Good perspective from a poster on IT who has had some inside info in the past: So, people are losing their minds tonight because portal success is falling short of their expectations. Do they have a point? Let's examine the facts. In Sarkian fashion, Texas came out of the portal gate this year firing only at the very best transfer prospects in the nation - some only testing the waters, and some holding a one-way bus ticket out of town. Five days in, the staff has scored some nice wins but none yet on offense where they've racked up a series of L's with two high-profile RBs and also one olineman that they targeted heavily. The common denominator? These were all among the very best players from serious football schools in major conferences. Did Texas get wildly outbid (or even just outbid) because they're not ALL-IN? Nope. Texas came with big offers and players ruminated but ultimately got big new contracts with their schools and elected to stay home and withdraw from the market. Or they never entered in the first place. The expectations among fans were sufficiently high that many thought we would land most if not all of these guys. But did the staff? Important question. At least we can say they were optimistic enough that they took their very best shot with them. Two years ago, nearly the exact thing happened at our most important position group in the portal, defensive tackle. Sark attempted to do the same thing he did this year - go try to steal the baddest MFs he could from a wobbly major program, Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham. The staff was reasonably optimistic, thought we had a decent shot (a moonshot, honestly), and took them. Two swings and misses, they both stayed at Michigan. And then were drafted in the first round. The ultimate outcome for Texas? We raided the portal for four DTs and ended up just fine. Would Sark tell you today that he regretted taking his shot with the Michigan DTs? I might argue that we are taking moonshots at major difference-makers again this year and so far are being defeated not by rival schools outbidding us but by the prospects' home schools beating us on a tilted field. Again, these are not pure economic decisions. Factors like relationships, loyalty, legacy and inertia weighed heavily. So Sark & co, five days into the portal, have underperformed a lot of fans' expectations. That much is clear. But have they underperformed their own expectations? Not as clear. But more importantly, did Sark and the boys F up by taking moonshots on some of these guys at key positions of need? I don't know, I need to see where we end up and then assess the opportunity cost of their spending the first weeks before and after the portal opening focused on these high-profile targets. A lot of consternation seems to be driven by FOMO as prospects like Adam Mohammed - whom everyone fell in love with over a 24-hour period - traded away. But the staff showed no real interest in Mohammed. And previously unknown high-value prospects continue to enter the portal as I type. We as fans just don't have much visibility into the staff's position boards or contingency plans. I know a year ago I couldn't have named any of the DTs we ended up signing. So, again, what was the ultimate opportunity cost for taking these big swings early in the portal? And what does that tell us about Sark's strategy? I know I won't be able to answer that until I see how the class comes together over the next few weeks. And I can't begin to predict it.