Transfer Portal Thread

[gofurman]

Furman’s 99 All SoCon OL selections and their listed altitudes…the 6 individuals listed over 6-4 are shown in bold

2024 - Luke Petit - 6-3
2023 - Jacob Johanning - 6-3
2023 - Wyatt Hughes - 6-3
2023 - Pearson Toomey - 6-3
2022 - Jacob Johanning - 6-3
2022 - Pearson Toomey - 6-3
2022 - Anderson Tomlin - 6-5
2021 - Anderson Tomlin - 6-5
2021 - Pearson Toomey - 6-3
2020 - Anderson Tomlin - 6-5
2019 - Jordan Harris - 6-4
2019 - Bo Layton - 6-7
2018 - Bo Layton - 6-7
2018 - Andy Godwin - 6-4
2017 - Terrell Bush - 6-4
2017 - Matthew Schmidt - 6-3
2016 - Matthew Schmidt - 6-3
2015 - Joe Turner - 6-3
2014 - Joe Turner - 6-3
2013 - Dakota Dozier - 6-4
2012 - Dakota Dozier - 6-4
2011 - Dakota Dozier - 6-4
2011 - Ryan Lee - 6-4
2009 - Tyler Haynes - 6-2
2008 - Thomas Slaughter - 6-4
2008 - Joel Bell - 6-8
2007 - Joel Bell - 6-7
2006 - Joel Bell - 6-7
2006 - John Kivett - 6-3
2006 - Andrew Thornburg - 6-3
2006 - Reggie Goolsby - 6-1
2005 - Corey Stewart - 6-2
2005 - Patrick Covington - 6-3
2005 - John Kivett - 6-2
2005 - Brian Laggis - 6-3
2004 - Corey Stewart - 6-2
2004 - Patrick Covington - 6-3
2004 - Ben Bainbridge - 6-6
2003 - Ben Bainbridge - 6-6
2003 - Corey Stewart - 6-2
2003 - Clayton Dyson - 6-1
2002 - Trevor Kruger - 6-2
2002 - Steven Cain - 6-5
2001 - Donnie Littlejohn - 6-3
2001 - Chris Stewart - 6-0
2001 - Marty Priore - 6-1
2000 - Donnie Littlejohn - 6-3
2000 - Chris Stewart - 5-11
2000 - Marty Priore - 6-1
2000 - Josh Moore - 6-5
1999 - Josh Moore - 6-4
1999 - Ben Hall - 6-4
1997 - Mark Foster - 6-2
1997 - Lee Drake - 6-4
1995 - Brian Fisher - 6-2
1994 - Brian Fisher - 6-2
1993 - Brian Fisher - 6-2
1992 - Fred Sturgis - 6-1
1991 - Eric Walter - 6-2
1991 - Kyle Lowery - 6-3
1990 - Eric Walter - 6-2
1990 - Kyle Lowery - 6-3
1990 - Steve Duggan - 6-2
1989 - Steve Duggan - 6-3
1989 - David Adams - 6-0
1988 - Steve Duggan - 6-2
1988 - Fe Cowan - 6-0
1988 - Elton Bailey - 5-11
1987 - Fe Cowan - 6-0
1987 - Alex Albert - 6-0
1986 - Alex Albert - 6-0
1985 - Gene Reeder - 5-11
1984 - Gene Reeder - 5-11
1983 - Paul Johannessen - 6-1
1983 - Dan Sleet - 6-2
1982 - Briggs Traylor - 6-1
1982 - Mike Coleman - 6-0
1982 - Bart Heres - 6-2
1982 - Hollis Barton - 6-0
1981 - Mike Coleman - 5-11
1981 - Steve Lloyd - 6-2
1981 - Charlie Anderson - 6-2
1980 - Mike Coleman - 6-0
1980 - Steve Lloyd - 6-2
1980 - Charlie Anderson - 6-2
1979 - Stan Stanley - 5-11
1979 - Bobby Woods - 6-3
1978 - Rickey Young - 6-2
1978 - Hal Westlake - 6-3
1977 - Ken Cadle - 6-3
1976 - Jeff Holcomb - 6-2
1973 - Danny Utley - 6-2
1972 - Danny Utley - 6-2
1970 - Butch Kersey - 5-11
1970 - Peyton Barton - 6-2
1967 - Robbie Patterson - 6-0
1954 - Webster Williams - 5-11
1953 - Vince Perone - 5-10

ThanksFUBeAR !!! THIS. ^^^^. Most of our best OL guys are between 6’0 and 6’3”

Even guys that lose an inch and then get that inch back

[gofurman]

So we have learned that this Sluggo fella was almost like a shape shifter and the FUBEAR guy is saying length was a problem??????

Anyway, I will put those 5'10" to 6'2' guys up against any and watch them plow a defense.....any defense....maybe even take a knee instead of scoring 50

Yep. Height be dammed

[FUwolfpacker]

Yep. Height be dammed

Not entirely true...
These are the linemen that were named to at least one of the 3 first team all american list I checked.

Payton Collins, Eastern Kentucky, Grad, 6-7, 301
Charles Grant, William & Mary, Sr., 6-4, 300
Gus Miller, South Dakota State, Sr., 6-3, 295
Jackson Slater, Sacramento State, Sr., 6-4, 316
Marcus Wehr, Montana State, Sr., 6-4, 300
Grey Zabel, North Dakota State, Sr., 6-6, 305
Mason Miller, North Dakota State, senior, 6-7, 305

There is one under 6'4" out of the 7 and all of those teams ran the ball pretty darn well I believe. I did not check EKU to be fair. The rest I'm pretty sure are good at running the football.

It's easy to get caught up in heights and weights, but they don't matter if a guy doesn't have other tools/attributes. It's also easy for a lot of people on this board to get stuck on the way Furman used to do things. Maybe they'll go back to some version of a under center power run game in the future, but that's not where we are right now. The coaches are going to recruit to what they think works best in their scheme. It does seem that the coaches are looking for a little more length and/or speed with their lineman currently. I suspect that has something to do with what Jackal talked about in regards to the zone read run game? I don't know, that's above my pay grade. I just notice the same trends Astro and other are pointing out. I'm not saying that's right or wrong for Furman.

I don't think that means the coaches are only targeting height. Brady Smith might be the guy I'm most excited about for the future in this most recently class and he's a 6'2" center. You've got to take guys who can play regardless of height, but the overall trend at all levels is bigger and taller.

[FUBeAR]

Yep. Height be dammed

Not entirely true...
These are the linemen that were named to at least one of the 3 first team all american list I checked.

Payton Collins, Eastern Kentucky, Grad, 6-7, 301
Charles Grant, William & Mary, Sr., 6-4, 300
Gus Miller, South Dakota State, Sr., 6-3, 295
Jackson Slater, Sacramento State, Sr., 6-4, 316
Marcus Wehr, Montana State, Sr., 6-4, 300
Grey Zabel, North Dakota State, Sr., 6-6, 305
Mason Miller, North Dakota State, senior, 6-7, 305

There is one under 6'4" out of the 7 and all of those teams ran the ball pretty darn well I believe. I did not check EKU to be fair. The rest I'm pretty sure are good at running the football.

It's easy to get caught up in heights and weights, but they don't matter if a guy doesn't have other tools/attributes. It's also easy for a lot of people on this board to get stuck on the way Furman used to do things. Maybe they'll go back to some version of a under center power run game in the future, but that's not where we are right now. The coaches are going to recruit to what they think works best in their scheme. It does seem that the coaches are looking for a little more length and/or speed with their lineman currently. I suspect that has something to do with what Jackal talked about in regards to more of a shift to that zone/stretch (?) zone run game? I don't know, that's above my pay grade. I just notice the same trends Astro and other are point out. I'm not saying that's right or wrong for Furman.

I don't think that means the coaches are only targeting height. Brady Smith might be the guy I'm most excited about for the future in this most recently class and he's a 6'2" center. You've got to take guys who can play regardless of height, but the overall trend at all levels is bigger and taller.

So, most of the 2024 FCS All-American OLmen were 6-4 and under. Cool!

And 2 of the 3 over 6-4 played for the FCS National Champion. Individual accolades naturally accrue to individuals on Championship Teams at a higher rate than to individuals on non-championship Teams. They are dependent (or co-dependent, if that’s a thing) variables.

For example …

- Mercer paced the league with 17 players earning postseason distinction. The Bears had 13 all-conference selections and four all-freshman picks. Furman was second with five All-SoCon selections and eight all-freshman picks.

- Mercer’s 13 all-conference selections included six on the first team. Chattanooga had six first-team recipients as well. Furman and Western Carolina each had four first-team selections.

Also, success attracts talent. NDSU (the home of the 2/3rds of the over 6-4 All-American OLmen) has won 136 consecutive FCS National Championships … something like that … so, it makes sense that they can more readily attract more of the relatively few over 6-4 OLmen that CAN play AND don’t go FBS. Combining that success with the geographic lack of competition recruiting advantage NDSU has (Zabel is from SD, Miller is from MN), adds to their capability to acquire more of the relatively few over 6-4 OLmen that CAN play AND don’t go FBS.

1) FUBeAR would love FU to field an OL made up of 7-2 450 pound OLmen that CAN play.
2) FUBeAR would REALLY LOVE FU to field an OL made up of 6-5+ 300+ pound OLmen that CAN play.
3) FUBeAR would hate FU to field an OL made up of 6-5+ 300+ pound OLmen that CAN’T play.
4) FUBeAR would REALLY LOVE FU to field an OL made up of 6-0 to 6-4 OLmen that CAN REALLY PLAY.

1) Doesn’t exist and FU couldn’t attract/acquire them if they did.
2) Can FU attract/acquire these OLmen? Guess we’ll see. Historical evidence clearly says, “not very often at all.”
3) Are we currently attracting/acquiring these OLmen? Guess we’ll see. Hope not.
4) Most FCS All-American OLmen in 2024, as FUWolfpacker noted, fall UNDER this category. Historical evidence clearly says FU CAN attract/acquire these OLmen AND win Championships with them.

[The Jackal]

Put me down for finding the best player at every position that fits what we want to do as a program and university.

[FUATT]

Running this back to the the portal topic....

It looks like we did really well on the OL, and at WR and TE. RB... we did not land a guy. I think it's goign to be important for Jayquan to be ready to go in the Fall. And for Everhart to step up. And to get a little something out of Nettles. Probably will be a committee approach, but that is pretty common these days at the position.

On Defense, we did pick up the two corners and the S from Lindenwood. I think the S can provide immediate help. We did not pick up anybody meaningful in the box I don't think.

To me, if these corners come through, we addressed every real immediate need i the portal except RB and if we get Jayquan healthy by fall this is like picking up a player in the portal.

I'm not a grade giver but I'd say weighting meaningful losses against pickups, we came out really well here.

[The Jackal]

I would be inclined to think that one of the most widely available positions to select from in the transfer portal would be running back. With notably few exceptions, most programs (including ours) have moved away from the 30-carry-a-game bell cow to a more committee approach. I suspect that position group has a lot of guys nationally looking for carries.

Gavin Hall last season ran the ball for 5.0 yards per carry. Even 2023's very good team did not have a running back with 60+ carries and 5 yards per tote (Huff did, but the backs did not). So, he could be a good one for us.

The positive news about the defensive backfield is we know a bit more back there now than we did last season. Last year, we had very little experience outside of Caleb Williams, and had to essentially replace the entire two deep with a grad transfer and a bunch of freshmen.

We go into 2025 with a lot more stability in my opinion. We know Caleb Williams can play. We know Jaylen Moson can play. We saw Hysan Dalton, Billy Lewis and Tre McLeod with some impressive moments.

We should get back AK Burrell and Justin Hartwell, which, again, is almost like two portal players. They would have been starters for us in '24 but were lost to the season. We can then add in a lot of depth with these new additions that will give us a much more experienced and deep backfield than we had this time last season.

[The Jackal]

Put differently, this is who we had to replace in the defensive backfield after the '23 season: Travis Blackshear (CB), Micah Robinson (CB), Ivan Yates (CB), Cally Chizik (SPUR), Jalen Miller (SPUR), Hugh Ryan (S), Jack Rhodes (S), Kam Brinson (S). Add to that losing Hartwell and Burrell to injury.

Give or take, that was trying to replace 183 total starts between that group spread out over 10 different players. That's massive.

Going into '25, this is who we have to replace in the defensive backfield: Maurice Perkins (CB), Charles Ingram (CB), Amaa Achina (SPUR)

That's fewer than 20 total starts, I believe all of which are in 2024.

[FU Hoopla]

Funny how just a few years ago this would not of even been a thread here, now its the only thing you guys talk about........

[FU Hoopla]

[The Jackal]

Funny how just a few years ago this would not of even been a thread here, now its the only thing you guys talk about........

A few years ago this was a completely dead period and there wasn't a December signing day.

[tya1]

Before the transfer portal and the flood of transfers every year nobody talked about the portal. One of life's many mysteries.

My observation is that a good running game benefits from linemen with a quick burst off the line, the ability to get to the second level to tie up the linebackers, and strong leg drive. Pass blockers benefit from good balance, sheer mass, and long arms to keep the pass rushers away from your body and limit their ability to get an angle. Some years back I read a story from a writer who noted that the two best running teams in the NFL were also the only ones with an offensive line that averaged under 300 lbs. per man. Don't know if anything similar still applies.

[FU Hoopla]

Funny how just a few years ago this would not of even been a thread here, now its the only thing you guys talk about........

A few years ago this was a completely dead period and there wasn't a December signing day.

My point exactly lol............

[FU Hoopla]

Before the transfer portal and the flood of transfers every year nobody talked about the portal. One of life's many mysteries.

My observation is that a good running game benefits from linemen with a quick burst off the line, the ability to get to the second level to tie up the linebackers, and strong leg drive. Pass blockers benefit from good balance, sheer mass, and long arms to keep the pass rushers away from your body and limit their ability to get an angle. Some years back I read a story from a writer who noted that the two best running teams in the NFL were also the only ones with an offensive line that averaged under 300 lbs. per man. Don't know if anything similar still applies.

Spare me the dickhead response of 'One of life's many mysteries'

Pointing out how different the world was in college football just a few seasons ago....

[FU Hoopla]

A good question for the topic?

Will any FCS team be able to land enough good transfers to dethrone NDSU from winning its ridiculous 11th FCS title in 15 years