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Transfer Cycle 2025-2026 - Eloi! Eloi, lama sabachthani!

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I honestly think some of this would be cleaned up if you had real regulations on the agents. Some of these guys are morons and giving terrible advice.

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So a number of programs that recruited well are now losing players who believe they are worth more than those programs are willing to pay. If all the major programs are doing the same thing, who is supposed to be paying more? All the lower-tier programs that want to be the next Indiana?

It should be interesting to see whether all of these players end up getting paid or taking pay cuts. In the meantime, depth is being lost and fan expectations are not shifting like they need to be in realtime.

3 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

Boy he sure showed us..

Middling talent going to middling programs like UConn and Colorado but some will use this as evidence that they must just really hate Sark/Texas to go to these lesser schools.

24 minutes ago, Helobious said:

I just googled it and found out I was incorrect. I assumed that given how many Polynesians are on BYU’s roster that the whole race was mormon.

GIF by Ben L

1 minute ago, Lonestar88 said:

I honestly think some of this would be cleaned up if you had real regulations on the agents. Some of these guys are morons and giving terrible advice.

Demond Williams had a real agent and decided the street agent knew better. Can’t fix stupid.

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Reads like he’s conceding that the Aggies won’t get him and expects Tech so he’s trying to frame it as specifically an L for us.

Just now, Lurch said:

Absolutely. The inability to pin a dollar "value" on a player, or a position, or a school plus the source of the funds often being billionaires who have their own skewed perception of that value makes this fascinating from afar, though horrifying up close. Someone mentioned ROI earlier and I can't imagine how you would even begin to calculate that given the wide dispersion of even goals for CFB. Clearly not every donor is under the illusion that they can pay for a championship at their school ... what other value are they getting when Troy Fucking Aikman can't even get a "thanks"?!

This is one thing I don't understand, especially from a school like UCLA. How is it not standard practice to write a thank you note to the donor who is bankrolling the player? The player doesn't ever have to write it, just have someone ghost write something and the player can sign. How can you have an organization of professionals, many of whom are specifically tasked with maintaining relationships, and no one thinks "hmm, maybe we should right a thank you note to TROY FUCKING AIKMAN." How.

Right after I graduated from college and started working at the capitol, it was things like this that made me realize that people really are stupid and no one is actually in charge.

47 minutes ago, Sgt Hulk said:

While it brings me great joy

Come now. You've never expressed a modicum of anything resembling joy in the years you've posted about Texas football.

You're one of our resident Eeyores

1 hour ago, Hiphopopotamos said:

I’m curious what the donors who contributed to get these guys on campus out of high school feel about watching them all just walk away. It’s wild.

I don't think how much I've given makes me special or anything. I know many on here give far more. I'm sure people who have only given a few hundred or a few thousand feel similar frustrations if that was a meaningful amount of money to them. I will say that I have given more than enough for your average married couple to comfortably retire on since NIL began. My general feelings about much of that money being wasted by Sark's incompetence and lack of focus is basically...

Kill Me Goodbye GIF by Film Riot

Jokes aside the reality is that you have to accept the good with the bad. You could easily say "Well the ~million I put in this year basically paid for that fucking WR who never played a snap for us" or you can think "well the million I put in was a big part in keeping Simmons". You just can't let yourself get focused on the micro of it because yeah it is maddening.

33 minutes ago, Lonestar88 said:

What the hell happened to the BYU thing ?

Must Be The Money GIFs | Tenor

2 minutes ago, UncleSonny said:

Reads like he’s conceding that the Aggies won’t get him and expects Tech so he’s trying to frame it as specifically an L for us.

See 'SNL' Dinner Sketch With Ego Nwodim And Pedro Pascal Go Off The Rails

1 minute ago, Ricky Butler said:

I don't think we have to have Cam Coleman, but it sure would be fun.

have to admit that Coleman/Coleman's agent are playing it perfect. kudos.

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5 minutes ago, DanTheHorn said:

It should be interesting to see whether all of these players end up getting paid or taking pay cuts

I look at someone like Wisner asking for an insane amount from Texas and then taking only 60% of it to go play at FSU instead of Texas.

Throwing away relationships and good will and fans who loved you because you got greedy and then you went on the market and nobody wanted to pay you what you wanted.

And now basically Longhorn fans think he's an asshole and hate him.

Just now, Hookem2147 said:

IMG_9725.webp

Personal stuff to attend to:

Season 3 Revolver GIF by The Simpsons

4 minutes ago, UncleSonny said:

Reads like he’s conceding that the Aggies won’t get him and expects Tech so he’s trying to frame it as specifically an L for us.

I haven’t heard one 995’er express anymore confidence today than they had for the previous few days. Still seems like most everyone is saying ‘who knows’. Except Lucci - because he has sources in every athletic department. Apparently.

Edited by Hiphopopotamos

Ffrench off the books might have pushed our offer over the top or it could be bullshit.

Edited by kevwun

14 minutes ago, tokamak said:

Didn't see it posted, but Melvin Hills signed with UConn (per Bobby).

Maybe he likes to ski.

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2 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

IMG_9725.webp

A&M actually needs him more because they don't have a real OC, and Marcel Reed can just yell "Kobe!" and blindly chuck the ball 40 yards downfield.

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I'm amused reading this thread right now. I told you guys less than a month ago that Texas was going to see somewhere between 20-25 guys enter the portal. I said they'd try to reload and add something near that range through it as well. A lot of pushback was made on the 25 exits as way too high. Now it might be too low by 5-8. I should go visit the roster thread on the football forum for similar humor. @Wulaw Horn was at least one, I believe, who thought the numbers were off. Maybe I am misremembering but it was at least a few of the regulars.

You guys need to embrace all of this. We are witnessing the ground shifting underneath the entire industry's feet in real time. It's extremely rare to be able to live within this kind of chaos as groups rationalize and process and react. I enjoyed being in the middle of the dawn of NIL and predicting its future while most poo-poo'd or sat idly by and we benefitted from embracing it at the time. I feel like this is a new reset, and it's awesome watching all of the blue bloods shit themselves and industry pundits and coaches trying to process it all.

One thing that seems certain now, and I didn't even consider this 2 weeks ago, is that the rules for recruiting have changed fundamentally. The guys that will get money will be the guys viewed as truly "can't miss" and even that is going to be tempered compared to the past 4 cycles. Then there will be work done regarding plenty of guys that can't demand any money, but could be developed into talent. I did discuss this about the last 6+ guys added to the 2026 class. They didn't cost anything. I guess a new takeaway with those guys is that, when some of them do start to really develop and fight for PT, staffs are going to have to be really careful about playing them.

Beyond that, there's not a lot of room in between. Ffrench got paid $500k+ to come in and disappoint from day one. That is money lit on fire. He's one of many. If you sign guys for that, you'd better fucking play them. I think we're going to see a lot of Bishop, Atkinson and Cooper this fall, for better and worse.

When the portal guarantees a reopening of any player's recruitment, the management focus and vast majority of dollars will be concentrated there every cycle. Some bad ass recruit wants $1M? Let him go to Tech or Oregon and either develop or don't. If he does, compete for him when he's ready to play. Rinse and repeat.

This also blows up any semblance of the bag game. Agents are taking care of that as they try to bleed every team for every last cent.

1 minute ago, Park Gothic said:

This is the closest thing we'll ever see to pure, free market mechanics in our lifetime.

Except it's not because we're still playing in the confines of a regulated calendar, school matriculation rules and considerations, amid a myriad other problems with labor accumulation and retention.

There's a non-zero chance that a team that loses 20-30 players can only replace half of those. Maybe that's not a big deal (obviously the NFL makes it work) but it's going to make team performance really high beta because injuries at key positions will have the potential to be absolutely decimating.

Some school is going to adapt (which I would hope to see signs it's us) and will be handling roster construction differently. Bobby hinted at this yesterday, but graduate transfers in the spring may become the equivalent of a new portal window, or maybe you have a rotating group of pure depth players (this isn't a great analogy, but let's say the starters are AAA players and the depth is A-ball level) that are fungible.

I wonder if the Muschamp hire was, in part, Sark realizing coaching and development have become more important. Money whipping won't work long term in the SEC. A school like tech can get away with it in their conference but each year they'll get exposed in the playoffs

5 hours ago, Bodacious Bevo said:

Just as I thought the sunshine pumpers were getting more annoying than the doomers, the doomers come back with ‘Sark is more stubborn than Herman and only hires his buddies.’ Really strong response to pull back in the lead. Great battle between two teams giving it their all.

it’s like the Illinois State versus Montana State game. It’s the only football related thing going on that day. You watch it, you frown a lot and shake your head, but you simply can’t stop watching.

1 minute ago, Gatorubet said:

it’s like the Illinois State versus Montana State game. It’s the only football related thing going on that day. You watch it, you frown a lot and shake your head, but you simply can’t stop watching.

That game was awesome.

4 minutes ago, ThatsGold said:

I wonder if the Muschamp hire was, in part, Sark realizing coaching and development have become more important. Money whipping won't work long term in the SEC. A school like tech can get away with it in their conference but each year they'll get exposed in the playoffs

Seems like it's going to be substantially less important? There's no guarantees a project recruit actually stays on board.

15 minutes ago, UncleSonny said:

Reads like he’s conceding that the Aggies won’t get him and expects Tech so he’s trying to frame it as specifically an L for us.

I thought they were just waiting on his signature.

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6 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

Except it's not because we're still playing in the confines of a regulated calendar, school matriculation rules and considerations, amid a myriad other problems with labor accumulation and retention.

There's a non-zero chance that a team that loses 20-30 players can only replace half of those. Maybe that's not a big deal (obviously the NFL makes it work) but it's going to make team performance really high beta because injuries at key positions will have the potential to be absolutely decimating.

Some school is going to adapt (which I would hope to see signs it's us) and will be handling roster construction differently. Bobby hinted at this yesterday, but graduate transfers in the spring may become the equivalent of a new portal window, or maybe you have a rotating group of pure depth players (this isn't a great analogy, but let's say the starters are AAA players and the depth is A-ball level) that are fungible.

I don't think graduate transfer get any special treatment any more. They're subject to the same portal window and everything that goes with it.

6 minutes ago, Daichee Bell said:

You guys are a big fan of white lines, huh?

IMG_8794.jpeg

"The More You Know....", the more you Blow. Lulz.

On the bright side, all these kids leaving should free up more money to throw at WR and OL, and hopefully a more power RB

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11 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

have to admit that Coleman/Coleman's agent are playing it perfect. kudos.

He may not want to leave his area of the country, but it's obvious that he has real representation and they know what they're doing. He's played it perfectly, including having his eyes opened by Cody Campbell's absurdity and how it resets the market for his services.

10 minutes ago, Js1 said:

I look at someone like Wisner asking for an insane amount from Texas and then taking only 60% of it to go play at FSU instead of Texas.

Throwing away relationships and good will and fans who loved you because you got greedy and then you went on the market and nobody wanted to pay you what you wanted.

And now basically Longhorn fans think he's an asshole and hate him.

Personal stuff to attend to:

Season 3 Revolver GIF by The Simpsons

I don't hate Wisner. I feel bad for the guy, and I liked him as a player. I think he got fucked by a bad agent, and some hurt feelings.

Now, Parker Livingstone can get fucked. I hope we break multiple bones in his body next season and he finishes the rest of his life as a cripple working at a roadside gator farm, as was intended.

1 minute ago, closetojumping said:

I don't think graduate transfer get any special treatment any more. They're subject to the same portal window and everything that goes with it.

They don't. Everyone transfers now or never.

1 window, unless your coach leaves.

7 minutes ago, ThatsGold said:

I wonder if the Muschamp hire was, in part, Sark realizing coaching and development have become more important. Money whipping won't work long term in the SEC. A school like tech can get away with it in their conference but each year they'll get exposed in the playoffs

Coaching, yes. Half of his guys will be in year 1 every year.

Development, no. No more paying guys to not contribute and then have their hand out in January again.

9 minutes ago, Daichee Bell said:

You guys are a big fan of white lines, huh?

IMG_8794.jpeg

Not mentioning another Texas player going to the portal counts as a win

Just now, JBJ said:

Seems like it's going to be substantially less important? There's no guarantees a project recruit actually stays on board.

The premium is now on evaluation, not development. Indiana is an evaluation poster child. You need top shelf money for a few beasts and a QB, but then you need to spend the rest of the money not on name guys who are still developing and will leave, but on solid veterans who will give you consistency.

Edited by ClubWhatever

The thing that is really fucking up this cycle compared to the past cycles is revenue sharing. That all went down after the spring portal closed last year. If it were in place then, I'm sure we would have seen the same fuckery. Now all of the sudden, all these schools with poor collectives and/or that have been lacking in real NIL opportunities are flush with cash. It just raised the price of poker for everyone. Throw in the completely unregulated nature of the agents and this is what you get. Shitshow. Total shitshow. And it's worse for schools like Texas, Ohio State, Georgia, etc. that were paying premiums for guys out of high school on a longer development curve. Cignetti doesn't really have that issue at Indiana.

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1 minute ago, SydneyCarton said:

He may not want to leave his area of the country, but it's obvious that he has real representation and they know what they're doing. He's played it perfectly, including having his eyes opened by Cody Campbell's absurdity and how it resets the market for his services.

I don't hate Wisner. I feel bad for the guy, and I liked him as a player. I think he got fucked by a bad agent, and some hurt feelings.

Now, Parker Livingstone can get fucked. I hope we break multiple bones in his body next season and he finishes the rest of his life as a cripple working at a roadside gator farm, as was intended.

I don't hope anyone gets injured and I certainly don't root for career-ending injuries very often. Last guy like that for me was Dallas Turner. I haven't heard much about him lately, so maybe he did get really hurt and that would be awesome. I do, however, cheer for injuries of our enemies when they happen. If Livingstone gets hurt next year, I will smirk and chalk that up to karma.

Edited by closetojumping

2 minutes ago, Mason Ramsey said:

On the bright side, all these kids leaving should free up more money to throw at WR and OL, and hopefully a more power RB

I'm at the point that I want us to just take a couple of guys at OL, even if they aren't starter caliber. Call it the best of who's available and willing. Fuck Flood and whatever criteria he's using, we need some people in that room. Doesn't have to be today, but I hope someone somewhere has started the process of figuring out who those guys might be.

I bet a message from a former number 8 to Coleman has given us the edge. All bandaged and all fucked up but he had the time to reach out, just win one for the Shipper!

53 minutes ago, Js1 said:

Plane stopped at DEN and he got off by accident?

Those Denver layovers suck.

1 minute ago, closetojumping said:

I don't hope anyone gets injured and I certainly don't root for career-ending injuries very often. Last guy like that for me was Dallas Turner. I haven't much about him lately, so maybe he did get really hurt and that would be awesome. I do, however, cheer for enemies when they happen. If Livingstone gets hurt next year, I will smirk and chalk that up to karma.

You are far more magnanimous than I am. I hope he gets Joe Theisman’ed in Dallas.

Turner unfortunately is looking pretty good in the NFL. He had 2 sacks in the Vikings last game.

14 minutes ago, Daichee Bell said:

You guys are a big fan of white lines, huh?

What makes you say that?

Coked Out GIFs | Tenor

7 minutes ago, TexasGolf said:

I thought they were just waiting on his signature.

They are. Maybe just not the way they envisioned.

1 minute ago, Dahobbs said:

Those Denver layovers suck.

Even when the layovers were at the old Stapleton airport in Denver, they sucked.

4 minutes ago, ClubWhatever said:

The premium is now on evaluation, not development. Indiana is an evaluation poster child. You need top shelf money for a few beasts and a QB, but then you need to spend the rest of the money not on name guys who are still developing and will leave, but on solid veterans who will give you consistency.

It's the Nigerians who moved here and have only played a year or 2 of football who are the big losers in all of this.

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Two non-specialists today?

A Win Is A Win GIFs - Find & Share on GIPHY

Well, the last day to register for classes is January 20th. Not sure if portal athletes get a special exception. But, holding out for a bigger offer is going to cost some players the Spring semester, and Spring practice, putting them behind the eight ball. Like posted earlier, there are going to be several hundred kids that will never play football again because of their overinflated opinion (or their agent's overinflated opinion) of how much they are worth.

I can't wait for the first lawsuit where a former athlete sues the shit out of his agent over a poor evaluation of his market value.

CHIEF

1 minute ago, Sir Ulrich said:

Cool. Now do Coleman and like 4 OL.

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