NDPhilly
Philly Torqued
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This is probably the correct decision, but if they whiff on kids in the portal they are screwed. Paying a guy like Meadows a couple hundred+ thousand a year makes no sense.
2025 Transfer Portal
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This is probably the correct decision, but if they whiff on kids in the portal they are screwed. Paying a guy like Meadows a couple hundred+ thousand a year makes no sense.
Not that my opinion matters but I'm okay with this, and think it's actually a good strategy for the '25 class specifically because we have a lot of young talent that has already contributed in the '23 and '24 class. The team returns a lot next year but needs a handful of key portal additions in important positions... so it's better to use the money on plug-in and play guys than kids like Deuce and Faraimo who are going to be sitting for two years. The '26 class is where ND should really start the NIL game with recruits. If the '25 class is really done, ND is probably going to spend big in the portal and have a lot of additions to get up to that 105 scholarship limit. Unless they intend to just hand out a dozen scholarships to walk-ons(which I can also see them doing).
Irish4life
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"High school recruiting is the life blood of the program" and "We're going to hold back on NIL for HS recruits and focus our big money on the portal"...those 2 positions are not aligned.
FOTY977
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Could do, for sure. Probably an intentional choice by the BoT not to want teenagers with too much cash and no commitment to the school itself on Day 1.
Plus I can’t imagine leaving the fate of the program in the hands of people who have nothing to do with the school outside of watching football sits well with them either.
I’m pretty confident ND will always prioritize autonomy and central management over the top dollar outcome or best on the field result.
Irish4life
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If the BOT/Donors are deciding where the football program is spending it's NIL money....we're private school Auburn. And all of our coaches should leave. I simply don't believe that to be the case.
MacIrish75
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I think letting fans donate would be fine—in theory—as long as donations were overseen by a managing party. Or allow fans to donate in tiers and receive a pennant/shirt/hat/golf bag for their donation.
NDMatt91
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I hope this is the case, but I'll believe it when I see it, particularly with top-tier players who have more than 1 year of eligibility remaining.
FOTY977
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I doubt they’re making the call day to day, but you don’t think they at least have a say in the policy?
NDohio
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The dreaded golf bag...
ThePiombino
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Le sigh. Then we can't claim to be a team that builds a program through HS recruiting. Full stop.
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Was the portal this much of a thing when this was said? And how active/willing was ND to get involved? It’s okay to say one thing, get new information and change your stance on things. I like a coach that’s willing to adjust.
rikkitikki08
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When does the portal open? Being a college coach must be exhausting, finish the season on a 10 game win streak and now go straight into portal recruiting and then bam start prep for the playoffs
NDMatt91
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I would too, but there's no reason they can't drop bags for both top-tier HS recruits and portal players. If this is the lane they're going to pick, then they need to put their money where their mouth is. If Caleb Downs' types (true freshman studs that they recruited) hit the portal then ND would have to be seriously involved. Whether they land them or not is another story, but if this is what they say they're going to do then we should expect ND to be dropping the biggest (or among the biggest) bags.
Pops Freshenmeyer
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December 9th through 28th with exceptions for guys whose seasons continue into the playoffs.
ThePiombino
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Yes it was, obviously still being refined, but yes it was. With this administration's mentality we're basically on our way to being the inverse of Clemson with regard to recruiting. They refuse to put it into the portal, we refuse to put it into the high school kids. Hope we're happy with never taking that next step...
calvegas04
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New team each year, going to be rooting for rentals
I'm sure it's going to be more of year to year thing last two years we had pretty great classes this year they didn't think the players matched what they wanted out of nil money so they are going portal. Every year will be different depending on what type of kids are in the class you have a carr in a class who isn't looking for the bag that's different than knight who kinda sunk the ship on recruiting
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The problem with paying HS recruits is that they come in entitled and delusional and have a very high bust rate. It is what it is. In the past, you would just process those guys and rely on superior depth to work it all out.
Assuming you have finite resources, why would you spend $12M on a HS QB like Michigan when you may need to spend that money to compensate Love and Price? Or add 2 proven WRs? ND not "matching" for guys like Dante Moore, Peyton Bowen, etc. is turning out to be the best thing they've ever done. The end result is going to be incoming classes in the teens with hopefully 5-10 key transfers each cycle.
Now... if you start missing on the 5-10 guys... or can't retain your own key players... then you've got a problem. Comes down to what you're willing or able to spend.
Assuming you have finite resources, why would you spend $12M on a HS QB like Michigan when you may need to spend that money to compensate Love and Price? Or add 2 proven WRs? ND not "matching" for guys like Dante Moore, Peyton Bowen, etc. is turning out to be the best thing they've ever done. The end result is going to be incoming classes in the teens with hopefully 5-10 key transfers each cycle.
Now... if you start missing on the 5-10 guys... or can't retain your own key players... then you've got a problem. Comes down to what you're willing or able to spend.
SDIrishFan
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I don't have a huge problem with going portal, but you still have to get players out of high school. Difference makers.
If we go too portal heavy, there's no way the culture can survive. The one year mercenaries are fine to get in where they fit in and fill recruiting holes, but I don't want to see 20-30 transfers a year like other schools.
I also understand not dropping bags on unproven high school kids that may never play a meaningful down.
Be great at rewarding your current roster, fill holes with the portal, find good fits in HS recruiting.
If we go too portal heavy, there's no way the culture can survive. The one year mercenaries are fine to get in where they fit in and fill recruiting holes, but I don't want to see 20-30 transfers a year like other schools.
I also understand not dropping bags on unproven high school kids that may never play a meaningful down.
Be great at rewarding your current roster, fill holes with the portal, find good fits in HS recruiting.
CanadalovesND
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Driskell is saying that Meadows was asking for upwards of one million.
NDohio
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This. And that is what ND has done the previous two cycles. The HS talent that has been brought in has been really good without having to go the big bag NIL route. Keep getting classes in the 8-14 range and fill in with the portal. That keeps the talent level high and the ND culture stays in tact.
NDMatt91
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Another issue is that NIL boogey-men like Ohio State, Oregon, Auburn, and Tennessee drop (and will drop) huge bags for both HS recruits and portal players, so in the chance that ND targets elite players in the portal, they could get outbid by those schools.
allenm5333
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Recruiting class is incomplete grade until after transfer portal
Irish4life
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There are obviously levels to what you pay and for whom. ND should do whatever it takes NIL-wise to land it's top HS QB target, top HS OT target, top HS WR target, top HS DL target, and top HS CB target. And if you have another KHam and/or another Jeremiyah Love interested...them too. And yeah, if Bryce Underwood is DJU that isn't worth it. But if he's Trevor Lawrence Michigan is winning another title and it's probably an underpay. Everything in sports comes with some level of risk...it's a risk to pay coaches big money to be at ND and we celebrate that ND is (and has been) doing that. Why should we praise them for not doing it for HS recruits?
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NDMatt91
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Listening to ISD's Power Hour right now and Mike Frank touched on ND's approach of paying players in the portal rather than HS, specifically at WR. He said they can't afford to have another transfer portal group of Collins/Mitchell/Harrison. They need to bring in studs and get big hits on their evaluations. He said it'll be awkward for the other WR's on the roster if they pay 2-3 guys a bunch of money to have Collins/Mitchell/Harrison production, as their production isn't much better than the players who were already on the roster.
Greg is wondering what ND will do if players they want/need in the portal, that they've dropped big bags for, receive bigger bags. Does ND then have to drop the biggest one, even if it's an overpay or doesn't make sense because they need them?
Mike thinks not paying Freshmen is a flawed philosophy. "If your whole thing is about building culture, you need to start landing some of these top players. There are plenty of kids that you get here and pay them the money, they'll be fine and not cancers. So you don't pay Madden because it's an overpay. Okay, but then you only have 2 LB's and neither of them are ready to play."
Mike says the staff had a bad read on prospects this cycle and did a bad job of closing. "If you look at everyone they brought in for Official Visits in June, they signed one player. One. JaDon Blair. If you look at WR recruiting, they basically went 1 for 10. The guy they got, I love his potential, he has never really played WR. You have a bunch of development guys who aren't going to be ready to play soon. They were 1 more DL, WR, and LB short. The WR position is an issue going forward, same with DL. There aren't a lot of interior guys they've hit on."
Greg is wondering what ND will do if players they want/need in the portal, that they've dropped big bags for, receive bigger bags. Does ND then have to drop the biggest one, even if it's an overpay or doesn't make sense because they need them?
Mike thinks not paying Freshmen is a flawed philosophy. "If your whole thing is about building culture, you need to start landing some of these top players. There are plenty of kids that you get here and pay them the money, they'll be fine and not cancers. So you don't pay Madden because it's an overpay. Okay, but then you only have 2 LB's and neither of them are ready to play."
Mike says the staff had a bad read on prospects this cycle and did a bad job of closing. "If you look at everyone they brought in for Official Visits in June, they signed one player. One. JaDon Blair. If you look at WR recruiting, they basically went 1 for 10. The guy they got, I love his potential, he has never really played WR. You have a bunch of development guys who aren't going to be ready to play soon. They were 1 more DL, WR, and LB short. The WR position is an issue going forward, same with DL. There aren't a lot of interior guys they've hit on."
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stlnd01
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Generally speaking so far, the big bags for high schoolers seem like they’ve mostly gone to Top 50-type recruits. We don’t win a lot of those, but we can build classes full of guys in the 50-200 range and develop them over a few years, and honestly that’s mostly fine.
If the bags start to extend down to Top 150-200 players, our approach becomes harder to sustain.
If the bags start to extend down to Top 150-200 players, our approach becomes harder to sustain.