Transfer Portal and How It Has Changed College Sports

[Heyjoe4]

Isn't frustrating as a Packer fan.

Yeah the Vikings are only slightly better at drafting QBs than the Bears, meaning not at all.

 

[Voyageur]

Bud Grant! I miss that guy. "No hand warmers! These guys should be thinking of football, not staying warm. This is Minnesota ******* it!"

As for the QBs, I did not know Culpepper was an 11th overall pick. He did have some great years, but even when they had Moss, the Vikings just never got past the choke stage. (I think they've been to 4 SBs, all losses of course). (Side note - Moss went to the Pats who went undefeated right up to the SB against the Giants. They lost that game, a victim of the Vikings' curse - and I think the helmet catch.)

Another guy who put up big numbers for them was Randall Cunningham. I thought they were 15-1 or some outrageous number of wins one season. Not sure if that was the year the kicker choked on a chip shot in the NFCCG (I think that was late 90s, maybe 2000......). I think Cunningham predated that game.

I can handle the Bears occasional SB win (1 and counting), even the Lions (0 and counting). But the Queens? Banish the thought. GB has 4 SBs and who knows how many championships before the SB era. We're lucky fans.

My memories of Bud Grant are of running into him at Link Brothers, in Minong, more than once. Twice when new fishing boats hit the floor, and once, the day before the opening of bass season, when he was in there just like me, getting gear for the next day. He loved talking fishing, and if you brought it up, he'd talk about it for hours. But, the minute someone brought up football, he'd clam up and want to change back to fishing. He had compartmentalized his coaching days, and put them in a drawer in the past. All that counted was hitting the lakes where it was pure peace and quiet, and nobody wanting to talk football.

 

[Heyjoe4]

My memories of Bud Grant are of running into him at Link Brothers, in Minong, more than once. Twice when new fishing boats hit the floor, and once, the day before the opening of bass season, when he was in there just like me, getting gear for the next day. He loved talking fishing, and if you brought it up, he'd talk about it for hours. But, the minute someone brought up football, he'd clam up and want to change back to fishing. He had compartmentalized his coaching days, and put them in a drawer in the past. All that counted was hitting the lakes where it was pure peace and quiet, and nobody wanting to talk football.

Meeting Bud Grant. Now that is very cool. Interesting how he isolated his football life. Bud was about as unglamorous a guy as you could meet. He was also a very good HC.

One thing I remember from those days, and I don't remember the year or years - but during the Packer glory days with Lombardi, the Vikings would come into a game with a horrible record, horrible team, and still manage to win a game against GB, usually in MN.

Or maybe it never happened at all and I'm imagining it. I know I'm not imagining Packers D linemen chasing Tarkenton allover the field. By today's standards FT wasn't a great athlete, but damn the guy was hard to sack.

 

[Voyageur]

Meeting Bud Grant. Now that is very cool. Interesting how he isolated his football life. Bud was about as unglamorous a guy as you could meet. He was also a very good HC.

One thing I remember from those days, and I don't remember the year or years - but during the Packer glory days with Lombardi, the Vikings would come into a game with a horrible record, horrible team, and still manage to win a game against GB, usually in MN.

Or maybe it never happened at all and I'm imagining it. I know I'm not imagining Packers D linemen chasing Tarkenton allover the field. By today's standards FT wasn't a great athlete, but damn the guy was hard to sack.

They they gave Tarkenton credit for scramble yards around the field, he would have had 15,000 yards a season. We'd be at Packer/Vikings games screaming; "For God's sake! Catch that SOB!" I think it was the biggest contributor to my getting gray hair later in life.

He won a lot of games with the Vikings. He had like a 62% win record, which is high up in the rankings. Something like 165-170 wins, and I believe 4 trips to championship games but no brass ring. He was a good one, no doubt about it.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I was thinking about the draft pool this year and how the extra Covid year, NIL and the TP has effected it. I found a decent article, written by a Bills media guy, but pretty much universal for all teams.

WE are seeing older players in this draft, that have chosen to stay in school longer, especially given the extra Covid year. That won't disappear from college sports until after the 2026
seasons.

Now the TP and NIL money is just starting to impact sports. Student athletes that see big paydays in college, aren't in such a hurry to declare for the Pro's. Equally, I think a player that sees a better opportunity through the portal, may opt to stick around in a new program, rather than roll the dice on a professional career.

Once all three of these impacts have cycled in or out (Covid), we probably see a new norm. One where athletes might stick around college for the full 5 years, instead of declaring after just 2 or 3. As far as the NFL goes, we may begin to see players that are "NFL ready" a lot quicker, given their college experience, as well as maturity.

Extra COVID year and NIL money showing growing impact on Bills, NFL draft prospect pool

INDIANAPOLIS — It was Edefuan Ulofoshio’s first trip to the bus stop without his older brother.

www.niagara-gazette.com

 

[Pkrjones]

I still think Gute (& other GM's) will place a premium grade on younger players. A 23 or 24 yr old rookie is a poor investment, as 2nd contract comes when a player is pushing 28 yrs old. Kenny Clark is 28 and looking for his 3rd contract...he's an amazing investment. Just don't know how soon the injury bug bites him?

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I still think Gute (& other GM's) will place a premium grade on younger players. A 23 or 24 yr old rookie is a poor investment, as 2nd contract comes when a player is pushing 28 yrs old. Kenny Clark is 28 and looking for his 3rd contract...he's an amazing investment. Just don't know how soon the injury bug bites him?

Yes and no. I think there are cases where guys declared too quickly and would have been better off being a star on a college team VS riding the bench for a few years in the NFL. Then you take a player like Kenny Clark, whom you correctly point out has been pretty damn good since being drafted at the age of 20.

Basically, I think its all individual dependent and possibly position dependent as well. For instance, I would rather spend a 1st round pick on a QB, that I plan on starting as a rookie, that has 3-4 seasons of being a starting college QB under his belt. Now a 20 year old guy like Braelon Allen (RB at Wisconsin), who started college at the age of 17, has 3 years of being the featured back at Wisconsin, has nothing more to prove and everything to gain in the NFL. Playing 1 more year at Wisconsin might have improved his draft stock a bit, but it also might have resulted in an injury that blew up his professional aspirations.

The final variable, maturity. Some of these guys just aren't mature enough to start a professional life, with a ton of money in their pockets. Of course, we see that with 30 year old players too.