2024 Transfer Thread - The Pedantic Circlejerk

[MuellerHorn 4044]

31 minutes ago, Helobious said:

My most hated athlete of all-time is David Ortiz fwiw. I can be objective. I’ve known of Martinez since he was a recruit because of his status as a homie, but I mean he’s done nothing but show out at the P5 level. Thought it’d be worth it to bring him in since he’s at the top of his game, vs our current RB’s who while talented are still growing/learning. But fuck me I guess. 

Says the fanatical Yankees fan about a legendary Red Sox player...

That argument doesn't really work for you. There's actually nothing objective about that statement on your end.

Edited April 10 by MuellerHorn

[BurntOrange&White 38710]

1 minute ago, MuellerHorn said:

Says the fanatical Yankees fan about a legendary Red Sox player...

That argument doesn't really work for you. There's actually nothing objective about that statement on your end.

He did choose poorly for the counter-argument there. Saying you hated Alex Rodriguez would have been the better counter.

Edited April 10 by BurntOrange&White

[Atticus 3892]

14 minutes ago, Not a Sock said:

Has TFB even been really plugged into Texas recently? I knew they had pretty good sources back when Herman was here but, I haven’t seen them referenced lately with Texas under Sark and especially since CJ has join Bobby at OTF.

Darius Terrell ( D.T.) is a former UT WR malcontent, but he's from Desoto and current on staff at Waxahachie IIRC.

It isn't out of the question for him to have info on Bear Alexander. 

He may be full of shit though.

[BurntOrange&White 38710]

Quote

Texas will be recruiting USC defensive tackle Bear Alexander if he becomes available in the portal. His interest in Texas, based on sources close to Alexander, is expected to be highly mutual.

What are the odds Texas pulls this off?

Well, if Alexander enters the portal as has been reported he will, Texas becomes the immediate favorite to land him.

** 

I've said it multiple times in the last couple of months. The nose tackle or zero technique position is the one spot on the Horns' roster that was left decimated by the departures of T'Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy.

Steve Sarkisian was staring at a similar situation at wide receiver in December and went straight to the portal. Defensive tackle will be no different this spring.

While it's nice to say some players are stepping up or are going to improve in the off-season, the reality is much more nuanced. Texas can not merely replace Sweat and Murphy with what is currently on the roster. The talent just isn't there, or if it is, as in the cases of Alex January and Sydir Mitchell, it's supremely younger than what the Horns lost.

In their inaugural year in the SEC, Texas needs run stoppers up the middle, and frankly of the top four DTs (Alfred Collins, Vernon Broughton, Tia Savea and Jaray Bledsoe), only one of them is considered more of a run stopper, and that's Savea, and even he played more of a 3-technique a year ago.

Expect Texas to go after Alexander. And, expect Texas to go after another DT as well.

This should not be surprising. We've been talking about it for months.

Plus, it clearly follows Sark’s blueprint at other positions. Texas didn't just sign one wide receiver in the portal, Sark signed three when he knew his young receivers just weren't all the way ready (and WR, as a position, requires much less seasoning typically than DT).

**

The transfer portal opens next Tuesday, April 16. It closes three weeks from today, April 30.

The closing does not mean a player must choose a new school by that date, only that the player must file the paperwork to be available to go elsewhere by that date.

As we've discussed, Texas is currently at 89 scholarships on the roster (the NCAA max for in-season is 85). That means there will be attrition from Texas, most likely in the 6-8 player range.

 

[Born Burnt 6142]

54 minutes ago, Tylerocks said:

Lotta Reser's potato salad money up there..

Not gonna lie, I love that shit.

 

Edited April 10 by Born Burnt

[Tylerocks 2532]

7 minutes ago, Born Burnt said:

Not gonna lie, I love that shit.

 

I lived up in Idaho after college and it was a staple in my apt.

[SydneyCarton 47092]

57 minutes ago, Helobious said:

My most hated athlete of all-time is David Ortiz fwiw. I can be objective. I’ve known of Martinez since he was a recruit because of his status as a homie, but I mean he’s done nothing but show out at the P5 level. Thought it’d be worth it to bring him in since he’s at the top of his game, vs our current RB’s who while talented are still growing/learning. But fuck me I guess. 

Stopped reading riiiight around there. 

[Park Gothic 4881]

23 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

 

Who is this from?

[Jimmy Two Times 714]

Burton seems to think Bear to Texas is likely if he enters the portal. I guess I'd rather have him on the roster than not, although with NIL allocation it's not zero sum anymore. My hope is that he correctly views this as a contract year and turns it up a notch accordingly. If we get Bear and a proven/reliable DT in Spring, we'll be in good shape considering the strength of other position groups on the defense. 

[BurntOrange&White 38710]

2 minutes ago, Park Gothic said:

Who is this from?

bobby

[Post Oak 20068]

He buys time for January and hopefully Sydir.

[SydneyCarton 47092]

2 minutes ago, Jimmy Two Times said:

Burton seems to think Bear to Texas is likely if he enters the portal. I guess I'd rather have him on the roster than not, although with NIL allocation it's not zero sum anymore. My hope is that he correctly views this as a contract year and turns it up a notch accordingly. If we get Bear and a proven/reliable DT in Spring, we'll be in good shape considering the strength of other position groups on the defense. 

OneFund budgeted for DT's in the portal. So from that standpoint, I'm not as worried about the financials.

I do wonder if someone like Mitchell who hasn't exactly applied himself gets pissy and hits the portal, however. 

[Chopper 15889]

4 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

bobby

That TFB "ginormous update" wasn't a fake/intended joke? Holy fuck. Apologies to @Okcool.

Edited April 10 by Chopper

[Red Five 40109]

OneFund budgeted for DT's in the portal. So from that standpoint, I'm not as worried about the financials.

I do wonder if someone like Mitchell who hasn't exactly applied himself gets pissy and hits the portal, however. 

If we felt the need to sign three DTs from the portal this offseason then we need to do some fat-cutting at the position anyway.

[Okcool 782]

1 minute ago, Chopper said:

That TFB "ginormous update" wasn't a fake? Holy fuck. Apologies to @Okcool.

[BurntOrange&White 38710]

4 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

OneFund budgeted for DT's in the portal. So from that standpoint, I'm not as worried about the financials.

I do wonder if someone like Mitchell who hasn't exactly applied himself gets pissy and hits the portal, however. 

CTJ said he wouldn't be surprised or some other CTJ verbiage about Mitchell hitting the portal.

[SydneyCarton 47092]

2 minutes ago, Red Five said:

If we felt the need to sign three DTs from the portal this offseason then we need to do some fat-cutting at the position anyway.

Yeah, but that motherfucker is talented and a rare size. I get it, but you're talking about fat cutting at a position where we couldn't really afford to cut any fat, hence the portal acquisitions. It would be a shame. 

[Park Gothic 4881]

Just now, Red Five said:

If we felt the need to sign three DTs from the portal this offseason then we need to do some fat-cutting at the position anyway.

[Vertigo 20203]

24 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Yeah, but that motherfucker is talented and a rare size. I get it, but you're talking about fat cutting at a position where we couldn't really afford to cut any fat, hence the portal acquisitions. It would be a shame. 

It would seem that Swansen is the easy candidate for any turnover in that room unless Mitchell just can't put it together. I hope he does, we really need him to develop.  

[6th Street 6245]

If the alternative is watching Michigan rush for 500 yards, we should take Bear's lazy ass. There is a big scarcity of run stuffing DTs in the portal.

[DixonHur 10806]

52 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

It would seem that Swansen is the easy candidate for any turnover in that room unless Mitchell just can't put it together. I hope he does, we really need him to develop.  

You can't coach size, so I really hope the lightbulb flicks on for Sydir here at Texas, but the fact that we don't hear much about him, aside from his increasing weight, isn't a great sign.  

The question I have is where would he go?  If he really thinks he can play in the NFL, I can't think of a better place to be.  He's coming off a season backing up 2 of the best DTs in the country and a couch considered to be at the top of his field.  Now he has a fresh start with a new coach and hardly anyone in his path to a starting spot, so if he can't make an impact here, where could he?

Edited April 10 by DixonHur

[Red Five 40109]

4 minutes ago, DixonHur said:

You can't coach size, so I really hope the lightbulb flicks on for Sydir here at Texas, but the fact that we don't hear much about him, aside from his increasing weight, isn't a great sign.  

The question I have is where would he go?  If he really thinks he can play in the NFL, I can't think of a better place to be.  He's coming off a season backing up 2 of the best DTs in the country and a couch considered to be at the top of his field.  Now he has a fresh start with a new coach and hardly anyone in his path to a starting spot, so if he can't make an impact here, where could he?

Rutgers? Syracuse? Lots of places that don't have Texas talent he could show up and probably be in the two-deep immediately. 

[6th Street 6245]

Supposedly there's some undisclosed health issues with Mitchell 

[closetojumping 61996]

1 hour ago, BurntOrange&White said:

CTJ said he wouldn't be surprised or some other CTJ verbiage about Mitchell hitting the portal.

 

1 hour ago, SydneyCarton said:

Yeah, but that motherfucker is talented and a rare size. I get it, but you're talking about fat cutting at a position where we couldn't really afford to cut any fat, hence the portal acquisitions. It would be a shame. 

First, to be clear, I have not heard anything regarding any specific names transferring, and I haven't asked. I think those will be poorly kept secrets that all, or mostly, get out to folks by this weekend.

That considered, there is one player on the team who checks every single common transfer attribute box:

a) far away from home, ie., homesick

b) helicopter parent who is always calling/emailing/texting coaches and/or involved at practices

c) in the doghouse for one reason or another with staff

d) not in the two deep on the depth chart

e) dealing with chronic injury or conditioning issues

f) currently possessing higher perception value than performance value (someone would throw more money at the player than Texas would care to match)

Now, Sarkisian praising Mitchell at his PC is noteworthy. However, that could also be staving off the transfer risk. Regardless, if Texas is bringing in more help to put in front of Mitchell at DT/NT, the warning lights should be flashing violently.

1 hour ago, Vertigo said:

It would seem that Swansen is the easy candidate for any turnover in that room unless Mitchell just can't put it together. I hope he does, we really need him to develop.  

Regarding both of these guys, there is no indication that the staff wants to lose either guy. There is likely a sense of inevitability on it, however. 

----

As I think about the names that could be coming up, who are the guys that haven't been mentioned while newer/younger players at their position have been spoken of well by the staff? Maybe that's not revealing anything, we'll see, but it's led me to be of the opinion that Austin Jordan could be a transfer candidate. Same for Swanson, Holmes, Roberson, Tapp, Burrell, Robertson, Kirkland, Cojoe, Stroh, Merril, Red, Randle, Shannon, and Niblett. 

[Red Five 40109]

We also have a kicker on scholarship who doesn't kick FGs or XPs. 

[Longhornlove 4719]

45 minutes ago, DixonHur said:

Now he has a fresh start with a new coach

For the 7th consecutive season.

[futureman 22324]

has anyone watched bear play much of the last two seasons.  aside from his stats I'm just curious how he looks on the field.  is he an elite DT?

[RollingPresidential 632]

Max Merril will still be on the roster during the next solar eclipse.

[UncleSonny 6455]

This was Bear’s most impactful play of the 2023 season 

[Park Gothic 4881]

18 minutes ago, futureman said:

has anyone watched bear play much of the last two seasons.  aside from his stats I'm just curious how he looks on the field.  is he an elite DT?

Talking to USC fans on reddit, their opinion is that he is a good player but runs hot and cold. He shows up on Saturday more often than not, however. Dumb penalties are the chief gripe. 

[LCHorn 2527]

7 minutes ago, RollingPresidential said:

Max Merril will still be on the roster during the next solar eclipse.

Um, Max, we’re gonna need to go ahead and move your locker downstairs and into Gregory.  We have some new people coming in, and we need all the space we can get.  So if you could just go ahead and pack up your stuff and move it down there, that would be terrific, OK?

 

[Bevo14 8196]

33 minutes ago, Red Five said:

We also have a kicker on scholarship who doesn't kick FGs or XPs. 

Sideshow's leg is too important to waste on kickoffs.

[cmontexas 3207]

Bear is the kinda guy who before the transfer portal would dick around at Auburn until his JR year and then put in just enough effort get drafted high

If we can leverage 20-30 contract year snaps per game at our weakest position from a guy with NFL measureables and talent, I think that juice is worth the potential squeeze

Edited April 10 by cmontexas

[Red Five 40109]

49 minutes ago, Bevo14 said:

Sideshow's leg is too important to waste on kickoffs.

Thinking the dude from Westlake with the strong leg could do it. 

Edit: Spencer Bennett? Bennett Spencer? Spencer Spencer?

Edited April 10 by Red Five

[Davis Lane 5500]

23 hours ago, NoName said:

A&M paying the NIL bag for another DL would be an incredible waste of resources.

[Texas Wahoo 3376]

LOL

 

 

 

[Teryor 4386]

Check cleared, all good. Darius Terrell gets some egg on his face with his post so the saga was worth it.

Edited April 10 by Teryor

[BurntOrange&White 38710]

1 minute ago, Texas Wahoo said:

LOL

 

 

 

That chase can always end...

 

 

[Red Five 40109]

Good. I wasn't looking forward to pretending to be happy about that.

[Hookem2147 20811]

Should have known this was how it ended when this was tweeted yesterday 

 

[closetojumping 61996]

10 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

Should have known this was how it ended when this was tweeted yesterday 

 

Two gigantic, lazy fatasses lacking ethics and offering up bullshit opinions. Good lord.

[DixonHur 10806]

2 hours ago, Red Five said:

Rutgers? Syracuse? Lots of places that don't have Texas talent he could show up and probably be in the two-deep immediately. 

My point was that Texas give him the best opportunity to get to the league.  

Going to Rutgers or Syracuse isn't gonna change his trajectory without a change in work ethic/attitude.  

If he can't hit the 2-deep at Texas with only Savea and Bryant in front of him, what makes you think he can impress the scouts somewhere else?

 

[Yesh 903]

Uhh...you really think that is the end of this drama

[Hank Kingsley 19824]

Bear probably made an extra 200k in 24 hours by sending out a text to drum up transfer rumors. 

2 minutes ago, Yesh said:

Uhh...you really think that is the end of this drama

For Texas? Yesh. 

[Junior Bonner 6209]

2 minutes ago, Yesh said:

Uhh...you really think that is the end of this drama

Yesh, it’s possible…

[DixonHur 10806]

[Michael Knight 12663]

5 hours ago, Helobious said:

My most hated athlete of all-time is David Ortiz fwiw. I can be objective. I’ve known of Martinez since he was a recruit because of his status as a homie, but I mean he’s done nothing but show out at the P5 level. Thought it’d be worth it to bring him in since he’s at the top of his game, vs our current RB’s who while talented are still growing/learning. But fuck me I guess. 

[Foosters 17624]

31 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Two gigantic, lazy fatasses lacking ethics and offering up bullshit opinions. Good lord.

Man, why you gotta do Hookem2147 like that?

[Redneck Mutha 7832]

56 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Two gigantic, A plethora of lazy fatasses lacking ethics and offering up bullshit opinions. Good lord. !

New mission statement.

[closetojumping 61996]

Something to think about is that some of the big money folks communicate with Ketchum on recruiting and transfers, and they speak in certainties.

There's a pattern to follow that when rumors pop up like the Alexander thing and then Ketchum talks about it and then the tables turn. That's not karmic. Ketchum has to appear in the know because the notion of being an insider is that blubbering manatee's currency.

One of the idiotic things that that tub of goo will do is convey information to others in the business in order to look like he's really standing out. So while posting something on twitter where you do the "nanny nanny boo boo" thing may not actually be a big deal, telling one of the moderators of the USC Rivals site or one of the national Rivals mods a negotiated number might be the kind of bragging that accidentally gives USC the information they need to put the whole thing to bed.