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

[RhoChi]

Riley Leonard into the portal. Not a need for us, but you wonder if he follows Elko to TAMU? They’ve had a lot of QB turnover lately.

 

[RhoChi]

Cooley tiptoes and does not hit the hole hard at all. He also never makes the first guy miss. The offense this year started clicking when Smith began playing. Not that he was the most important player or even great but because we needed somone else besides Haynes who would hit the hole hard and make the first guy miss. Haynes is small and needs some help and as good as he is the position requires rotation. I am confident we should be able to find somebody in the portal. A decent running back that looks at film would like his chances with this line, QB, and fast receivers to have some running lanes. Felix would have to really grow up to fill that role.

I still think Dontae was sidelined as hard as he was early in the season bc Norvell recruited Cooley out of HS. That personal bond might have added some bias to the depth chart. Glad it got worked out in the end, but hard to not wonder what would’ve happened in some of those BG, BC, games if we had a more established run game to compliment the pass

 

[JacketOff]

Riley Leonard into the portal. Not a need for us, but you wonder if he follows Elko to TAMU? They’ve had a lot of QB turnover lately.

Leonard is either going to Auburn or A&M for sure

 

[kg01]

I still think Dontae was sidelined as hard as he was early in the season bc Norvell recruited Cooley out of HS. That personal bond might have added some bias to the depth chart. Glad it got worked out in the end, but hard to not wonder what would’ve happened in some of those BG, BC, games if we had a more established run game to compliment the pass

That's exactly what I was thinking at the time, but Key's comments after Dontae played seemed to suggest something else was going on.

I can't imagine, after seeing both play, that anyone would've played Cooley over Smith. I mean, it wasn't even close in my eyes.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Keep it together, NE. We gon' be aiight ...... right?

 

[TooTall]

 

[Techster]

Another one speaking in code....

If you're into tea leaves, he removed any mention of GT on his Twitter bio, and replaced his photo with one from High School.

 

[Techster]

Riley Leonard into the portal. Not a need for us, but you wonder if he follows Elko to TAMU? They’ve had a lot of QB turnover lately.

LOTS of oil money at TAMU...and they need a QB...

 

[Lotta Booze]

Gotta say it feels good to see all these QB's hitting the portal and think "Nah, we're set."

 

[Root4GT]

View attachment 15246

Now I want to play UNC. Johnson is a big drop off from Howell and Maye.

 

[Techster]

Now I want to play UNC. Johnson is a big drop off from Howell and Maye.

Johnson was just poorly coached. He has all the tools to be a good QB under the right coach.

Let's not forget, it's the same situation Haynes King came from.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

I don't know what our NIL situation truly is or how much our guys are getting but I find it hard to believe that anyone on our D would be transferring for a big NIL payday. I could maybe see Biggers and Efford getting some solid offers and looks but I would think we could match. Everyone else on our D does not appear on paper to be an obvious upgrade for a team with big time NIL money.

Paying money for our defense? Caveat Emptor.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

If you're into tea leaves, he removed any mention of GT on his Twitter bio, and replaced his photo with one from High School.

You heard him. "But later you will understand." What I will never understand is a coach throwing good money at players who were part of a historically bad defense but then, I did not understand Nebraska paying Jeff Simms whatever it was that they paid him.

 

[Golden Tornadoes]

Another one speaking in code....

Let’s not forget that the DC was demoted and there’s a lot of uncertainty on that side of the ball coaching wise. Maybe that’s a reason he could be looking? I’d at least wait to see what’s going to happen before I entered my name. Odds are he has already been contacted but I hate that we could be losing a LB. We are paper thin there….

 

[alagold]

You know this for a fact or are you making assumptions? I also recall when Mason was at Tech and the teams ability to convert short yardage downs was abysmal. It has less to do with the size of the RB and more to do with the offensive line. If the line can get movement at the point of attack, the size of the ball carrier is not important.

oh, good grief--you are right we don't need a big back, we are doing fine with those we have and we have no problem converting 1-2 yd 3rd downs

 

[Sugar3ThousandPounds]

Leonard is either going to Auburn or A&M for sure

All the insiders are saying Notre Dame. I guess he followed a bunch of their players on Twitter recently. He also entered the portal with a “No contact” tag so he knows where he’s going already

 

[yeti92]

Let’s not forget that the DC was demoted and there’s a lot of uncertainty on that side of the ball coaching wise. Maybe that’s a reason he could be looking? I’d at least wait to see what’s going to happen before I entered my name. Odds are he has already been contacted but I hate that we could be losing a LB. We are paper thin there….

TBH I don't think Tatum in the portal would be NIL related at all. He had 38 tackles (15 solo), 4 for a loss, and 1 pass deflection after starting all 12 games. Those aren't stats that get you NIL money, those are stats where you are more likely to lose your job.

For comparison:
Efford had 72 tackles (31 solo), 1 sack/tfl, and 1 int and played in 12 games but was not a starter.

Moala had 59 tackles (32 solo), 8 TFL, 2 sacks, 2 PD and 3 FF as the other starting LB for 12 games.

Ace and CT both had 100+ tackles a year ago, not to mention sacks/PD/ints/FF

 

[Techster]

I'm sure coaches are having honest discussions with our SAs. If they don't like what they hear, it gives them time to find a new home, and it also gives GT time to find SAs that can contribute here.

This is the new reality of college football. Players leaving, even players that might be stars or in line for a LOT of playing time, shouldn't come as a shock anymore. I'm sure we're in for a surprise or two. Happens every season. Up to our coaches to find the best fit for GT.

One thing to keep in mind. GT and Key have a track record now. Kids see our success. We should attract a higher level of transfers this time around compared to last year.

 

[LargeFO]

For the OG question: definitely Chris Paul Jr

 

[Root4GT]

Johnson was just poorly coached. He has all the tools to be a good QB under the right coach.

Let's not forget, it's the same situation Haynes King came from.

TA&M was his 2nd school. He is not near the caliber of either Howell or Maye. I have my doubts he starts at UNC next year. Have you watched him play? If he has perfect protection he is pretty good. He isn't mobile and when pressured he is not very good as he is inaccurate and can't escape the pressure.