My take:
Transfer portal: safe, more consistency, lower upside.
These kids don’t have a free transfer, they’re physically more mature, more often than not you know what you’re getting…very few are going to be complete busts. That said, you aren’t finding a P Willis or Dexter in the portal, there aren’t any surprises. For the most part, you’re getting good, but not elite players.
HS: For everyone saying HS is the way to go, I somewhat disagree. These kids will have a free transfer, they’ll want more $ as soon as they show out. They typically aren’t ready physically. Lots of gaps. All that said, if you have a staff that can identify talent (And Ed O and Hugh were elite at this) then you find the Mike Wallace, Evan Engram type kids that can be all SEC.
The answer: You have to do both and this staff has shown zero ability to identify and develop talent at the HS level, therefore we’ve been 100% reliant on the portal. And again, we’re getting a bunch of solid dudes, but by and large we’re not getting all SEC level talent.
I think Lane has a weak staff at identifying HS talent and developing players. That’s on him.
Quick edit: yes, Lane did nail it on Judkins, so he’s seen first hand what a 3 star can turn into.
Transfer portal: safe, more consistency, lower upside.
These kids don’t have a free transfer, they’re physically more mature, more often than not you know what you’re getting…very few are going to be complete busts. That said, you aren’t finding a P Willis or Dexter in the portal, there aren’t any surprises. For the most part, you’re getting good, but not elite players.
HS: For everyone saying HS is the way to go, I somewhat disagree. These kids will have a free transfer, they’ll want more $ as soon as they show out. They typically aren’t ready physically. Lots of gaps. All that said, if you have a staff that can identify talent (And Ed O and Hugh were elite at this) then you find the Mike Wallace, Evan Engram type kids that can be all SEC.
The answer: You have to do both and this staff has shown zero ability to identify and develop talent at the HS level, therefore we’ve been 100% reliant on the portal. And again, we’re getting a bunch of solid dudes, but by and large we’re not getting all SEC level talent.
I think Lane has a weak staff at identifying HS talent and developing players. That’s on him.
Quick edit: yes, Lane did nail it on Judkins, so he’s seen first hand what a 3 star can turn into.
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