Transfer Portal Quarterbacks, NIL, and Defensive Needs
Miami's NIL and Transfer Portal coming together
Transcript
00:00 What's up Miami fans, time to talk a little bit of transfer portal, how it conjuncts with
00:06 NIL, what Miami's needs are at quarterback, obviously that is the prime position to discuss,
00:13 and also get into some of the other positions that are really important for the Hurricanes.
00:18 Number one and most importantly, beyond quarterback, you know, addressing defensive line, getting
00:24 the depth they need, Mario has talked about that quite a bit, maybe fixing something at
00:28 corner, maybe another position moving around, there's a lot of things to get into.
00:32 With that, I've got a short list that I've written down and I've mentioned this on all
00:35 Hurricanes Twitter account, some of the things they need to kind of address, if you will.
00:41 Number one, what really happens behind the scenes with NIL?
00:45 I'm just starting to learn about this, going to talk about that, and that is a conundrum
00:49 within itself, hasn't happened as much at Miami as at other schools, but I'll talk about
00:54 that.
00:55 The functionality with quarterback, in conjunction, again, everything is in conjunction with NIL,
01:00 and then finally finding the key prospects.
01:02 I just mentioned corner and D-line, but if you can find an elite player at another spot
01:08 for whatever reason, and they want to come to the University of Miami, they can elevate
01:12 the game for other players.
01:15 So you have to battle all of that, and again, if you take nothing else from this podcast,
01:20 note this, you have X amount of NIL, how do you break that down for transfer portal, current
01:27 players, as well as incoming recruits?
01:31 Every school has a different philosophy.
01:32 School like Penn State, they don't like to give money to recruits coming in.
01:36 Saban doesn't like to do it at Bama, et cetera.
01:38 There are certain schools that don't.
01:39 Obviously, it's not a big deal at some other programs that throw it around, and then there's
01:44 like Clemson who doesn't do it really hardly at all.
01:47 So we have to look at this in different conjunctions because this is all happening at once.
01:53 So I'm just going to start with quarterback and just kind of throw out some names.
01:56 This is not what I think.
01:58 This is just things that I've heard.
02:00 Key, again, this is just what I've heard randomly from multiple sources, internet, et cetera.
02:07 If you want to really get into the quarterback stuff, there's a video of Alex Dono in this
02:12 article that is probably your better place to get more.
02:16 But I'm going to use some of this from my perspective and some of the things that are
02:20 out there.
02:21 So number one, there's been like Kyle McCord from Ohio State.
02:24 I don't think that's a good option, but somebody had predicted that.
02:26 I highly doubt that's the case, but we'll see.
02:29 Will Rogers, probably going to Washington.
02:31 He's the kid that was at Mississippi State.
02:34 Definitely a really good football player.
02:36 Will Howard, Kansas State, going to break him down here in a second.
02:39 And of course, Cam Ward.
02:40 I think those are the two best bets.
02:41 Dono talked about that as well in terms of like, when I say best bets, not the land,
02:45 but Miami to go after.
02:46 And that's probably the same for a lot of schools.
02:49 The X factor to me is Jordan McLeod.
02:51 I think James Madison, that's a really good football player.
02:55 I'm going to talk about why I think he's important, but all of these, again, it's NIL and how
03:00 much money would you have left if you took, well, for instance, Will Howard to fix other
03:05 issues, to replace players.
03:07 If somebody needs to, you know, they played really good in 23 and they're going to get
03:10 an increase, how does that work?
03:12 In a lot of ways, it's kind of like a salary gap.
03:14 So number one, when you think about the players that I just mentioned, Cam Ward would demand
03:21 the most.
03:22 He would demand the most.
03:24 And do you want to spend that much, even if he came?
03:27 There's rumors that he's going to have an in-home or something with multiple schools.
03:33 I don't know.
03:34 I don't know.
03:35 I'm sitting here in this hotel room in the state of Alabama, getting ready for a state
03:38 championship game to go to.
03:39 And I had a little time and I was just kind of sipping on some coffee and looking at some
03:43 lists and I don't know if you want to do that necessarily because for one year, I mean,
03:49 if you've got a team on the cusp of a title, that's great.
03:52 But if you don't think you can win the title next year with the best quarterback in the
03:55 portal, whoever at school thinks that is, do you really want to spend it on that guy?
04:00 So that's something I'm kind of thinking broadly.
04:02 Number two, if it's Howard, if it's Cam Ward, whatever, that's great.
04:06 But a kid like McLeod, a run pass kid, Howard can definitely run too.
04:12 For those that don't know, obviously Cam Ward can.
04:15 I think that Chan and Dawson's scheme would really benefit from this.
04:21 Peyton Toon ran for like 540 yards, five touchdowns in 2022 when Chan and Dawson was there.
04:29 It's not just a traditional air raid.
04:32 Dawson has even commented about how this is an offense that really adapts and isn't just
04:37 air raid.
04:38 He's talked about that publicly.
04:40 Don't discount Miami going after a mobile signal caller because they're mobile, not
04:45 just because they can run a little bit.
04:47 But like, okay, we want to be multiple, we want to run more RPO, we want to do things
04:51 where it's more quarterback design runs.
04:52 We want to do things that place the defense in a situation where if they think about Blitzen
04:57 as the coordinator up in that booth, is that the best option here?
05:01 Do we really want this guy out on the flat, making a one-on-one move against a defensive
05:06 end, advantage quarterback, or do we want to play zone and try to make him think, etc?
05:13 You got to at least make them be in that situation.
05:16 And I think that's why the run pass quarterback is so unique in so many teams, even with traditional
05:21 quarterback coaches, like pocket guys, have kind of went to that.
05:25 So I think Dawson's system would be great, but that's just my opinion.
05:29 All right.
05:30 Now I want to get into something because I keep mentioning it.
05:33 I'm going to be very honest with you.
05:36 I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been
05:41 in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a
05:45 lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of
05:50 different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools,
05:54 I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been
05:58 in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a
06:02 lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of
06:05 different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools,
06:09 I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been
06:13 in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a
06:17 lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of
06:20 different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools,
06:24 I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been
06:28 in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a
06:31 lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of
06:34 different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools,
06:37 I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been
06:40 in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a
06:42 lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of
06:46 different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools,
06:49 I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been
06:52 in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a
06:55 lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of
06:59 different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different
07:03 schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've
07:06 been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in
07:09 a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot
07:13 of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different
07:17 schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've
07:21 been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in
07:25 a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot of different schools, I've been in a lot
07:28 that if you're not a quarterback, you're not throwing the ball.
07:30 It's not happening.
07:32 And again, even if you do have an opportunity at one of these elite guys,
07:37 are you going to spend all that to go nine and three?
07:39 I think you should at least consider just building your roster
07:45 with some really good players that have multiple years after they transfer.
07:50 Again, if you're not going to win, why are you throwing money up in the wind?
07:54 Yeah, the quarterback has a great year, goes off the NFL.
07:56 But if you're not in three, you're not going to the playoff.
07:59 Nobody's going to care.
08:01 And in the bowl game, a bunch of guys are going to opt out.
08:03 You're not a four.
08:05 And you didn't have players remaining from all that money that you spent.
08:09 I don't see that.
08:11 So, again, how the NIL works behind the scenes.
08:14 You've got to be careful.
08:16 A quick story.
08:18 There was a guy that got involved with a player
08:21 that was going to transfer to schools, and that player believed that he was an NIL
08:26 agent, for lack of a better term.
08:29 Didn't work out.
08:30 The kid's not going to go to this particular school anymore.
08:32 They use bad advice.
08:35 That's something else the college coaches, administrators, etc.
08:37 have to deal with.
08:38 That player is no longer dealing with this so-called NIL agent,
08:43 and they're really not an agent.
08:46 That's a street agent.
08:47 It's a terrible, terrible, terrible idea.
08:50 Do not do that if you're one of those guys.
08:53 You must hire a lawyer.
08:55 There is no shortcut here.
08:56 The local guy you know down the street, terrible idea.
08:59 Lawyer, finance, business executive,
09:03 somebody that has proven, done it for years.
09:05 Do not hire the street agent.
09:08 Never a good idea.
09:09 Final point here before I go into a few other names
09:11 and other positions and talk a little defense.
09:14 Miami still has a lot of talent on offense for the quarterbacks.
09:19 I mean, if you look at the receiver group as a whole,
09:24 you know, a guy like Isaiah Horton, let's use it for an example.
09:26 He didn't start.
09:27 That's a really good player.
09:28 If you're a quarterback, wouldn't Miami be pretty attractive?
09:31 Ray Ray Joseph, Washington, those guys are freshmen.
09:35 And then, of course, they got the three starters.
09:38 I think this is just opinion.
09:40 It shouldn't be that hard for Miami to get at least quarterbacks
09:43 to go in home or how I don't know how it really works with transfer portal.
09:47 Maybe they're doing Zoom meetings.
09:49 I don't know.
09:50 But they should be able to do something and get one of these quarterbacks.
09:55 That kind of leads to this final point.
09:57 How quickly do you move on it?
09:59 Because if you wait too long, like on Cam Ward, he's probably, again,
10:02 the number one guy.
10:04 All that NIL money won't do you any good if he picks another school
10:07 in your second, third and fourth options.
10:09 Made decisions.
10:11 Prior to Ward making his.
10:14 You got to cut bait at some point.
10:17 You got to.
10:17 I mean, literally, hey, can we need to know my ex?
10:20 There is no friendly there.
10:24 It's no different than in recruiting.
10:25 You may want a five star D tackle, but he tells you in October,
10:28 I'm deciding on National Signing Day.
10:31 That's great.
10:31 If we have a spot, we'll give it to you.
10:34 Cam Ward might have that situation.
10:35 I don't know, but I would be really worried.
10:37 If I was Chris DeBalle or Shannon Dawson or anybody else.
10:40 That's hard.
10:42 You cannot miss on transfer portal quarterback this year,
10:46 because if you can get through this year, the transfer port
10:48 but you should be good thereafter.
10:50 Cannot miss this year.
10:52 Has to be somebody productive and then became more.
10:53 But it has to be somebody productive, experienced, ready to come in.
10:57 Will be an impact player.
11:00 I mean, I don't think Miami is going to win the national title next year.
11:02 That's why I bring up.
11:02 I'm not sure how much I'd spend on Ward.
11:05 But at the same time, you do need somebody that's good.
11:08 Let's talk defense.
11:10 Where does Miami need the most help and why?
11:14 D-line depth is something I know that they flat out talked about
11:17 numerous times publicly, privately, etc.
11:20 I don't disagree.
11:22 I think the corner room's a little better than people know,
11:25 but a couple of the guys like Damari Stafford, I mean, they're freshmen.
11:28 Yeah, Jadis Richard was a redshirt freshman.
11:31 These are guys that are good,
11:33 but they're going to develop and be a lot better in another year.
11:36 Miami didn't make enough big plays in the passing game
11:39 as a defensive unit last year unless the quarterback was under duress.
11:43 Buss occasionally, but it was just coverage was solid, but it wasn't great.
11:47 Like they need to take another step and the defense will be really, really good.
11:51 I also worry about Kiki taking off to the NFL.
11:55 I'm concerned about there's always somebody that you don't expect
11:58 or transfer because they're being awarded from another school.
12:01 It's going to happen.
12:02 It's going to happen.
12:04 You have to recruit across the board defensively.
12:06 Miami made huge strides
12:08 as a defensive football team in 23.
12:11 But if they can find one more corner, maybe it's a guy that's on the roster.
12:14 But I would still at least look at the portal.
12:16 That's my number one beyond the line because they did tackle specifically.
12:19 They need more big bodies.
12:21 There's no way around a boat and some of these other guys.
12:23 They excuse me.
12:25 They have to take a step up and they need numbers.
12:28 They need at least one tackle in the portal, if not two.
12:32 Kind of depends on where they think a few of the other guys are
12:35 and how much they want to play Ruben Bain inside.
12:37 Hopefully it's far, far less.
12:40 Guidry discussed like, you know, we had to play him inside some this year.
12:43 And he's right. He did.
12:45 And Ruben's big enough.
12:46 That's not his mentality.
12:48 And he was a freshman.
12:48 He kind of hit a wall at the end.
12:50 How much of that wall would he have hit if he played nothing but end
12:53 and was only getting single coverage most of the time against Tyree?
12:56 Tackles are big.
12:57 You're getting hit by a guard in a center.
12:59 Man, that's not fun.
13:00 You're going to take some punishment.
13:02 They need more of that.
13:03 And of course, you got Jaden Wayne should be a better player next year, etc.
13:06 They'll be in a better spot.
13:08 The wild card for me is safety.
13:10 If Williams and Kitchens are gone, they've got some young guys
13:14 that have shown some promise.
13:17 But Miami does need to get at least one guy, even if it's not a starter
13:21 to help that room.
13:23 Safety is hard because it's above the shoulders, kind of like quarterback.
13:26 You're helping everybody get lined up.
13:28 You can recognize some.
13:29 Hey, something you don't see, right?
13:30 You might even call timeout because we're in the wrong defense for what they have.
13:34 You know what they've got over there?
13:36 I can see it coming.
13:36 I saw it on film time.
13:38 If you don't have the right guy back there to call that.
13:40 Or to make a signal or say something that could be six experience matters,
13:46 and that also matters in practice, hoping younger guys, somebody that competed,
13:51 maybe they competed in the Mac.
13:52 Maybe they were a guy that was a good football player at a power five school,
13:57 but he never got his chance because they were loaded.
13:59 There could be an Alabama backup.
14:01 I don't know.
14:02 They need another experience safety to help some of the younger guys coming up
14:05 and they'll get another couple of guys from the freshman class
14:08 that are really good to a certain young man coming in from the state of Louisiana.
14:13 I'll talk more about that in a couple of weeks when we get to signing day.
14:15 But Miami's got some underrated recruits, too.
14:18 I think they make an impact.
14:20 I would try to get a safety final point before I wrap this up.
14:24 The portal ends on January 2nd.
14:27 There's a long time at any point
14:31 somebody could and might jump in the portal from your school or come to your school.
14:37 It is random.
14:39 It's not like recruiting where I get a whole lot of dates
14:41 and I know when guys are going to commit.
14:43 That makes this really wild.
14:44 So again, NIL impacts all of this.
14:47 Quarterback is important, but do not forget about the other spots,
14:51 because if you overspend a quarterback, it hurts from those other positions.
14:55 And Miami is in a position to take another step forward as a program next year.
14:59 So they need to be very, very thoughtful of how they balance out their roster.
15:03 And that's something that Mario Cristobal talks about a lot.
15:05 They should.
15:06 They got to be very careful and they got a chance.
15:08 So anyway, hope everybody has a great day. Thank you much.
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