their final season, which I think is more likely the case for Leary. He can transfer down to G5/FCS or to a team with a weak WR group and get a lot of playing time.


Oatis looks like he's been a solid contributor with 55 tackles over his first 2 seasons at Bama, although not a ton of TFL/sacks. He's a big boy that I imagine commands double teams a decent bit. I'd take him.

You could also probably make thousands more in NIL starting for a Kennesaw State vs. riding the pine for GT.

 

[yeti92]

From Bama? Nah. I don’t know A THING about this kid, but a 4/5* leaving Bama isn’t concerning. That place is perennial top 5 recruiting. A team recruiting at that level is going to have a couple 4/5 guys who aren’t getting the PT they want as soon as they want.
I think this is exactly what we all hoped the transfer portal would do because before the portal, this kid may have sat in obscurity at Bama for 3/4 years. Maybe now he sees the field at a mid level P4.

If this kid were leaving a mid level P4 and/or was beaten out on a team that doesn’t pull 5* guys consistently, I’d agree with you 100%.

Ehh, I think that's a bit too much credit to Bama. Leary and Harris are both guys that fit your description above - former Bama 4 stars not seeing the field and transferring. Both have been okay, but not great for us. Leary is going back into the portal because of a lack of playing time here, and Harris has had pretty minimal production.

Oatis doesn't fit that description, he got plenty of playing time at Bama the last 2 years and has decent production to go with it. He has more tackles the last 2 years than Harris has had in 4 years at Tech for example. I feel much better about going after him than guys that were benchwarmers the whole time they were there.

 

[jacket38]

DL and LB to start.

 

[CEB]

Ehh, I think that's a bit too much credit to Bama. Leary and Harris are both guys that fit your description above - former Bama 4 stars not seeing the field and transferring. Both have been okay, but not great for us. Leary is going back into the portal because of a lack of playing time here, and Harris has had pretty minimal production.

Oatis doesn't fit that description, he got plenty of playing time at Bama the last 2 years and has decent production to go with it. He has more tackles the last 2 years than Harris has had in 4 years at Tech for example. I feel much better about going after him than guys that were benchwarmers the whole time they were there.

Maybe?
I wasn’t giving the credit to Bama as much as saying that a perennial top five recruiter is going to shed some 4/5* guys that are worth a look.
I’d say the same about UGA, Tex, tOSU, etc.
4/5* guys leaving mid level programs are more of a red flag.
That’s it.

 

[Southern psu fan]

I love the transfer portal it gives teams like Ga Tech a chance to pick up some good football players. Since some of these kids struggle to get on the field at Alabama doesn’t mean they can’t make an impact day one at Ga Tech. It’s the NIL that I’m not crazy about but I don’t understand everything about it either. If it helps Ga Tech, I like it

 

[4shotB]

I love the transfer portal it gives teams like Ga Tech a chance to pick up some good football players. Since some of these kids struggle to get on the field at Alabama doesn’t mean they can’t make an impact day one at Ga Tech. It’s the NIL that I’m not crazy about but I don’t understand everything about it either. If it helps Ga Tech, I like it

When you look at what happened in the top 25 last weekend, it does make you wonder if the portal is spreading the talent around a bit more than in the past. There were a lot of upsets including the vandy game. I watched that game and it wasn't a case of Alabama turning the ball over or some other fluke result. Vandy looked like they belonged on the field and moved the ball rather consistently. Prior to Saturday, they had been 0 -60 against top 5 teams. I am not sure if this is a case of a blind hog finding an acorn or speaks to a more towards the aforementioned talent leveling. Further data is needed of course.

 

[jojatk]

I think any player who has NFL aspirations would bloom wherever he was planted, possible exception being a QB playing behind a Trevor Lawrence or similar talent as QB's simply do not get rotated as much as other positions. I believe if he was a true NFL caliber prospect, he would be getting into our rotation more than he has. WTBS, wish him all the best going forward and also appreciate his big moment in Miami last year,

Jared Verse
Troy Aikman (wasn't about rotation, preferred a different style of offense if memory serves)
Dorsey Levens
Ken Whisenhunt
Keion White
Laiatu Latu
Chop Robinson
Tyler Guyton
Ricky Pearsall
Keon Coleman
Ja'Lynn Polk
Christian Gonazalez

Some of these are obviously from many years ago but most are 1st and 2nd round picks in the last two drafts alone who have all transferred and didn't seem to cause them any problems. The notion that you can bloom wherever you're planted is both outdated and in some cases wrong. It's not 100% true in horticulture, either. Some guys take different paths and/or need different mentors/coaches/environments/opportunities to achieve their potential. We didn't see that very often in the distant past because it wasn't a viable option with the restrictive nature of the rules (restrictive is just a factual description, not meant as a value judgment). Now that it is the wild west it's become commonplace. I'm not saying that's a good thing and I absolutely would agree that it's a bad decision for some, possibly even most.

With all that having been said I also do agree that there will be lots of cases where a 4* or 5* who couldn’t get on the field at Football Factory X just isn’t as good as his high school play would indicate.

 

[Richard7125]

From Bama? Nah. I don’t know A THING about this kid, but a 4/5* leaving Bama isn’t concerning. That place is perennial top 5 recruiting. A team recruiting at that level is going to have a couple 4/5 guys who aren’t getting the PT they want as soon as they want.
I think this is exactly what we all hoped the transfer portal would do because before the portal, this kid may have sat in obscurity at Bama for 3/4 years. Maybe now he sees the field at a mid level P4.

If this kid were leaving a mid level P4 and/or was beaten out on a team that doesn’t pull 5* guys consistently, I’d agree with you 100%.

Too often I've seen Tech fans gush over getting a 4* transfer only for that player ending up being mediocre - serviceable yes, but not 4* quality. I'm not saying we shouldn't go after some of them. I'm just saying expectations should probably be adjusted accordingly.

 

[4shotB]

Jared Verse
Troy Aikman (wasn't about rotation, preferred a different style of offense if memory serves)
Dorsey Levens
Ken Whisenhunt
Keion White
Laiatu Latu
Chop Robinson
Tyler Guyton
Ricky Pearsall
Keon Coleman
Ja'Lynn Polk
Christian Gonazalez

Some of these are obviously from many years ago but most are 1st and 2nd round picks in the last two drafts alone who have all transferred and didn't seem to cause them any problems. The notion that you can bloom wherever you're planted is both outdated and in some cases wrong. It's not 100% true in horticulture, either. Some guys take different paths and/or need different mentors/coaches/environments/opportunities to achieve their potential. We didn't see that very often in the distant past because it wasn't a viable option with the restrictive nature of the rules (restrictive is just a factual description, not meant as a value judgment). Now that it is the wild west it's become commonplace. I'm not saying that's a good thing and I absolutely would agree that it's a bad decision for some, possibly even most.

With all that having been said I also do agree that there will be lots of cases where a 4* or 5* who couldn’t get on the field at Football Factory X just isn’t as good as his high school play would indicate.

Very well thought out post. I don't have any issues with players transferring and have indicated that it distributes the talent a bit better than in the "good ol' days", My point remains that if we have a receiver who has what it takes to play at the next level he would be in the rotation already. Rutherford and Singleton are quality players as are the other guys getting snaps so I am not disparaging anyone here. Alabama has a receiving corps where (to my untrained eye) they have at least 2 guys who will make a good living in the NFL (and are probably making a damn good living in Tuscaloosa now that I think about it). There might be an NFL calibre guy over there not getting much burn but the schools for which an NFL talent who is a junior or senior in terms of experience can't make the field is limited to what you can count one one hand at most. IMO.

 

[GTBandit22]

Too often I've seen Tech fans gush over getting a 4* transfer only for that player ending up being mediocre - serviceable yes, but not 4* quality. I'm not saying we shouldn't go after some of them. I'm just saying expectations should probably be adjusted accordingly.

You need serviceable guys too.
Also it may take more than one year for some guys. I remember that Ace had a rough first year, then he was one of the bash brothers his senior year. Keion got hurt, and then started to show out his last year.

 

[CEB]

Too often I've seen Tech fans gush over getting a 4* transfer only for that player ending up being mediocre - serviceable yes, but not 4* quality. I'm not saying we shouldn't go after some of them. I'm just saying expectations should probably be adjusted accordingly.

Agree… my point was that I would be far less concerned about these 4* guys being “deficient” just because they didn’t get much game time at a place like Bama. If they were coming from Rutgers, Vandy, Miss St, etc, there’s a little more apprehension.

 

[Richard7125]

You need serviceable guys too.
Also it may take more than one year for some guys. I remember that Ace had a rough first year, then he was one of the bash brothers his senior year. Keion got hurt, and then started to show out his last year.

I agree 100%. My point is more around a 4* out of high school probably has more upside than these 4* that are transferring. Again, i want them, but i'm not necessarily doing backflips. I look at FSU's current team as the poster child of this.

 

[jojatk]

Very well thought out post. I don't have any issues with players transferring and have indicated that it distributes the talent a bit better than in the "good ol' days", My point remains that if we have a receiver who has what it takes to play at the next level he would be in the rotation already. Rutherford and Singleton are quality players as are the other guys getting snaps so I am not disparaging anyone here. Alabama has a receiving corps where (to my untrained eye) they have at least 2 guys who will make a good living in the NFL (and are probably making a damn good living in Tuscaloosa now that I think about it). There might be an NFL calibre guy over there not getting much burn but the schools for which an NFL talent who is a junior or senior in terms of experience can't make the field is limited to what you can count one one hand at most. IMO.

I agree with you about our WR rotation and what it means for a guy like Christian. I have to imagine his motivation is not really about playing in the NFL and that we just aren't giving him the chance to show what he can do. In my head it's more about him just wanting to get on the field for one more year and that isn't happening here. So he's doing something that isn't hurting us and is potentially giving him that chance. At least that's what makes sense to me. I can't believe he would be thinking we're just holding him back.