The portal is just different this year.
Should've they been better prepared for contingencies, yes.
As Lax pointed out, ND's Admissions structure and NIL structure make it less agile to respond quickly to change.
In previous renditions of the portal, it felt like a ND Education was a plus
It's starting to feel like a ND Education (and it's demands) is now a weight around our necks.
Amen. Pissing and moaning about missing out on the first wave of portal guys only to find out that their are multiple waves of new players we never heard of hitting the portal every day that we will worry about.
Obviously the ND coaching staff disagrees with you.
I watched Herbert's film a couple of weeks ago and thought to myself that I didn't think he's even that close to the QB recruit that Jarrard or Grubbs were.
He does have a strong arm and is a physical runner though.