2024 Transfer Thread - The Pedantic Circlejerk

[Hank Kingsley 20,967]

5 minutes ago, Hiphopopotamos said:

 

 

[Daichee Bell 2,925]

7 minutes ago, Hiphopopotamos said:

 

Sark to Mannings 

 

[Vertigo 20,290]

29 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

sub a receiver for a tight end and same shit. Who gives a shit about verbiage. 

A big part of this is how well Sark thinks the OLine will hold up in pass protection. If he feels good about it, then he can afford to detach that TE and go 4 wides far more often. I don't think he ever felt great with Christian Jones in pass protection. He got beat like a drum in the sugar bowl against that Washington DE on passing downs. Cam Williams should be better there.  

[pacman 7,359]

34 minutes ago, Fud said:

It would be insane considering that it wouldn't be 21 personnel 

Like you never put a WR in at TE in NCAA. Scored an 80 yard TD, so clearly works in real life.

 

Edited January 15 by pacman

[Hiphopopotamos 20,875]

Nahlin reporting that Jabbar Muhammad will visit Texas Weds/Thurs. 

Nahlin adds that if Texas loses it won’t be because of NIL. 
 

Thinks it’s 50/50 right now. 

[Vertigo 20,290]

1 minute ago, pacman said:

Like you never put a WR in at TE in NCAA. Scored an 80 yard TD, so clearly works in real life.

Like you never put a WR in at TE in NCAA.

How do you double post your own response? That is something. 

[Hiphopopotamos 20,875]

3 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

A big part of this is how well Sark thinks the OLine will hold up in pass protection. If he feels good about it, then he can afford to detach that TE and go 4 wides far more often. I don't think he ever felt great with Christian Jones in pass protection. He got beat like a drum in the sugar bowl against that Washington DE on passing downs. Cam Williams should be better there.  

The Washington DE (Braelen Trice) led the country in pressures. 

[SuperSport 1,333]

1 hour ago, BarthHollamew said:

This.  Was hoping to see the letters DL  or LB next to some incoming portals. 

I see someone already forgot about Jaylen Waddle and Gilbert Johnson.

[Tex-19 2,872]

Add me to the "why spend NIL on another WR" camp. Would rather allocate that to Niblack or a DT.

Also, I don't think Bolden would come here if he's just going to be a gadget guy like Keilan. He can get WR opps elsewhere.

[Dbeasy 15,068]

They sure are going deep on WR and DB in the portal. 

[pacman 7,359]

One was an area that needed the most improvement. The other lost the most production.

4 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

They sure are going deep on WR and DB in the portal. 

 

Edited January 15 by pacman

[Tex-19 2,872]

Just now, pacman said:

One was an area that needed the most improvement. The other lost the most production.

 

Yeah but WR seems taken care of now. Added 2 starters, plus Wingo coming in and a year of growth from Cook, Moore, Niblett. 

Obviously the big caveat to all this is that we have no idea how much money everyone is requiring. Maybe Bolden doesn't require as much NIL as we'd think. And maybe Niblack or others require a lot more. Who knows.

[Hank Kingsley 20,967]

Let me tell you something, I had a dream about this moment. Watching Quinn make sweet love to his bitch, Bama. Over the top on them...powerful throws...filling the sultry night air. Heavy breath. Our son Arch walked by, little boy, then Milwee sprung from the sidelines and said, "No, Arch. Leave!" I said "No, AJ. Shut your mouth, let him watch. Let him watch what is being consecrated here and I want the people to watch what is being consecrated here".  And I will bring Arch down here and he will watch. He will watch UT battling here. UT becoming one. Ok? 

[Atticus 3,976]

Lost all starters at WR and TE from the previous year. Can't rely on a bunch of 2023 recruits to carry your water there with Quinn's final year and the tone setting season in the SEC.

The 2022 recruiting cycle at WR made this a major need. Both guys we have landed were in that class.

[Tree Fidy 1,174]

13 minutes ago, Hank Kingsley said:

Let me tell you something, I had a dream about this moment. Watching Quinn make sweet love to his bitch, Bama. Over the top on them...powerful throws...filling the sultry night air. Heavy breath. Our son Arch walked by, little boy, then Milwee sprung from the sidelines and said, "No, Arch. Leave!" I said "No, AJ. Shut your mouth, let him watch. Let him watch what is being consecrated here and I want the people to watch what is being consecrated here".  And I will bring Arch down here and he will watch. He will watch UT battling here. UT becoming one. Ok? 

Jimbo, is this really you?

[LCHorn 2,621]

This is super speculative, but I wonder if our NIL donors (the few doing most of the heavy lifting) are being asked to commit extra this off-season with the understanding that Arch won’t need individual contributors backing him and that’ll mean less requested from them next year (in other words “help us this year and we won’t need so much next.”)

Not that this should be a big worry, but I agree that the guys like Cook are poised to be the biggest casualty-the portal transfers push his NIL optimization back a season unless he can beat them out.  

[Red Five 40,862]

Here's the "inside scoop" update from Justin Wells, in which no new information is provided.

 

The NCAA transfer portal takes center stage in the Inside Scoop, with the Longhorns looking to add more to an already successful portal haul.

Jabbar Muhammad, DB, Washington via DeSoto (Texas)

When the 5-foot-10, 180-pound former DFW prospect left Oklahoma State for Washington, he was trading up. Now after a fantastic season at UW, Muhammad is looking to trade up again.

The class of 2019 three-star has turned himself into a bona fide corner at the college level. And coaches are after him on the trail.

Muhammad hosted Texas and Oregon coaches over the weekend, and while a number of programs have reached out, this’ll likely come down to the Longhorns and Ducks.

Muhammad has family ties to the Texas program in CB Malik Muhammad and is close with a number of other Metroplex players in Austin.

He’s very interested in Texas today, but a few things need to be worked out. Plus the Ducks are attacking the NIL game unlike most other programs. We’re watching this closely where a decision could be coming quickly with classes beginning to start.

Kendrick Blackshire, LB, Alabama via Duncanville (Texas)

The former Mesquite (Texas) Horn and Duncanville (Texas) linebacker has been in Tuscaloosa since 2021. After limited playing time behind a host of four- and five-star talents, he entered the portal with eyes on a fresh start.

This is a Texas-Ole Miss battle after he took trips to both campuses over the last few days. Inside Texas was told the Austin trip went really well, as Steve Sarkisian and Johnny Nansen laid out their plans for the 6-foot-2, 245-pound linebacker.

After Blackshire left UT yesterday evening, sources told IT that the Horns are in prime position to land the former four-star stud. But like Oregon, Ole Miss is a cash machine in the NIL/Portal game this offseason, so the Horns will have to hold off Lane Kiffin and the Rebels.

Still, IT has confidence in Texas and put in an RPM predicting the Longhorns will land the former metroplex defender.

Silas Bolden, WR, Oregon State via Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.)

After landing wideouts Matthew Golden and Isaiah Bond, you’d think the Longhorns are finished at WR. Not so fast, my friends.

Sources tell Inside Texas that Bolden is still a priority for the UT staff and he enjoyed his official visit to Austin over the weekend.

He still has a few places to see, notably Arizona and Washington. With the Wildcats losing head coach Jedd Fisch to U-Dub, there’s a sense he might skip the Tucson trip and give the Huskies a stronger look.

Either way, it feels like this recruitment might be play out a little longer than the others.

[Wulaw Horn 19,099]

1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

You were laughed at because there was zero substance to the guy going anywhere. And the portal closed and he went nowhere. It was click bait that started that line of discussion. So don’t do the revising history shit where if he goes in now, with Fisch being gone, and tell us you called it. You didn’t. And he still isn’t in. 

But yeah, if you’ve got seven figures lying around and want to just go moneywhip a bunch of players, you should look at an NIL strategy for it. 

Lighten up Francis. I was saying then that was my wet dream guy and he still is, and it’s still not going to happen. But it’s slightly less not going to happen now than it was 48 hours ago. 
and yeah- I’m well aware of NiL and understand  everything you are saying. I’m just sitting around day dreaming. 

[Wulaw Horn 19,099]

51 minutes ago, Hank Chinaski said:

‘Member when I said the AZ guy at WR that should read. Steve Jobs hates me. I miss tactile blackberry keyboards. 

[BurntOrange&White 39,934]

42 minutes ago, Hiphopopotamos said:

Nahlin reporting that Jabbar Muhammad will visit Texas Weds/Thurs. 

Nahlin adds that if Texas loses it won’t be because of NIL. 
 

Thinks it’s 50/50 right now. 

Has he visited Oregon already?

[BurntOrange&White 39,934]

 

 

[NoName 16,354]

Jerrin Thompson to Auburn

 

[JesusSweatDuck 17,784]

5 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

‘Member when I said the AZ guy at WR that should read. Steve Jobs hates me. I miss tactile blackberry keyboards. 

https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/whats-it-like-to-use-an-iphone-with-a-physical-keyboard-i-got-a-chance-to-find-out/

[Hard Times 302]

58 minutes ago, Hiphopopotamos said:

 

So what did Colt have to say about it?

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,550]

Poor, poor Alabama is all in their feelings because mean old Texas is poaching their players.

"Texas just declared war on Alabama?" Uh, you started it buddy. Fucking hypocrites with their heads in the sand about how things went down pre-NIL. If only we could go back to the good old days when recruits were bought and sold under the table with a push from sleazebag street agents and uncles with their hands out. I think Deboer is a really good coach, but I am rooting hard for him to fail miserably and get crushed under the weight of Alabama expectations and weak NIL backing.

https://www.al.com/alabamafootball/2024/01/goodman-texas-declares-war-on-alabama.html

Spoiler

The modern age of the SEC is here, Nick Saban is gone and Texas just declared war on Alabama.

It’s a lot for me to process in these vulnerable hours after Alabama said so long to the architect of “the process.”

The Longhorns might not officially be in the league just yet — that happens in July — but Texas let everyone know on Sunday that it’s ready to carve out its own sadistic reputation in the most cutthroat conference of them all. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian was once beloved in Alabama, but now he is a Marvel supervillain after lighting Alabama’s soul on fire.

Call him Sark The Shark. Call him Sark The Savage. Sark, the rogue. Sark, the vengeful, insatiable genius.

With the carrot cake commemorating Saban’s retirement still fresh, Texas robbed Alabama of its reputation, its cherished memories and arguably its best player all in the same chess move. In the wake of Saban’s retirement, Iron Bowl hero Isaiah Bond left Alabama for Texas and I still can’t believe it.

Saban retired on a Wednesday and Bond was gone before new Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer could even unpack his travel bag.

DeBoer asked players to give him a chance. Bond said give me some cowboy boots and a black hat.

Bond is the receiver who made the famous touchdown catch in the most recent Iron Bowl. It made him an instant celebrity in the state of Alabama. Fourth and 31 will go down as one of the greatest plays in Alabama football history, but we’re less than two months removed from that magical moment and it all suddenly feels like the charred ruins of a smoldering empire.

There was once a time when being an Iron Bowl hero meant legendary status for life. That era of college football is officially gone.

It was Auburn that was supposed to feel eternal pain after Alabama’s miraculous throw from Jalen Milroe to Bond, but now Alabama will be watching an Iron Bowl legend suit up for Texas next season. Is nothing sacred anymore? Is Bevo the new king of the SEC? How is this even real life?

Being an Iron Bowl legend was once an access card to a different world. In that sense, things haven’t changed. Now it’s a ticket out of town.

I suddenly feel like writing breakup poetry.

Is it too late for Saban to un-retire?

Can His GOAT-ness pull an Urban Meyer?

Hold my beer while I stick my head in the oven.

Take away this pain with a blindside concussion.

Let’s be clear. There should be no hard feelings for Bond. He did nothing wrong in transferring from Alabama to Texas. No one can fault a player for cashing in when they can. The money is out there, so go get it. That’s the game. That’s the American Dream.

College football in 2024 is pure, uncut capitalism. No rules. No regulations. All business.

But it hurts, man. I can’t lie. Even for a grizzled, time-hardened press-box pilcrow like me, this one cuts deep. Players come and they go these days, but that doesn’t mean fans and observers of the game have to enjoy it.

Bond entered the transfer portal shortly after Saban announced he was walking away. Bond later said that Saban’s retirement “100 percent” informed his decision to walk, too. Saban saw all of this coming, of course. When asked about the NIL transfer era, Saban once famously snapped back, “Is this what we want college football to become?”

Answer: Heck no.

Saban didn’t retire because of the changes to roster management in college football, but losing players to the portal certainly made the job less enjoyable. Coaches dedicate large portions of their lives to recruiting players, and schools spend millions of dollars to fund the chase, and then, after all that, Iron Bowl heroes leave for another school.

Saban was the greatest recruiter the game ever saw. Raising money to pay players is the key to winning for Alabama’s new coach, and there are deeper pockets in the new SEC. What’s an Iron Bowl compared to a Texas war chest filled with gold?

 

[MrX 735]

Somebody call the Waaaaaambulance on that AL.com guy. 

[Reynolds Woodcock 4,758]

21 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

‘Member when I said the AZ guy at WR that should read.

Was this a better sentence in your mind?

[Had Enough 2,083]

The Washington DE (Braelen Trice) led the country in pressures. 

Perhaps I’ve allowed a relatively small number of posts to cloud my judgement, but our pass protection was generally solid against UW. My rewatch was a cut up on ESPN, and they did cut probably our worst plays in that regard.

For comparison UM gave up 2 sacks to UW like us. They gave up 9 pressures out of around 25 dropbacks. We had 14 pressures out of about 50 dropbacks. QE was under pressure 27% of the time as compared to 31% for JJ. One sack against us was equal parts QB too.

The last play was mischaracterized a bit too. The two outside guys for UW basically ran upfield and took themselves out of the play.

[Vertigo 20,290]

1 hour ago, Hiphopopotamos said:

The Washington DE (Braelen Trice) led the country in pressures. 

Yes, he was a baller, but Jones was targeted all night. Pass protection was always Jones' struggle, he got better, but I would still say he is below average. 

Edited January 15 by Vertigo

[Gut Wagon 8,083]

T-shirt Bama fans (living here in Georgia for the past 40 years, I know many) have turned uncharacteristically somber. Part of that of course is from the loss to Michigan, but it's more a realization of the future. Talk has gone from "Texas has no idea what a bloodbath they signed to for in the SEC" to "College football used to be fun." You love to see it. 

[Vertigo 20,290]

20 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Poor, poor Alabama is all in their feelings because mean old Texas is poaching their players.

"Texas just declared war on Alabama?" Uh, you started it buddy. Fucking hypocrites with their heads in the sand about how things went down pre-NIL. If only we could go back to the good old days when recruits were bought and sold under the table with a push from sleazebag street agents and uncles with their hands out. I think Deboer is a really good coach, but I am rooting hard for him to fail miserably and get crushed under the weight of Alabama expectations and weak NIL backing.

https://www.al.com/alabamafootball/2024/01/goodman-texas-declares-war-on-alabama.html

  Hide contents

The modern age of the SEC is here, Nick Saban is gone and Texas just declared war on Alabama.

It’s a lot for me to process in these vulnerable hours after Alabama said so long to the architect of “the process.”

The Longhorns might not officially be in the league just yet — that happens in July — but Texas let everyone know on Sunday that it’s ready to carve out its own sadistic reputation in the most cutthroat conference of them all. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian was once beloved in Alabama, but now he is a Marvel supervillain after lighting Alabama’s soul on fire.

Call him Sark The Shark. Call him Sark The Savage. Sark, the rogue. Sark, the vengeful, insatiable genius.

With the carrot cake commemorating Saban’s retirement still fresh, Texas robbed Alabama of its reputation, its cherished memories and arguably its best player all in the same chess move. In the wake of Saban’s retirement, Iron Bowl hero Isaiah Bond left Alabama for Texas and I still can’t believe it.

Saban retired on a Wednesday and Bond was gone before new Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer could even unpack his travel bag.

DeBoer asked players to give him a chance. Bond said give me some cowboy boots and a black hat.

Bond is the receiver who made the famous touchdown catch in the most recent Iron Bowl. It made him an instant celebrity in the state of Alabama. Fourth and 31 will go down as one of the greatest plays in Alabama football history, but we’re less than two months removed from that magical moment and it all suddenly feels like the charred ruins of a smoldering empire.

There was once a time when being an Iron Bowl hero meant legendary status for life. That era of college football is officially gone.

It was Auburn that was supposed to feel eternal pain after Alabama’s miraculous throw from Jalen Milroe to Bond, but now Alabama will be watching an Iron Bowl legend suit up for Texas next season. Is nothing sacred anymore? Is Bevo the new king of the SEC? How is this even real life?

Being an Iron Bowl legend was once an access card to a different world. In that sense, things haven’t changed. Now it’s a ticket out of town.

I suddenly feel like writing breakup poetry.

Is it too late for Saban to un-retire?

Can His GOAT-ness pull an Urban Meyer?

Hold my beer while I stick my head in the oven.

Take away this pain with a blindside concussion.

Let’s be clear. There should be no hard feelings for Bond. He did nothing wrong in transferring from Alabama to Texas. No one can fault a player for cashing in when they can. The money is out there, so go get it. That’s the game. That’s the American Dream.

College football in 2024 is pure, uncut capitalism. No rules. No regulations. All business.

But it hurts, man. I can’t lie. Even for a grizzled, time-hardened press-box pilcrow like me, this one cuts deep. Players come and they go these days, but that doesn’t mean fans and observers of the game have to enjoy it.

Bond entered the transfer portal shortly after Saban announced he was walking away. Bond later said that Saban’s retirement “100 percent” informed his decision to walk, too. Saban saw all of this coming, of course. When asked about the NIL transfer era, Saban once famously snapped back, “Is this what we want college football to become?”

Answer: Heck no.

Saban didn’t retire because of the changes to roster management in college football, but losing players to the portal certainly made the job less enjoyable. Coaches dedicate large portions of their lives to recruiting players, and schools spend millions of dollars to fund the chase, and then, after all that, Iron Bowl heroes leave for another school.

Saban was the greatest recruiter the game ever saw. Raising money to pay players is the key to winning for Alabama’s new coach, and there are deeper pockets in the new SEC. What’s an Iron Bowl compared to a Texas war chest filled with gold?

 

It doesn't appear that Bama is going to handle their fall from the top of the food chain very well. My goodness. 

[closetojumping 62,746]

40 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

This is super speculative, but I wonder if our NIL donors (the few doing most of the heavy lifting) are being asked to commit extra this off-season with the understanding that Arch won’t need individual contributors backing him and that’ll mean less requested from them next year (in other words “help us this year and we won’t need so much next.”)

Not that this should be a big worry, but I agree that the guys like Cook are poised to be the biggest casualty-the portal transfers push his NIL optimization back a season unless he can beat them out.  

Let’s all do ourselves a favor and not lionize Arch Manning from here forward when it comes to NIL. 

[RomaVicta 29,929]

1 hour ago, conVINCEd said:

Gonna be hard to throw for 4k when he doesn’t play much beyond halftime.

Does anybody really feel that secure when we have a great halftime lead? I don't. Until we can put a few more full games behind us, I'll still be sweating until we're four scores up towards the end of the third quarter.

[RGBIII 22,840]

1 hour ago, Hiphopopotamos said:

Nahlin reporting that Jabbar Muhammad will visit Texas Weds/Thurs. 

Nahlin adds that if Texas loses it won’t be because of NIL. 
 

Thinks it’s 50/50 right now. 

Its an educational hours deal with Muhammad. Either he stays at washington through the springs or he goes elsewhere. IDK if there will be any additional leeway here but we shall see

[BurntOrange&White 39,934]

5 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

Yes, he was a baller, but Jones was targeted all night. Pass protection was always Jones' struggle, he got better, but I would still say he is below average. 

Whenever Washington wanted to pressure us they attacked Jones and the right side. I'm surprised we didn't do more to help that side with a TE or RB chip.

[Dewey 3,286]

I was wondering who was going to blame us for their demise, just like Nebraska tried to do.  Now a bunch of jackass mouth breathers from Bama. 

Here they were, clean as a whistle, enjoying their simple lives of winning national championships and Texas comes in and wrecks it. Drives the greatest coach to walk on water off and steals their players. 

Joy. Hopefully they step up and UGa keeps doing their thing so we don't have to listen to conspiracy theories all year. 

[Mikey4 2,476]

23 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

"Texas just declared war on Alabama?" Uh, you started it buddy. Fucking hypocrites with their heads in the sand about how things went down pre-NIL. If only we could go back to the good old days when recruits were bought and sold under the table with a push from sleazebag street agents and uncles with their hands out.

This wink cracks me up at 3:06

 

 

 

[Mr. Drummond 2,199]

Just now, Dewey said:

Joy. Hopefully they step up and UGa keeps doing their thing so we don't have to listen to conspiracy theories all year. 

No fuck them both.   We will laugh at their dead carcass just like we do Nebraska. 

[mantis toboggan 850]

36 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

 

 

Substance aside I find it difficult to listen to CJ. Very repetitive in phrase and word, taking 4 sentences to express a one sentence thought. Similar to Wells which caused be to fast forward anytime he spoke. 

[Red Five 40,862]

3 minutes ago, Dewey said:

I was wondering who was going to blame us for their demise, just like Nebraska tried to do.  Now a bunch of jackass mouth breathers from Bama. 

Here they were, clean as a whistle, enjoying their simple lives of winning national championships and Texas comes in and wrecks it. Drives the greatest coach to walk on water off and steals their players. 

They also tried to hire our coach and were told to fuck off. 

[Bigbend1812 12,927]

28 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Poor, poor Alabama is all in their feelings because mean old Texas is poaching their players.

"Texas just declared war on Alabama?" Uh, you started it buddy. Fucking hypocrites with their heads in the sand about how things went down pre-NIL. If only we could go back to the good old days when recruits were bought and sold under the table with a push from sleazebag street agents and uncles with their hands out. I think Deboer is a really good coach, but I am rooting hard for him to fail miserably and get crushed under the weight of Alabama expectations and weak NIL backing.

https://www.al.com/alabamafootball/2024/01/goodman-texas-declares-war-on-alabama.html

  Hide contents

The modern age of the SEC is here, Nick Saban is gone and Texas just declared war on Alabama.

It’s a lot for me to process in these vulnerable hours after Alabama said so long to the architect of “the process.”

The Longhorns might not officially be in the league just yet — that happens in July — but Texas let everyone know on Sunday that it’s ready to carve out its own sadistic reputation in the most cutthroat conference of them all. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian was once beloved in Alabama, but now he is a Marvel supervillain after lighting Alabama’s soul on fire.

Call him Sark The Shark. Call him Sark The Savage. Sark, the rogue. Sark, the vengeful, insatiable genius.

With the carrot cake commemorating Saban’s retirement still fresh, Texas robbed Alabama of its reputation, its cherished memories and arguably its best player all in the same chess move. In the wake of Saban’s retirement, Iron Bowl hero Isaiah Bond left Alabama for Texas and I still can’t believe it.

Saban retired on a Wednesday and Bond was gone before new Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer could even unpack his travel bag.

DeBoer asked players to give him a chance. Bond said give me some cowboy boots and a black hat.

Bond is the receiver who made the famous touchdown catch in the most recent Iron Bowl. It made him an instant celebrity in the state of Alabama. Fourth and 31 will go down as one of the greatest plays in Alabama football history, but we’re less than two months removed from that magical moment and it all suddenly feels like the charred ruins of a smoldering empire.

There was once a time when being an Iron Bowl hero meant legendary status for life. That era of college football is officially gone.

It was Auburn that was supposed to feel eternal pain after Alabama’s miraculous throw from Jalen Milroe to Bond, but now Alabama will be watching an Iron Bowl legend suit up for Texas next season. Is nothing sacred anymore? Is Bevo the new king of the SEC? How is this even real life?

Being an Iron Bowl legend was once an access card to a different world. In that sense, things haven’t changed. Now it’s a ticket out of town.

I suddenly feel like writing breakup poetry.

Is it too late for Saban to un-retire?

Can His GOAT-ness pull an Urban Meyer?

Hold my beer while I stick my head in the oven.

Take away this pain with a blindside concussion.

Let’s be clear. There should be no hard feelings for Bond. He did nothing wrong in transferring from Alabama to Texas. No one can fault a player for cashing in when they can. The money is out there, so go get it. That’s the game. That’s the American Dream.

College football in 2024 is pure, uncut capitalism. No rules. No regulations. All business.

But it hurts, man. I can’t lie. Even for a grizzled, time-hardened press-box pilcrow like me, this one cuts deep. Players come and they go these days, but that doesn’t mean fans and observers of the game have to enjoy it.

Bond entered the transfer portal shortly after Saban announced he was walking away. Bond later said that Saban’s retirement “100 percent” informed his decision to walk, too. Saban saw all of this coming, of course. When asked about the NIL transfer era, Saban once famously snapped back, “Is this what we want college football to become?”

Answer: Heck no.

Saban didn’t retire because of the changes to roster management in college football, but losing players to the portal certainly made the job less enjoyable. Coaches dedicate large portions of their lives to recruiting players, and schools spend millions of dollars to fund the chase, and then, after all that, Iron Bowl heroes leave for another school.

Saban was the greatest recruiter the game ever saw. Raising money to pay players is the key to winning for Alabama’s new coach, and there are deeper pockets in the new SEC. What’s an Iron Bowl compared to a Texas war chest filled with gold?

 

 

[Park Gothic 5,046]

1 minute ago, RomaVicta said:

Does anybody really feel that secure when we have a great halftime lead? I don't. Until we can put a few more full games behind us, I'll still be sweating until we're four scores up towards the end of the third quarter.

My brain: "People have short memories and love binary thinking. They forget we had extremely close games against weak competition, and start to think every win was a blowout. I'll never be comfortable until the game is over."

My balls: "The SEC is scurred. Undefeated is on the table."

[Huckleberry 32,997]

Because Alabama and Georgia never had close games against weaker competition. 

[Redneck Mutha 8,003]

11 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

It doesn't appear that Bama is going to handle their fall from the top of the food chain very well. My goodness. 

On the one hand, fuck 'em.  On the other hand, well, fuck 'em once again.

[Hiphopopotamos 20,875]

1 minute ago, mantis toboggan said:

Substance aside I find it difficult to listen to CJ. Very repetitive in phrase and word, taking 4 sentences to express a one sentence thought. Similar to Wells which caused be to fast forward anytime he spoke. 

Yes, but, Bobby needed a a recruiting guy on his show.  He’s obviously not as polished as Gerry was, but compared to some of the heavy-breathers who populate the 995er market, I don’t think he’s too bad. 

[TexasGolf 4,968]

33 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Poor, poor Alabama is all in their feelings because mean old Texas is poaching their players.

"Texas just declared war on Alabama?" Uh, you started it buddy. Fucking hypocrites with their heads in the sand about how things went down pre-NIL. If only we could go back to the good old days when recruits were bought and sold under the table with a push from sleazebag street agents and uncles with their hands out. I think Deboer is a really good coach, but I am rooting hard for him to fail miserably and get crushed under the weight of Alabama expectations and weak NIL backing.

https://www.al.com/alabamafootball/2024/01/goodman-texas-declares-war-on-alabama.html

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The modern age of the SEC is here, Nick Saban is gone and Texas just declared war on Alabama.

It’s a lot for me to process in these vulnerable hours after Alabama said so long to the architect of “the process.”

The Longhorns might not officially be in the league just yet — that happens in July — but Texas let everyone know on Sunday that it’s ready to carve out its own sadistic reputation in the most cutthroat conference of them all. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian was once beloved in Alabama, but now he is a Marvel supervillain after lighting Alabama’s soul on fire.

Call him Sark The Shark. Call him Sark The Savage. Sark, the rogue. Sark, the vengeful, insatiable genius.

With the carrot cake commemorating Saban’s retirement still fresh, Texas robbed Alabama of its reputation, its cherished memories and arguably its best player all in the same chess move. In the wake of Saban’s retirement, Iron Bowl hero Isaiah Bond left Alabama for Texas and I still can’t believe it.

Saban retired on a Wednesday and Bond was gone before new Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer could even unpack his travel bag.

DeBoer asked players to give him a chance. Bond said give me some cowboy boots and a black hat.

Bond is the receiver who made the famous touchdown catch in the most recent Iron Bowl. It made him an instant celebrity in the state of Alabama. Fourth and 31 will go down as one of the greatest plays in Alabama football history, but we’re less than two months removed from that magical moment and it all suddenly feels like the charred ruins of a smoldering empire.

There was once a time when being an Iron Bowl hero meant legendary status for life. That era of college football is officially gone.

It was Auburn that was supposed to feel eternal pain after Alabama’s miraculous throw from Jalen Milroe to Bond, but now Alabama will be watching an Iron Bowl legend suit up for Texas next season. Is nothing sacred anymore? Is Bevo the new king of the SEC? How is this even real life?

Being an Iron Bowl legend was once an access card to a different world. In that sense, things haven’t changed. Now it’s a ticket out of town.

I suddenly feel like writing breakup poetry.

Is it too late for Saban to un-retire?

Can His GOAT-ness pull an Urban Meyer?

Hold my beer while I stick my head in the oven.

Take away this pain with a blindside concussion.

Let’s be clear. There should be no hard feelings for Bond. He did nothing wrong in transferring from Alabama to Texas. No one can fault a player for cashing in when they can. The money is out there, so go get it. That’s the game. That’s the American Dream.

College football in 2024 is pure, uncut capitalism. No rules. No regulations. All business.

But it hurts, man. I can’t lie. Even for a grizzled, time-hardened press-box pilcrow like me, this one cuts deep. Players come and they go these days, but that doesn’t mean fans and observers of the game have to enjoy it.

Bond entered the transfer portal shortly after Saban announced he was walking away. Bond later said that Saban’s retirement “100 percent” informed his decision to walk, too. Saban saw all of this coming, of course. When asked about the NIL transfer era, Saban once famously snapped back, “Is this what we want college football to become?”

Answer: Heck no.

Saban didn’t retire because of the changes to roster management in college football, but losing players to the portal certainly made the job less enjoyable. Coaches dedicate large portions of their lives to recruiting players, and schools spend millions of dollars to fund the chase, and then, after all that, Iron Bowl heroes leave for another school.

Saban was the greatest recruiter the game ever saw. Raising money to pay players is the key to winning for Alabama’s new coach, and there are deeper pockets in the new SEC. What’s an Iron Bowl compared to a Texas war chest filled with gold?

 

 

[Hookem10 753]

1 hour ago, Hank Kingsley said:

Let me tell you something, I had a dream about this moment. Watching Quinn make sweet love to his bitch, Bama. Over the top on them...powerful throws...filling the sultry night air. Heavy breath. Our son Arch walked by, little boy, then Milwee sprung from the sidelines and said, "No, Arch. Leave!" I said "No, AJ. Shut your mouth, let him watch. Let him watch what is being consecrated here and I want the people to watch what is being consecrated here".  And I will bring Arch down here and he will watch. He will watch UT battling here. UT becoming one. Ok? 

I read all that shit for nothing 

[BurgleBro 795]

1 hour ago, Dbeasy said:

They sure are going deep on WR and DB in the portal. 

Yeah I'm getting Herman flashbacks 

Ready to see some beef back on the DL roster

[BurntOrangeBlooded15 1,566]

Name that’s been talked about here 

 

 

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,550]

8 minutes ago, Hookem10 said:

I read all that shit for nothing 

New motto material, here.