ASU’s situation is mostly self-inflicted these days, right?
One decision that isn’t helping the Sun Devils retain their roster, NCAA investigation or not, is the ASU athletic department’s reluctance to engage with the NIL reality, meaning their latest additional transfer announcements, all just last week – two DTs, an OL, and a WR if I’m keeping track – are leaving because of higher potential NIL opportunities elsewhere. Their AD was on local radio last month advocating
“no intention of being in an arms race…we can’t do that,” and they don’t expect to be a
“heavy hitter with NIL deals.” Well you know what, Ray Anderson, College Football is more of an arms race than ever before.
As for how the rest of the conference is adapting to the new realities of transferring and NIL deals, as of last week,
“243 football players have passed through the transfer portal on their way out of or into the Pac-12” (see link below).
Of note is Stanford, who, losing the strength of their already lagging offense by the loss of both starting tailbacks, highlights what might be the disadvantages the transfer portal will cause Stanford for the foreseeable future:
“We feel confident predicting Stanford will never be a transfer portal winner — the admissions standards pose a major challenge for both undergraduate and graduate students. (Fields is the Cardinal’s only newcomer in this cycle.) Peat stands as the most significant departure instead of leading rusher Austin Jones, who left for USC, because of his big-play speed and success as a kick returner. But the combination is a major blow to a running game that struggled even with both players in the lineup.”Finishing a listless 3-9 last season (to go along with 11-19 the past 3) fans aren't wrong to wonder whether Stanford has lost their trademark stability under David Shaw, made more uncertain by the new age of the Portal and NILs, though the Cardinal are still signing among the conference’s top rated recruiting classes.
https://twitter.com/mercnews/status/1518590959642193923