CFB51 College Football Fan Community
The Power Five => Big Ten => Topic started by: SFBadger96 on April 07, 2025, 02:02:38 PM
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Fellas,
Don't know if you noticed, but there are a bunch of college football programs in the Big Whatever conducting spring practices right now. I'm on vacation and not reading much news, but surely some of you college football fan site posters are curious about what's happening on a campus near you (or near to your heart)? Any thoughts about the spring that you want to share?
Rumor has it that in Madison the first teamers are getting a higher-than-usual number of reps because the head coach has installed a new offense (with new coordinator to boot), as well as potentially changing the point of attack on defense. Fickell wants to make sure that they know what they are doing come Fall...
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I've been following a bit.
I think what you say is true, based on reading various reports. I'm also reading that a lot of early enrollees are getting some good run.
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Rumor has it that in Madison the first teamers are getting a higher-than-usual number of reps because the head coach has installed a new offense (with new coordinator to boot), as well as potentially changing the point of attack on defense. Fickell wants to make sure that they know what they are doing come Fall...
Based on how lockdown every team is now because coaches are more paranoid than ever
(https://y.yarn.co/431466c6-2001-4689-87ec-75e9c3f0bf44_text.gif)
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I think the portal business has taken the wind out of a lot a sails as far as interest in these formerly popular off season activities.
Maybe I am just speaking for myself, but Volnation traffic has dried up postseason, and that is highly unusual, so I don’t think it’s just me.
There are still a few die hards over there hanging on every nugget, but they are a tenth of what they used to be.
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I mean nothing happening right now matters, considering there is still a portal window.
I think recruiting interest has dried up as well. Just tell me who is on the roster September 1
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I mean nothing happening right now matters, considering there is still a portal window.
I think recruiting interest has dried up as well. Just tell me who is on the roster September 1
Exactly.
It used to be we were concerned with what was going on in recruiting and in the position battles in the Spring because those things determined the 2-deep in the fall but now . . .
Ohio State needs a new QB because our last one (a transfer) ran out of eligibility. In the past this would have been a fascinating race to me. I remember years ago the Zwick/Smith debates on the Ohio State fan sites. Now . . .
Well, if the QB's really suck, Day will go shopping in the Portal. If one definitively wins the others may look for new homes in the portal and the recruits might never see the field even if they are good enough because they might be gone before a spot opens up.
I'm in the "I'll look at the 2-deep when it comes out for the opener" camp.
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I mean nothing happening right now matters, considering there is still a portal window.
I think recruiting interest has dried up as well. Just tell me who is on the roster September 1
Eh... Is this really a big thing? Do players slated to be starters typically leave after spring ball in the new NIL / transfer portal era?
I mean, anyone who is penciled in as a starter at their position after spring ball knows that they're penciled in as the starter. So they don't have an incentive to leave to go somewhere higher-tier for more NIL and... maybe be the starter. They also know if they bolt after spring ball, they're going to have a MUCH shorter time frame to learn a new playbook, coaching staff, system, and develop chemistry with teammates. Meaning even if someone throws a bigger NIL bag at them, they're at risk of it blowing up and them not being the starter in their new home.
I don't know if this is borne out by experience (I haven't tracked closely), but I would guess a lot of summer transfer portal is guys who are fighting for second string positions on the depth chart leaving and hoping they might find more PT elsewhere.
Maybe I'm being naive, but it seems to me that a player who leaves one of our teams after spring ball is usually going to be someone who we probably won't miss, and they're going to a lower-tier program where they might actually start. And that we're only bringing someone new to our team in the portal if we're not happy with who we've got after spring ball and we're taking a leap on a guy from a higher-tier program to fill a position we learned in spring ball needs help.
I could see the significant drop in recruiting interest due to the portal, but it seems like it would only be an incremental drop in spring ball interest.
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It's becoming more and more difficult to be a fan of a non-helmet.
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Eh... Is this really a big thing? Do players slated to be starters typically leave after spring ball in the new NIL / transfer portal era?
Yes
Keon Coleman was both MSU's #1 WR, and their highest paid player, and left after spring ball, because FSU matched money, and he felt he'd get more exposure. He was right.
The same year Payton Thorne left MSU for Auburn because even though he was the #1, MSU refused to guarantee him the starting job in the fall.
And it goes both ways. OSU could have a clear #1 on the roster, but if he's underwhelming in the spring, you better believe they are going shopping.
I believe both of MSU's DTs went to Oregon and Miami after spring ball last year. I think some schools are hesitant to pull the trigger in the first window, because those kids might flip again after spring, because contracts don't exist
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Yes
Keon Coleman was both MSU's #1 WR, and their highest paid player, and left after spring ball, because FSU matched money, and he felt he'd get more exposure. He was right.
The same year Payton Thorne left MSU for Auburn because even though he was the #1, MSU refused to guarantee him the starting job in the fall.
Thanks. Appreciate the context, as I haven't paid close attention the last few years.
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Yes
Keon Coleman was both MSU's #1 WR, and their highest paid player, and left after spring ball, because FSU matched money, and he felt he'd get more exposure. He was right.
The same year Payton Thorne left MSU for Auburn because even though he was the #1, MSU refused to guarantee him the starting job in the fall.
And it goes both ways. OSU could have a clear #1 on the roster, but if he's underwhelming in the spring, you better believe they are going shopping.
I believe both of MSU's DTs went to Oregon and Miami after spring ball last year. I think some schools are hesitant to pull the trigger in the first window, because those kids might flip again after spring, because contracts don't exist
You better believe they are going tampering.
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In addition to what ELA outlined, Kelly/LSU is being tight-lipped and cagey about most of Spring activities. They've also changed the spring game into an open practice the public is allowed to watch. LSU football news, inasfar as I can bring myself to care about it, is a big nothing-burger.
I'm sure we have great plans to avoid being embarrassed in yet another opener. lulz.
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Based on how lockdown every team is now because coaches are more paranoid than ever
Yeah but can you blame them? It’s almost like the portal is ruining the sport lol.
Michigan spring info was always tight lipped under LC & Jeem but Sherrone Moore has taken it to new levels. You get nothing from his staff and “insiders” with practice updates are basically non-existent.
These guys act like they’re protecting state secrets these days.
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best news out of lincoln is a damn fine special teams coach was plucked from Tennessee
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Yeah but can you blame them? It’s almost like the portal is ruining the sport lol.
Michigan spring info was always tight lipped under LC & Jeem but Sherrone Moore has taken it to new levels. You get nothing from his staff and “insiders” with practice updates are basically non-existent.
These guys act like they’re protecting state secrets these days.
Well.....Secret Agent Sign-Stealin' is a legit worry these days :93:
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best news out of lincoln is a damn fine special teams coach was plucked from Tennessee
I'm not happy about that. You'll love Eckler.
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yup, we all loved Mike 15 years ago when he was here with Pelini
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These guys act like they’re protecting state secrets these days.
Hell, MORE secretive than SOME who are supposed to protect state secrets:57:
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Hell, MORE secretive than SOME who are supposed to protect state secrets:57:
personally I think Ryan Day should put Mike Waltz in charge of the OSU group chats
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Well.....Secret Agent Sign-Stealin' is a legit worry these days :93:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHCfLtAAEzM
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Classic!
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I don’t follow Spring all that closely, and the rest of my information just comes from one podcast that I happen to like.
I might be more apt to follow if UW didn’t keep failing to meet hype. So for now, I wait on real games. I can scan and fill my time by reading a book.
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I don’t follow Spring all that closely, and the rest of my information just comes from one podcast that I happen to like.
I might be more apt to follow if UW didn’t keep failing to meet hype. So for now, I wait on real games. I can scan and fill my time by reading a book.
I’m kind of with you, I’d actually prefer to hear very little in spring and just see on field results in the fall. Don’t need sunshine pumping, would rather hear nothing unless it’s “omg everyone sucks it’s going to be a disaster” - then I’d rather hear that and know to just avoid the season in the fall.
Heard way too much sunshine pumping in spring ball under Lloyd Carr, RichRod, and Hoke and 9 times out of 10 it wound up being nonsense. Kevin Grady is still running for 90 yard touchdowns every practice according to reports…
I much prefer Jeem’s bunker mentality that Sherrone seems to have adopted.
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I’m kind of with you, I’d actually prefer to hear very little in spring and just see on field results in the fall. Don’t need sunshine pumping, would rather hear nothing unless it’s “omg everyone sucks it’s going to be a disaster” - then I’d rather hear that and know to just avoid the season in the fall.
Heard way too much sunshine pumping in spring ball under Lloyd Carr, RichRod, and Hoke and 9 times out of 10 it wound up being nonsense. Kevin Grady is still running for 90 yard touchdowns every practice according to reports…
I much prefer Jeem’s bunker mentality that Sherrone seems to have adopted.
The problem is most info comes from the team specific Rivals/247/On3 sites which just love to pump smoke up their subscribers asses
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I think the portal business has taken the wind out of a lot a sails as far as interest in these formerly popular off season activities.
Maybe I am just speaking for myself, but Volnation traffic has dried up postseason, and that is highly unusual, so I don’t think it’s just me.
There are still a few die hards over there hanging on every nugget, but they are a tenth of what they used to be.
A remarkable quantification of Transfer Portal effect on fans!
This is my 3rd recruiting cycle that I haven’t followed recruiting headlines like commits and ongoing class rankings. If Arizona lands a commitment from a four-star receiver my first reaction is negative: how long does he contribute to the roster before someone like Oklahoma or Ole Miss take notice and buy him away with their larger NIL offerings? If Texas lands a commitment from a five-star lineman, my first reaction is suspicion: by how much did the Longhorns have to outbid LSU and Georgia? And what if Georgia, still liking what they see two seasons later, comes up with even more NIL money?
I had followed offseason recruiting news for about twenty years before giving it up. And I’ve been wondering what happens to recruiting insider services like 247Sports? The obvious pivot is to focus on Transfer Portal, but I just don’t see that as quite as lucrative. There was something about tracking players as early as high school, that was like discovering a band before they hit the big time, that gave the fan some sense of having a rooting stake in watching players develop from the point of scholarship offers through college and even into the NFL.
And for programs like Oregon State (under Riley), Wisconsin, and Iowa, it was always worth watching which 3-stars their staffs were targeting and signing because it gave you insight into who they thought could be developed into the many all-conference lineman that rivaled the 4-stars and 5-stars that Ohio State and Michigan went after. Following recruiting gave me a backstage pass into program building and set my expectations for the next few seasons.
That’s all gone now. Program building is now watching Wisconsin and Michigan State replays, noticing lineman and receivers better than yours, and telling your GM to induce them away with more NIL money.
To quote:
Just tell me who is on the roster September 1
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Catsby,
That's a good point about the recruiting service business taking a hit in all this. Never thought about that. I wonder how it's going for them so far.
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The problem is most info comes from the team specific Rivals/247/On3 sites which just love to pump smoke up their subscribers asses
I feel like a part of that is just sports?
Maybe they’re blowing extra smoke, but part of the experience is getting excited about stuff you’ve not yet seen. It’s the reason folks perpetually get over their skis about a young quarterback who they’ve never seen.
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I feel like a part of that is just sports?
Maybe they’re blowing extra smoke, but part of the experience is getting excited about stuff you’ve not yet seen. It’s the reason folks perpetually get over their skis about a young quarterback who they’ve never seen.
I'm excited for new QB Carter Smith. I watched him closely down here. The kid can play.
Carter Smith 2025 Dual Threat Quarterback Wisconsin (https://n.rivals.com/content/athletes/carter-smith-283571?view=pv)
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I feel like a part of that is just sports?
Maybe they’re blowing extra smoke, but part of the experience is getting excited about stuff you’ve not yet seen. It’s the reason folks perpetually get over their skis about a young quarterback who they’ve never seen.
Yep. Also the reason why guys are constantly pining for the backup QB when the starter is struggling because the backup looked good in the spring game and "has potential". And obviously the coach is just a MORON for not playing him! (Despite the fact that the coach sees the backup every day in practice and knows every wart he's got in his game.)
And this gets worse because EVERYONE remembers the time a backup comes in for a benched starter and actually balls out and wins the starting job. But nobody seems to remember the times--and I think they're far more common--where the backup comes in and makes everyone remember why he's the backup.
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UW needs to have a QB1 stay healthy all season. Been a while.
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I think the portal business has taken the wind out of a lot a sails...
...Volnation traffic has dried up postseason...
There are still a few die hards over there hanging on every nugget, but they are a tenth of what they used to be.
To elaborate further: On the Arizona Wildcats fan board I frequent, football talk has completely dried up for both Arizona football and commentary on rivals. In the offseasons, we’d always kept things going, like last offseason with talk of UCLA’s coaching change or Lincoln Riley trying to whine his way out of the season opener VS USC. Now there’s maybe one post a WEEK on the archrivals board.
Basketball talk is understandably still high on the Arizona Wildcats board, but the traffic for football has shifted (rather than dropped) to other topics such as politics on the non-sports boards. It looks like that’s sort of what’s happening here. Last offseason, so many of my posts centered on the upcoming football season. Now look at our board – our offseason talk has picked up for movies, music, books, travels, retirement, etc. Admittedly, the only offseason story I’ve actively tracked is Bill Belichick’s laughable start at UNC.
Remember fifteen and twenty years ago ESPN drew not-small ratings from World Series Of Poker broadcasts? You’d pay attention to what cards players had and, aided by percentage trackers on the screen, follow along to each hand played? Now imagine if players, before playing their hand, could buy the cards they wanted from other players or tables? Thus raising their odds for a winning hand? It would greatly remove anticipation for how various hands are played against each other. That’s kind of what happened to our offseason. Ohio State and Oregon can see who has the king and queen cards and can build their own flushes and full houses before the rest of us can play our hands. Between plays they can get the cards they want, and raise their percentages into the nineties between every hand played. Who wants to pay attention to the same offseason every offseason?
It took two or three previous offseasons of Transfer Portal nonsense, but this is the offseason when the bulk of us fans realized this.
To repeat:
Just tell me who is on the roster September 1
(https://i.imgur.com/1g0xcyw.png)
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Yep. Also the reason why guys are constantly pining for the backup QB when the starter is struggling because the backup looked good in the spring game and "has potential". And obviously the coach is just a MORON for not playing him! (Despite the fact that the coach sees the backup every day in practice and knows every wart he's got in his game.)
And this gets worse because EVERYONE remembers the time a backup comes in for a benched starter and actually balls out and wins the starting job. But nobody seems to remember the times--and I think they're far more common--where the backup comes in and makes everyone remember why he's the backup.
This points to two things that I’ve started to believe:
-The developmental value of in-game reps is often very overrated
-fans often understate the fact that most coaches at a high level, know infinitely more about what they’re looking at than we do. Even the bad ones. They are soooo much smarter about football than the average person.
That doesn’t mean they’re always right. But the baseline knowledge is in a whole different space.
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UW needs to have a QB1 stay healthy all season. Been a while.
IT WOULD BE NICE.
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This points to two things that I’ve started to believe:
-The developmental value of in-game reps is often very overrated
-fans often understate the fact that most coaches at a high level, know infinitely more about what they’re looking at than we do. Even the bad ones. They are soooo much smarter about football than the average person.
That doesn’t mean they’re always right. But the baseline knowledge is in a whole different space.
I think you are right here. Even in situations where the HC is ultimately "proven" to have been wrong, he *PROBABLY* came to that wrong conclusion through information that the rest of us simply don't have.
This is an important principle that applies elsewhere. The rest of this post probably belongs in weird history or something but it is an application of the principle so I'm just going to type it here.
General George Meade was in command of the Union Army at Gettysburg where a great Union victory was won. However, Meade has been criticized ever since for failing to substantially destroy the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. This criticism started almost immediately after the battle and though an exact quote is difficult to source, President Lincoln himself appears to have believed that a more decisive pursuit of the Confederates by General Meade's Army of the Potomac could have effectively ended the war.
Armchair Generals who have the luxury of "commanding" armies weeks, months, years, decades, or in this case more than a century and a half after the action have argued for years that Meade missed a golden opportunity. The argument makes sense on it's face.
Here is a map (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gettysburg#/media/File:Gettysburg_Battle_Map_Day3.png) of the Union and Confederate lines on July 3, 1863 which was the last day of the battle. Note that the Confederates were to the North and West while the Union Army was to the South and East. In theory Meade's Army of the Potomac *SHOULD* have been able to cut off the retreat by Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, cut them off from resupply, and killed/destroyed/captured the bulk of the Confederate Army.
I've heard this argument ever since I've known about the battle but it occurred to me that Meade *MUST* have had some reason(s) for not doing something that, on it's face, seems to be the rather obviously correct military strategy.
A few years back I read this book, Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics, and the Pennsylvania Campaign (https://www.amazon.com/Retreat-Gettysburg-Logistics-Pennsylvania-Campaign/dp/0807872091/ref=asc_df_0807872091?mcid=bffe61954c05316dbe788fc95240fed0&hvocijid=14696119702202146695-0807872091-&hvexpln=73&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=721245378154&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14696119702202146695&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9015378&hvtargid=pla-2281435177658&psc=1). If you are REALLY interested in US Civil War history, I recommend it. If not, not so much. Most of it is REALLY dry logistical stuff so it isn't very exciting but it DID answer my question. Meade had a lot of reasons not to pursue the Confederates more vigorously after winning the Battle of Gettysburg.
One reason was simply to preserve the victory. Meade knew that he had won a major victory for the Union and was hesitant to risk blowing that by potentially losing a major battle by overstretching his army trying to accomplish more than was realistically possible.
The second, and bigger reason was intelligence. Meade didn't have a lot of solid information about the status of the Confederates. He did, however, have very good information about his own forces and it was troubling. Despite ultimately winning the battle, Meade's forces had suffered around 25% casualties (those aren't all KIA, some were wounded and would return but they were NOT available to Meade in the immediate aftermath of the Battle). Additionally, the troops that he had available to pursue were exhausted after marching long distances to get to Gettysburg then fighting a major battle at Gettysburg. Finally, Meade's troops were critically low on supplies including food and ammunition.
They say that hindsight is 20/20 and from my office, 160 years after the fact, I KNOW that Lees problems were much worse than Meade's. Meade's forces had suffered about 25% casualties but Lee's had suffered s similar number of casualties out of a smaller force. Additionally, just like Meade, Lee's remaining forces were exhausted and while Meade's supply situation was critical, Lee's was borderline catastrophic.
I know this because I can look it up online and I read it in the aforementioned book but Meade did NOT have those options available to him. Apparently the Army of Northern Virginia didn't have internet access and Kent Masterson Brown's book was almost 150 years from being published.
Attacking Lee with understrength (by roughly 25%) units that were exhausted, hungry, and short on ammunition would have been a hell of a gamble. In theory it might have worked out but that brings us back to the first point. Why take that big of a gamble trying to turn a major victory into a war-ending victory when the downside risk is that you turn a major victory into a potentially war-losing defeat?
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It rained for like 3 straight days after the battle the locals thought it tears from heaven. Meade was a fackin' hero and a topographical engineer who could read the lay of the land and knew how to take the right ground and fortify it. That hack Dan Sickles w/o orders advancing and getting his division cut to pieces shouldn't even have been in uniform - he was a political appointee.
After he got his leg blown off the fraud went back to Washington and told anyone that would listen that Meade almost botched the battle but that he(Sickles) thru shear will rallied the faltering troops to victory. Should have hung that asshole with the Lincoln conspiritors
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It rained for like 3 straight days after the battle the locals thought it tears from heaven. Meade was a fackin' hero and a topographical engineer who could read the lay of the land and knew how to take the right ground and fortify it. That hack Dan Sickles w/o orders advancing and getting his division cut to pieces shouldn't even have been in uniform - he was a political appointee.
After he got his leg blown off the fraud went back to Washington and told anyone that would listen that Meade almost botched the battle but that he(Sickles) thru shear will rallied the faltering troops to victory. Should have hung that asshole with the Lincoln conspiritors
Sickles was definitely a disaster.
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This points to two things that I’ve started to believe:
-The developmental value of in-game reps is often very overrated
-fans often understate the fact that most coaches at a high level, know infinitely more about what they’re looking at than we do. Even the bad ones. They are soooo much smarter about football than the average person.
That doesn’t mean they’re always right. But the baseline knowledge is in a whole different space.
you've just started to believe the bolded?
I guess you didn't have an Osborne or a Devaney to follow
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They had King Barry,who are these Osborne and Devaney types you speak of???
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well, he should have STARTED to believe when the king got things going
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Catsby,
That's a good point about the recruiting service business taking a hit in all this. Never thought about that. I wonder how it's going for them so far.
Update - this article from Essentially Sports (https://www.essentiallysports.com/ncaa-college-football-news-nico-iamaleava-predicted-to-replace-four-two-eight-six-yd-qb-as-multiple-powerhouses-set-to-join-the-race-jayden-maiava/) might accidentally have an idea.
In speculating where QB Iamaleava might next sign now that he's decamped from Tennessee: "The AI chatbot Grok, which is known for its recent accurate and blunt take on issues, provided other teams, too, who could be in contention to land the QB. The chatbot primarily highlighted UCLA, Oregon, Notre Dame, and Ohio State to rope in the QB’s services."
So there you have it - "AI chatbot Grok" is a qualified insider.
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Michigan football official twitter account releases videos of Bryce Underwood & Jadyn Davis throwing in spring ball. As of right now it's a two horse race as transfer QB Mikey Keene has been out of spring ball with an undisclosed injury and last years part-time starter Davis Warren is still rehabbing the ACL he tore in the bowl game.
yeah obviously these twitter videos mean nothing- but not loving Michigan down to just two guys right now- would've been ideal for Mikey Keene to go through spring ball.
hot takes from the video: Jadyn Davis is a lot smaller than Bryce which is a little crazy considering Bryce is just 17 years old and should be in HS right now....Jadyn Davis also still has a funky ass slingshot sidewinder throwing motion still- Tebow-esque....it's fucking hideously ugly and weird. Bryce on the other hand....that shit is text book....beautiful....dare I even say Marino-esque- up and out....up and out.
https://twitter.com/UMichFootball/status/1911135669596115441
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Wisconsin lost its starting LT to a torn ACL.
Just dandy.
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Huskers have 4 O-linemen with starting experience sitting out spring practice
the good news is all 4 should be back in the fall and some young guys are getting reps
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(https://s3media.247sports.com/Uploads/Assets/9/37/13037009.png?width=600&fit=bounds)
(https://c.tenor.com/PQreEw8d3fQAAAAC/tenor.gif)
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Orange & Blue Game: 56,000 in attendance
https://floridagators.com/news/2025/4/12/football-orange-blue-game-notebook-national-champs-honored-records-fall-lagway-update.aspx (https://floridagators.com/news/2025/4/12/football-orange-blue-game-notebook-national-champs-honored-records-fall-lagway-update.aspx)
And our QB has total buy-in and works to keep guys from leaving and recruits transfers to join the Gators.
(https://i.imgur.com/GW8cPfy.gif)
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Spring games .... results soon forgotten, or entirely ignored.
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Michigan football official twitter account releases videos of Bryce Underwood & Jadyn Davis throwing in spring ball. As of right now it's a two horse race as transfer QB Mikey Keene has been out of spring ball with an undisclosed injury and last years part-time starter Davis Warren is still rehabbing the ACL he tore in the bowl game.
yeah obviously these twitter videos mean nothing- but not loving Michigan down to just two guys right now- would've been ideal for Mikey Keene to go through spring ball.
A two horse race? Who is Sherrone Moore fooling? Understandably Michigan's staff has to go through the motions and make it sound like all positions are an open competition through Spring. And putting Underwood under marginal pressure to compete for what is already his job is developmentally healthy, but the ball is entirely in Underwood's court.
Underwood will be the starter game one, and for the rest of the season (barring unforeseen injury). Why do I say this? You don't put $10M into a teenager's backpack and then not start him. Paying Underwood over $10M is the announcement that Underwood is the starter.
(https://i.imgur.com/ocbSbUU.png)
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A two horse race? Who is Sherrone Moore fooling? Understandably Michigan's staff has to go through the motions and make it sound like all positions are an open competition through Spring. And putting Underwood under marginal pressure to compete for what is already his job is developmentally healthy, but the ball is entirely in Underwood's court.
Underwood will be the starter game one, and for the rest of the season (barring unforeseen injury). Why do I say this? You don't put $10M into a teenager's backpack and then not start him. Paying Underwood over $10M is the announcement that Underwood is the starter.
(https://i.imgur.com/ocbSbUU.png)
yeah I get what you're saying, but Moore isn't going to start him if he's not ready. ideally Mikey Keene was suppose to come in during spring and push/teach Underwood and be the starter this year with Bryce Underwood sprinkled in packages- much like '21 with Cade starting and JJ getting packages. Moore is trying to win games- and if Underwood isn't ready he's not going to force him.
Michigan has a chance to be much better than people think imo. Feel like they are being slept on a little bit. Schedule is much easier this year and the defense is going to be really good again even despite losing Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, and Josiah Stewart. They didn't have Will Johnson for over half of the season in '24 and their young CB's got plenty of run and Zeke Berry and Jyaire Hill is pretty good returning CB duo and the early returns on Shamari Earls are sounding very promising. Not to mention they'll be getting Rod Moore- their QB of the secondary back.
QB situation should be better...can't get any worse than it was last year. Mikey Keene isn't some superstar but he's light years better than Davis Warren or Alex Orji imo. Bryce Underwood was the #1 player and #1 QB in the class. Jadyn Davis has a year under his belt and was a top 100 recruit out of HS. Have a hard time seeing the QB room being worse than it was in '24.
OL has a chance to be pretty damn good imo and I trust Sherrone Moore there without question. OT Evan Link really turned the corner at the end of the year with impressive performances vs Ohio State and Bama as a RS Frosh and OT Andrew Sprague was dominant as a true frosh in his one start in the bowl game vs Alabama- he's going to be a superstar imo. That should be a really nice tackle duo. They return Giovanni El-Hadi at guard and Greg Crippen at center, will have to find a guard to replace Josh Priebe.
RB room should be really strong with a 1-2 punch of Justice Haynes & Jordan Marshall. WR remains the biggest question mark for that offense. Transfer from Indiana has talent but will have to prove it and Fred Moore has to continue to ascend- he's shown flashes but never put it all together. They will need one of them to breakout or they'll probably be relying on true freshman whether that be Andrew Marsh or Jamar Browder. Don't have much faith in the other WR's- Semaj Morgan is just too slow for someone that small and Channing Goodwin & Kendrick Bell probably wouldn't be at Michigan if not for the familial connections imo.
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(https://i.imgur.com/Vu6Tx5k.jpeg)
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Gbayor didn't play much at Nebraska - transferred to Mizzou - didn't play much there
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how is Jaden Rashada 5th?
I'll take any WR. Please and thanks.
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Wisconsin could use a guy like Cotton at LT.
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(https://i.imgur.com/Vu6Tx5k.jpeg)
lol @ Rashada
FFS
The Smith guy from Florida had 5 tackles. A 6'4" safety. Idk.
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apparently, not much out there
the good players stay put
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how is Jaden Rashada 5th?
Nico Iamaleava's Dad must be also advising Jaden Rashada?
If I remember correctly, there was a bidding war between Miami and Florida reaching NIL ranges of $6-$8M before it fell apart after questions emerged over whether either school had the funds to afford that much. Rashada then ends up at Arizona State for a year. Who knows why he ended up at Georgia but nothing he did at ASU suggested Rashada had a shot to play at Georgia. Now he's back on the block and going into his third year of wasted development.
On signing with Arizona State, Rashada was a Top 50 prospect nationally, and the 7th rated QB according to 247. Rashada deserves the bad advice that he's willing to take. Staying at Arizona State was his best option for a shot at the NFL.
(https://i.imgur.com/40LE865.png)
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A good listen.
https://youtu.be/WP3tfi8Oh30?si=5jxcRhm3vEv3pfru
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Michigan's Spring game is this Saturday at 11AM. However, it wont be televised until April 27th, 11AM, BTN, two days after the portal closes.
Where the hype kinda meets the road.
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Michigan's Spring game is this Saturday at 11AM. However, it wont be televised until April 27th, 11AM, BTN, two days after the portal closes.
Where the hype kinda meets the road.
is some frosh or 4th year guy who has never done squat showing out in a practice game vs his own team really going to cause them to hit the portal and try to get more money? if that's where we are in this sport, just close to the whole thing down.
just have the fucking spring game and air it live, please.
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(https://i.imgur.com/JNZnTjV.jpeg)
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(https://i.imgur.com/JNZnTjV.jpeg)
that is insane...
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https://twitter.com/TheDDShow3/status/1912706953291104459
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good for him
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https://twitter.com/TheDDShow3/status/1912706953291104459
Versus no state income tax in Tennessee.
Seems stupid.
How did he get admitted to UCLA, being so stupid?
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Versus no state income tax in Tennessee.
Seems stupid.
How did he get admitted to UCLA, being so stupid?
seems to suggest what one of those CFB podcasts I was listening to- might've been Cover 3- that Nico really didn't like Tennessee. He's a Samoan kid from Cali born and raised in LA- dude got dropped into the middle of Knoxville, Tennessee- which I love that town- but a kid like him where he's from his background- he was probably missing home....hence he winds up at UCLA.
don't think it was all about the money leaving, but it was all about the money for him going to Tennessee...and if you do something for money and your heart really isn't in it- probably not gonna work out. And if that is the case- best for everyone involved Tennessee included that he leaves.
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(https://i.imgur.com/0CVlSMu.png)
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(https://i.imgur.com/0CVlSMu.png)
Lol. Matt Rhule is a clown.
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Nico Iamaleava’s deal with UCLA is reportedly $1.5M. So not the $4M he was asking for but less than what he would have made had he just stayed in TN.
That’s $1.5M in Literally the highest state income taxed state in the country.
$1.5M gonna be $800K by the time he gets it
Kharma is a bitch, obviously not a Business/Economics major at school if he's taking anything at all. With decisions like that makes ya wonder if he's really QB material specially at the next level
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don't think it was all about the money leaving, but it was all about the money for him going to Tennessee...and if you do something for money and your heart really isn't in it- probably not gonna work out. And if that is the case- best for everyone involved Tennessee included that he leaves.
Good Point but who has more talent on that side of the ball headed into the '25 season. The Vols made the dance so might have worked out better staying
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Reports where the kid overplayed his hand a good bit. Doesn’t seem too much more complicated than that.
And UCLA seems like a pretty logical fit. They might need to overpay someone for some hype. Plus, he’s obviously from there.
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his father overplayed the hand - dumbass
if the kid REALLY wasn't happy there - maybe its a way to get out and back to UCLA
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is some frosh or 4th year guy who has never done squat showing out in a practice game vs his own team really going to cause them to hit the portal and try to get more money? if that's where we are in this sport, just close to the whole thing down.
In this recent Josh Pate commentary on Nico Iamaleava leaving Tennessee, if you skip ahead to the 13 minute mark, he has an account of a Spring Game performance being used as NIL leverage:
“I had a head coach recently give me a story about a guy that wasn’t necessarily the best practice player. It wasn’t Tennessee. It wasn’t Nico…This head coach told me a guy that wasn’t one of their better practice players, not a great energy guy, not a terrific locker room guy, not a cancer…not a guy that they would promote as one of the faces of the program…But they have a Spring Game where he gets in and he’s a gamer…So Spring Game format being what it is, a lot of players get in that wouldn’t get in a real game; so he gets in and he shines and he pops a couple of times. Well reckon where he is the next day – he’s in the [NIL] collectives office; he wants $150,000 more dollars or he’s in the Portal.”
Yes, that’s where we are with this sport.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTuvzfRmCJ4
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I have some skepticism of a head coach who believes in spring game “gamers.”
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You're barely on our roster and got 100 yards in the spring game and want more money??
(https://i.imgur.com/Pvr6Q6H.jpeg)
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For the aTm fans around here in Big Ten country: DL #10, Marco Jones, Fr., Dublin, CA, is my former nextdoor neighbors' grandson. We weren't neighbors for all that long, but they are an awesome family. I think both of their girls were college athletes, including Marco's mom--his dad, I think, was also a college athlete. Both parents were (are?) Oakland PD cops. Anyway, go Marco!
https://12thman.com/sports/football/roster/marco-jones/14806 (https://12thman.com/sports/football/roster/marco-jones/14806)
Paywall: https://texags.com/s/66955/marco-jones-speaks-on-his-strong-showing-in-the-maroon-white-game (https://texags.com/s/66955/marco-jones-speaks-on-his-strong-showing-in-the-maroon-white-game)
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how is Jaden Rashada 5th?
On signing with Arizona State, Rashada was a Top 50 prospect nationally, and the 7th rated QB according to 247. Rashada deserves the bad advice that he's willing to take. Staying at Arizona State was his best option for a shot at the NFL.
Rashada is turned down by North Carolina, which might be a good thing because both would end up disappointing each other. UNC, because Rashada is dead weight. Rashada, because I'm expecting an awful season for UNC. (Belichick isn't serious about football these days.)
Turns out 247 has Rashada ranked the 205th best player left in the Portal? A far cry from 5th overall.
(https://i.imgur.com/inxlA38.png)
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For the aTm fans around here in Big Ten country: DL #10, Marco Jones, Fr., Dublin, CA, is my former nextdoor neighbors' grandson. We weren't neighbors for all that long, but they are an awesome family. I think both of their girls were college athletes, including Marco's mom--his dad, I think, was also a college athlete. Both parents were (are?) Oakland PD cops. Anyway, go Marco!
https://12thman.com/sports/football/roster/marco-jones/14806 (https://12thman.com/sports/football/roster/marco-jones/14806)
Paywall: https://texags.com/s/66955/marco-jones-speaks-on-his-strong-showing-in-the-maroon-white-game (https://texags.com/s/66955/marco-jones-speaks-on-his-strong-showing-in-the-maroon-white-game)
Nice.