I would bet this essentially has already happened in one way or another. We likely just didn’t outbid what the market wanted for Akelo the way we probably did for Zeek.
I would imagine each year going forward, our top producers or their parents get a phone call or whatever from some SEC or B1G school (like singleton’s parents openly did) , offering a good amount. It’s then a discussion between coaches whether they are worth that money or not.
I think Zeek’s immovable hole plugging style is really sought after, and our couches know it. They also might think he could have a breakout at anytime and outperform his pre-season auction worth.
This is true but let's also look on the bright side. We have the opportunity to go after guys that may be highly talented at other programs and not see the field, whereas before with no portal and NIL, those guys have more reason to stay patient and wait their turn to play as a senior at Alabama, LSU, etc. We already see some fruits of this with Christian Leary, Ayo Tifase, and EJ Lightsley transferring early in their career as FR/SO rather than waiting in line at another program.
The issue is, with that sort of shuffling around, we are relying on potential rather than proven results. So all the more reason to make sure we retain our coaches. Now that a D1 starter can cost hundreds of thousands a year, I hope the admin sees the value in spending more to keep a Weinke, a Geep Wade, a Brumfield around to make sure that talent reaches their potential.
