catdaddyp

Commitment from Jaden Woods. Cornerback from Eastern Kentucky University.

I’m guessing we just landed Jeff Undercuffler as he tweeted out 🤐

https://www.on3.com/news/alabama-crimson-tide-football-texas-am-aggies-steve-spurrier-comments-on-nick-saban-jimbo-fisher-debacle/ I miss Spurrier coaching college football.

Northern Colorado is FCS. Morris played in 5 games last year. 20 receptions, 143 yards, 1 TD. He apparently was limited due to concussion issues.

He might be, but I doubt it. Illinois was well under the 85 scholarship limit and had no way of getting to that limit outside of blueshirting guys like crazy. They were one of the schools pushing hard for the 25 yearly scholarship rule being suspended.

Bret Bielema tries to even out his roster between the classes, so I’m sure Morris being a senior played a role in Illinois’ interest. He has the physical ability to help, but he’s missed so much football in the past few years due to injuries and COVID. He’ll have a chance to get on the field due to the lack of experience on Illinois’ roster at the receiver position, but I'm still skeptical about how much production Morris will be able to provide.

Not a commitment to us, but Akron related - Jonah Morris committed to Illinois as a grad transfer.

We just landed Senior DT Ravontae Holt from Wyoming. Wyoming’s coach talking about Ravontae last season linked below.

Oh boy, that’s not good. If he can’t make it to class on time in high school, he’s really going to struggle in college.

I’m familiar with TAMU as my brother-in-law attended TAMU, works in the oil industry, and still attends all their games. I’m not saying that as a trump, but just to let you know I’m familiar with their status. They’ve always had plenty of money. It seems this thread has turned into the meaning of “leveling the playing field” as in regards to Alabama. Alabama doesn’t always land the top rated recruiting class, but certainly gets more than their fair share. TAMU perennially lands high recruiting classes as well. There is only so much separation between the top classes and players, but Saban has routinely brought out the best in his. UGA, for once, had the more dominant team this past year and that had nothing to do with NIL. There will be years where Alabama is not the top dawg regardless of NIL. The teams we are discussing have always been the “haves” and will continue to be that way. NIL isn’t helping level the playing field with the “have nots” vs the “haves.” Alabama hasn’t even played the NIL game the same as others and they still landed the #2 recruiting class. To think others will routinely beat them out for major prospects due to NIL -once Alabama joins the party - doesn’t line up. We can differ in opinion, but until I see anything proven different, things won’t change at Alabama until Saban steps down. NIL or not.

Alabama isn’t far enough off from TAMU in regards to wealthiest football programs to make a big enough difference when it comes to NIL. Plus both get the SEC kickbacks every year. Saban admitted to not playing the NIL game much in this recruiting class. So when Alabama starts to do the same thing TAMU did this year, how does that give TAMU an advantage? In the end, when there is fairly equal talent on the rosters, it all comes down to coaching. Both Texas and Texas A&M have plenty of talent on their rosters already, but have underperformed in recent years. That’s coaching and not something NIL is going to fix.

I guess we’ll have to disagree on some of those points. Travis Hunter is who Saban was referring to that chose JSU. He was choosing between FSU and JSU btw. Not Alabama or TAMU. I’m aware of what Jimbo did the ACC. He’s had a more difficult path in SEC. Saban has been pretty candid during his time at Alabama. I didn’t see that interview as fearful, but we can share different perspectives. Im not sure how the portal or NIL has evened the playing field amongst the top teams. Are you saying that because Alabama finished 2nd in recruiting in 2022 and is a year off from missing the national championship that things are now evened out? Has NIL helped G5 schools catch up to Power 5 schools? Nowhere have I seen the playing field leveled. The best teams are still the best teams. And again I want to stress I’m not a Nick Saban fan.

I didn’t take it as him complaining. More along the lines of something needs to happen before NIL spirals out of control. I remember he said something similar last year when NIL was officially announced. Im not sure why so many people think this is going to hurt Saban or Bama. Like you implied, cheating has been going on for a long time. In fact, there is published material about how Tennessee football used to send “beautiful women” down to high school games and take the recruits out for a “night of their life.” Other schools would lay thousands of dollars in cash on the beds in the recruits hotel rooms during visits. Saban has adjusted to everything thrown at him at the college level and continues to come out ahead. Is it ethical? Probably not, but he’ll adjust like he always has. Plus he has millions of dollars backing him at Alabama. NIL hasn’t evened the playing field. For the most part, the schools with the most money are the same schools that have been doing well in football. That divide is just going to increase. As far as TAMU being #1 in recruiting, Jimbo has managed to underperform almost every year, so I’m not sure if NIL will push TAMU over the hump. When talent level is close to even, coaching always takes precedence. I don’t see that changing.

It could be. The QB options in the transfer portal from the FBS level are slim as are any high school and JUCO prospects at this point. I’m guessing that’s why we are hitting the FCS level so hard.

It often feels like the Pac-12 stumbles their way around, but I like this move. The ACC is also changing their format. Seems like every conference would want their two best teams competing for the conference championship.

Yep, the players at other positions have shown similar traits to each other. Our QB search hasn’t been that way. The two recent offers are very different in the way they play and what they bring to the table. It’ll be interesting to see who we land.

I don’t care for Nick Saban, but he’s right in saying that if something isn’t done about NIL it will get out of control. NIL isn’t going to hurt a program like Alabama who has more than enough money to throw around if they choose to do so. NIL is going to create a further divide in the “haves” and “have nots.” As far as the team recruiting rankings go, you could flip a coin (if it had 3 sides) and be correct on who had the top recruiting class in 2022. All 3 classes for TAMU, Bama, and UGA are loaded with talent and there really isn’t much difference between them.

Yes, the 85 scholarship limit is still in place. I think this rule will help separate the schools with strong recruiters vs the weak. JoeMo will have a clear idea of what he has on the roster after year one and I don’t think he’s going to be patient with many players who don’t produce at his level of expectation. The transfer portal is alive and well and I’m certain JoeMo will take advantage of it.

Now that’s an interesting offer. He’s limited as a runner, but he throws a nice ball, has excellent height for a QB, and plenty of arm strength. I like the offer, just surprised by it.

NCAA just announced they are suspending the FBS maximum signing limit of 25 players for the next 2 years. I suspect by the end of that time they’ll do away with it completely. This is great news for us as it’ll allow JoeMo to rapidly reshape the roster the way he wants it. This year the max was 32, but it was to revert back to 25 next year.

Grades were the first thing I thought of, but he must’ve gotten them in order by the end. My concern is if he has enough speed to cover players at this level. He clearly understands angles, comes down hill quickly, and is an explosive tackler. He also looks like he has the physical build to compete for early playing time. He’s similar to McCoy in how they play, but McCoy looks to have more speed on film. We wanted more LB help and now we have it. Two extremely physical freshmen LBs. We now have a pretty good idea the type of inside linebackers this staff is targeting. Im guessing we’ll see a few more scholarship players transfer out by the end of the month. I don’t think we are finished bringing in more players for this class.

That’s too bad, but he was a long shot with the amount of offers he had rolling in. However, I like that JoeMo is swinging for the fences and was able to get a guy like Kilbane on campus.

Agreed @Zipmeister and @bigjim. That was one offer I wasn’t thrilled about. Two suspensions in the same year is a red flag. I was surprised we offered in the first place. I guess the staff vetted him and was satisfied with the information they were given. QB may be the position to hold us back if another starter quality player isn’t brought in. Despite his inconsistencies, Irons has a chance to have a big year. My concern is what the offense will look like if Irons misses any substantial time.

Staff has been busy. New offers to LBs Roderick Jeter and Jaharon Griffin. Jeter: https://www.hudl.com/video/3/15145227/6196bbd10c53590a7c1b0771 Griffin: https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11301668/614cb3562ab1880780ba53fe

I’m unsure if OSU and Michigan want out. There were just preliminary talks according to the source. I’m posting a link below for the top 25 most valuable football programs. It’s pretty clear where the SEC is trying to go with this. https://www.heartlandcollegesports.com/2021/12/14/texas-tied-for-richest-college-football-program/