Chad Bowden to USC

[Giddyup]

I want muscle to persuade these cruits now. $5 more k or a busted face??

 

[FDNYIrish1]

Are you saying he’s gonna hold recruits over balconies by their ankles until they sign?

No. Their uncles.

 

[NDRock]

I’ll get excited when it’s a done deal

Not into the foreplay of following college football? More of a slam, bam, tell me when we got a GM, kind of guy.

 

[PANDFAN]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">USC is expected to hire Illinois director of player personnel Dre Brown, sources tell <a href="x.com">@CBSSports</a>/<a href="x.com">@247Sports</a>.<br><br>Before Illinois, Brown spent three seasons working at Notre Dame, including as the team’s director of recruiting. At Notre Dame, he worked with new USC GM Chad Bowden.… <a href="x.com">pic.twitter.com/VrkqV4GX7H</a></p>&mdash; Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) <a href="">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[GrangerIrish24]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">USC is expected to hire Illinois director of player personnel Dre Brown, sources tell <a href="x.com">@CBSSports</a>/<a href="x.com">@247Sports</a>.<br><br>Before Illinois, Brown spent three seasons working at Notre Dame, including as the team’s director of recruiting. At Notre Dame, he worked with new USC GM Chad Bowden.… <a href="x.com">pic.twitter.com/VrkqV4GX7H</a></p>&mdash; Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) <a href="">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

If ya can’t beat, be us.

 

[fightingirish26]

Lmao beating USC is gonna just get funner and funner

 

[Dale]

Give USC credit, they’re giving Bowden a blank check. We’ll see what happens. That’s a brutal loss for Illinois

 

[IrishLax]

I told you all they were talking a big game and promising Chad "unlimited resources"... USC might be dysfunctional, but they aren't broke. And they're tired of being non-competitive (specifically with Oregon) and want a paradigm shift.

Bottom line -- they hired a new AD a little over a year ago, and this was her first "full" season at the helm. She was hired late 2023, at the very start of the 2023 season. She observed everything about their operations for 2024 and is trying to overhaul everything about how they run USC football. This includes talent acquisition and NIL... Lincoln Riley might not be the right guy and he very well might fail, but it isn't going to be for a lack of institutional support.

 

[notredomer23]

I told you all they were talking a big game and promising Chad "unlimited resources"... USC might be dysfunctional, but they aren't broke. And they're tired of being non-competitive (specifically with Oregon) and want a paradigm shift.

Bottom line -- they hired a new AD a little over a year ago, and this was her first "full" season at the helm. She was hired late 2023, at the very start of the 2023 season. She observed everything about their operations for 2024 and is trying to overhaul everything about how they run USC football. This includes talent acquisition and NIL... Lincoln Riley might not be the right guy and he very well might fail, but it isn't going to be for a lack of institutional support.

Are Bowden and co more tied to the AD than Riley?

 

[EvilleIrish]

I told you all they were talking a big game and promising Chad "unlimited resources"... USC might be dysfunctional, but they aren't broke. And they're tired of being non-competitive (specifically with Oregon) and want a paradigm shift.

Bottom line -- they hired a new AD a little over a year ago, and this was her first "full" season at the helm. She was hired late 2023, at the very start of the 2023 season. She observed everything about their operations for 2024 and is trying to overhaul everything about how they run USC football. This includes talent acquisition and NIL... Lincoln Riley might not be the right guy and he very well might fail, but it isn't going to be for a lack of institutional support.

Would you say ND is on par as far as goes commitment with USC?

 

[IrishLax]

Are Bowden and co more tied to the AD than Riley?

Mhmm, similar to how a GM in the NFL reports to the owner not the HC. Allegedly.

 

[IrishLax]

Would you say ND is on par as far as goes commitment with USC?

I think ND is spending appropriately on coaches and paying top dollar. I think ND NIL isn't aggressive enough in soliciting donations from common fans and has some operational issues, but overall is doing a very good job of compensating the players on the roster and retaining talent (and does enough in the portal to plug holes). I do not think ND NIL is doing enough in the "pay for play" space with top HS recruits, but that's by choice.

I think ND admin still has some restrictions on transfers, etc. but that's always going to be the case and I don't think it is significantly curbing ND in going after the handful of guys they need each cycle.

So in total, the only area I think ND could be more aggressive is with deals for HS recruits, but there are drawbacks to that too. Do you really want to get into bidding wars for guys like Peyton Bowen who might not pan out? The "greatest class of all time" that A&M signed was a near total bust. Nobody has it fully figured out yet.

 

[Irish du Nord]

I told you all they were talking a big game and promising Chad "unlimited resources"... USC might be dysfunctional, but they aren't broke. And they're tired of being non-competitive (specifically with Oregon) and want a paradigm shift.

Bottom line -- they hired a new AD a little over a year ago, and this was her first "full" season at the helm. She was hired late 2023, at the very start of the 2023 season. She observed everything about their operations for 2024 and is trying to overhaul everything about how they run USC football. This includes talent acquisition and NIL... Lincoln Riley might not be the right guy and he very well might fail, but it isn't going to be for a lack of institutional support.

https://footballscoop.com/news/report-lincoln-rileys-usc-buyout-around-90-million

*Not broke, yet.*

 

[EvilleIrish]

I think ND is spending appropriately on coaches and paying top dollar. I think ND NIL isn't aggressive enough in soliciting donations from common fans and has some operational issues, but overall is doing a very good job of compensating the players on the roster and retaining talent (and does enough in the portal to plug holes). I do not think ND NIL is doing enough in the "pay for play" space with top HS recruits, but that's by choice.

I think ND admin still has some restrictions on transfers, etc. but that's always going to be the case and I don't think it is significantly curbing ND in going after the handful of guys they need each cycle.

So in total, the only area I think ND could be more aggressive is with deals for HS recruits, but there are drawbacks to that too. Do you really want to get into bidding wars for guys like Peyton Bowen who might not pan out? The "greatest class of all time" that A&M signed was a near total bust. Nobody has it fully figured out yet.

Your last point is kind of where I'm at with this whole era. What if Bryce Underwood sucks? Odds are he will be good, but there's a chance he won't be. At a certain point the ROI just isn't there.

 

[Dale]

I think it’s a lot easier to over play a staffer and get them to come to LA then it is to go full send on NIL on the field. Off field coups just to say you did it could easily end up ringing hollow. I would also expect it to in the end.

Still gives big win the presser energy. Just like getting those GA kids committed when nobody thought they would stick last year.

 

[Free Manera]

ND's limitations (paying high school recruits top dollar, transfer restrictions) is why Blanchard is so important. He is a great recruiter, one of the best. But more importantly for ND's purposes, he is an absolutely elite talent evaluator and will find the dudes. Hopefully, he hits at a far better rate than others have.

We can't have entire classes miss at certain position groups, even if the elite guys don't want to go to ND. Blanchard can find the 3 and 4 star guys that would end up being studs at Baylor or Tech or SMU and get them to ND.

 

[Dale]

Blanchard apparently got started by posting on Baylor message boards while his brother played there and parlayed that into a job. Would do like scouting breakdowns.

Krooter’s dream

 

[The Backer]

I think ND is spending appropriately on coaches and paying top dollar. I think ND NIL isn't aggressive enough in soliciting donations from common fans and has some operational issues, but overall is doing a very good job of compensating the players on the roster and retaining talent (and does enough in the portal to plug holes). I do not think ND NIL is doing enough in the "pay for play" space with top HS recruits, but that's by choice.

I don't think this matters a whole lot. ND has whale donors and a top shelf investment office, combined with a lot of friendly sponsorship opportunities. Common fan donations would only be a drop in the bucket compared to that.

 

[Irish4life]

I think ND is spending appropriately on coaches and paying top dollar. I think ND NIL isn't aggressive enough in soliciting donations from common fans and has some operational issues, but overall is doing a very good job of compensating the players on the roster and retaining talent (and does enough in the portal to plug holes). I do not think ND NIL is doing enough in the "pay for play" space with top HS recruits, but that's by choice.

I think ND admin still has some restrictions on transfers, etc. but that's always going to be the case and I don't think it is significantly curbing ND in going after the handful of guys they need each cycle.

So in total, the only area I think ND could be more aggressive is with deals for HS recruits, but there are drawbacks to that too. Do you really want to get into bidding wars for guys like Peyton Bowen who might not pan out? The "greatest class of all time" that A&M signed was a near total bust. Nobody has it fully figured out yet.

There are 0 guarantees in the recruiting world. Yeah, you could sign a bunch of 5 stars and they all stink...but if 2/5 hit...it's worth it.

 

[NDMatt91]

I don't think this matters a whole lot. ND has whale donors and a top shelf investment office, combined with a lot of friendly sponsorship opportunities. Common fan donations would only be a drop in the bucket compared to that.

I think ND fans could increase the NIL payroll by $3-5 Million, at minimum. Roughly 700K people follow the ND account on X. While not every follower is a ND fan, the vast majority are. If just 150K fans made 1 donation of $20, that'd be $3 Million in additional NIL funds. The SEC schools and Ohio State make it easy for their fans to donate to NIL. Folks on the Ohio State beat said that the fans contributed to them being able to buy Downs and Judkins.

ND fans can donate directly to a specific sport, but instead of just having a website where someone can make a donation, they require going to the bank and setting up a wire transfer.

 

[GrangerIrish24]

Blanchard apparently got started by posting on Baylor message boards while his brother played there and parlayed that into a job. Would do like scouting breakdowns.

Krooter’s dream

@NDFAN2008 you got this brother.

 

[NDMatt91]

There are 0 guarantees in the recruiting world. Yeah, you could sign a bunch of 5 stars and they all stink...but if 2/5 hit...it's worth it.

Agreed. The players you need to buy are the top 50 players. From the 2013-2018 classes, 68% of the top 50 recruits in the 247 composite have either been drafted or played in at least 1 NFL game as a UDFA. So if ND dropped the biggest bag for 3 more top 50 recruits each year, statistically 2 of them would hit. Even if just 1 player hit, it would be worth it as you'd be getting 1 more NFL player than you otherwise would have. For players ranked 51-100, it drops down to 44%, so slightly below a coin-flip.

 

[NDPhilly]

Blanchard apparently got started by posting on Baylor message boards while his brother played there and parlayed that into a job. Would do like scouting breakdowns.

Krooter’s dream

Man this is like some dream i'd have in college lmao. What an absolute grinder.

 

[The Backer]

I think ND fans could increase the NIL payroll by $3-5 Million, at minimum. Roughly 700K people follow the ND account on X. While not every follower is a ND fan, the vast majority are. If just 150K fans made 1 donation of $20, that'd be $3 Million in additional NIL funds. The SEC schools and Ohio State make it easy for their fans to donate to NIL. Folks on the Ohio State beat said that the fans contributed to them being able to buy Downs and Judkins.

ND fans can donate directly to a specific sport, but instead of just having a website where someone can make a donation, they require going to the bank and setting up a wire transfer.

I think ND would rather stay out of that grift. In many cases, the NIL groups keep 40+% of the donations as "admin fees." If Freeman really needs $5 million for the next Jeremiah Smith, they're going to figure out how to make that happen. The issue with ND not paying high acquisition fees is a philosophical matter and not resource driven.

 

[ndfanatic78]

Agreed. The players you need to buy are the top 50 players. From the 2013-2018 classes, 68% of the top 50 recruits in the 247 composite have either been drafted or played in at least 1 NFL game as a UDFA. So if ND dropped the biggest bag for 3 more top 50 recruits each year, statistically 2 of them would hit. Even if just 1 player hit, it would be worth it as you'd be getting 1 more NFL player than you otherwise would have. For players ranked 51-100, it drops down to 44%, so slightly below a coin-flip.

All that means is the NFL values the althetiism that got those players in the top 50. How many make pro bowls or the Hall of fame or contribute significant game time to wins. Beyond that, Statistically go look at NDs history of success with 5 star players. IT SUCKS!!!! in an ideal world sure your theory works but ND does not top 50 kids to win a national championship or compete for one. Just dropping bags isnt going to help ND with them any ways. All the other top schools will match. NDs problem with the majority of those kids is that they don't want to have to do school and if they can get the same money and only have to worry about football and not have to worry about staying academically eligible that is the path they are going to take.

 

[benneboy]

The Blanchard updates have gone dead silent. I assume that's good news and they are working through logistics?

 

[Dale]

The Wednesday updates came with timeline of Friday

 

[Free Manera]

The Blanchard updates have gone dead silent. I assume that's good news and they are working through logistics?

Sounds like the ball is in Blanchard’s court and he’s got a decision to make. Freeman and him spoke last night allegedly.

 

[IrishFanForever23]

Poster on 247 is saying he’s hearing it’s not going to happen. On3 said things are in a holding pattern and Singer saying he could see this slipping away.

Football - General Manager update - Forums

Morning...

www.on3.com

 

[Huntr]