Craig McDonald transferring

[Frak]

Fair enough. Doesn’t change the fact that we have more production in the portal than we do returning. We had 5 very productive players at safety a year ago. Three Transferred one graduated, one returns. We have two. We need 3 more (at least).

Got a juco. Hope he is great. Have some true fresh. Hope they are great. Have some young guys who did not see the field much (including Verdon). Hope they are great.

I am not trying to be negative. But some people act like we lost nothing. There is a lot of talent and depth that left the DB room through the portal. That’s all I am saying. Freyler may be the best DB on the team. I hope he is. He did not have the splash plays though. We return 0 of 10 turnovers from the DB unit. Eight of those TOs are in the portal.

Just my opinion...Young and McDonald are the real losses. Young was a really good hitter, not so great in coverage. I feel like Freyler is a better all around player. He was stealing some of Young's snaps last year as a TRFR. McDonald could very well be a future NFL player. He's got the size and ability. That said, he probably started half the games last year. Verdon I think has a really high upside, but he's definitely not going to be as polished as McDonald early on. Still, starters-wise, I don't think that we're taking a huge step back. Depth is going to be an issue, though....as much on special teams as anywhere. They are absolutely going to need Howard and Cooper to play. Now, I think that those two are going to be really good players for us. I feel like at the very least, they are upgrades over Miller and Antoine. Probably upgrades over King and Morgan as well, but they don't have the experience. They are definitely in need of a few more bodies though.

I would guess that the staff knows exactly what they have as far as walk-ons and who they need to bring in through the portal. While losing these guys in the portal isn't great, I guarantee they have a plan and we're not going to see a huge dropoff in play.

 

[cyc26]

I count 7. Freyler, Verdon, Johnson, Chambers, Thompson, Howard, Cooper. Still thin though. I think that you can get by with 7, but any injuries may be tough to overcome and it definitely will affect special teams.

2/7 listed have actual, B12, in-game experience on the defensive side of the ball (and one of those played a completely different position last year). That is not a lot, at all.

Verdon and Chambers have only ever played special teams and Thompson/Howard/Cooper have never even played a game at ISU.

 

[TheJackWePack5]

2/7 listed have actual, B12, in-game experience on the defensive side of the ball (and one of those played a completely different position last year). That is not a lot, at all.

Verdon and Chambers have only ever played special teams and Thompson/Howard/Cooper have never even played a game at ISU.

Chambers got snaps at safety his true freshman year.

 

[Frak]

2/7 listed have actual, B12, in-game experience on the defensive side of the ball (and one of those played a completely different position last year). That is not a lot, at all.

Verdon and Chambers have only ever played special teams and Thompson/Howard/Cooper have never even played a game at ISU.

Every team ends up playing guys who have little meaningful college snaps under their belt. That's college football for you. Guys graduate and move on and you fill with underclassmen. I agree that we're not in a great situation, but it's not the end of the world either. Freyler has proven he can play at this level and will only get better. Anthony Johnson is switching positions, but he has multiple years of starting in the B12. It's crazy to think that he won't be able to handle that switch well. I think that they've recruited well and although we probably need to have a few guys step up sooner than we'd like, they will end up being fine despite some bumps in the road.

BTW, Chambers did play a bunch of meaningful snaps in 2020. Not sure why he didn't play much last year unless he was just buried in the depth chart.

 

[cyc26]

Every team ends up playing guys who have little meaningful college snaps under their belt. That's college football for you. Guys graduate and move on and you fill with underclassmen. I agree that we're not in a great situation, but it's not the end of the world either. Freyler has proven he can play at this level and will only get better. Anthony Johnson is switching positions, but he has multiple years of starting in the B12. It's crazy to think that he won't be able to handle that switch well. I think that they've recruited well and although we probably need to have a few guys step up sooner than we'd like, they will end up being fine despite some bumps in the road.

BTW, Chambers did play a bunch of meaningful snaps in 2020. Not sure why he didn't play much last year unless he was just buried in the depth chart.

Not saying it is the end of the world at all but it is concerning. If you go back and look at my past posts this was primarily about the DLine depth and talent vs the safety depth and the potential to see more of a traditional 4-3 style this year. It is a completely valid point and question to discuss.

Like Jeff Woody says "players, positions, plays" you want your best 11 on the field as much as possible. If you have 4-5 guys on your DLine you would consider to be in your "best 11" and only 2 safeties you categorize as that, there's no reason to sacrifice not having your best guys on the field just to stick to a specific defensive scheme.

 

[cyc26]

Chambers got snaps at safety his true freshman year.

He played in 3 total games and had 4 tackles. Then played like none last year.

 

[VeloClone]

Not saying it is the end of the world at all but it is concerning. If you go back and look at my past posts this was primarily about the DLine depth and talent vs the safety depth and the potential to see more of a traditional 4-3 style this year. It is a completely valid point and question to discuss.

Like Jeff Woody says "players, positions, plays" you want your best 11 on the field as much as possible. If you have 4-5 guys on your DLine you would consider to be in your "best 11" and only 2 safeties you categorize as that, there's no reason to sacrifice not having your best guys on the field just to stick to a specific defensive scheme.

Or is it more of a 3-4 with one LB (the most mobile of the bunch) playing more of a star postion?

 

[LarryISU]

3 or 4 years ago, we could find a Mike Rose, develop him to full potential, and enjoy his ISU career. Are those days gone? Seems like now when we find a hidden gem, he will be lured away by the wealthy. I hope there's a way we can avoid that.

I think our staff can adapt. I feel bad for them, though. It used to be you recruited and you coached. Now you have a 3rd job requirement? Help your players get $$$? Or can you just tell them, hire an agent and let him/her find your $$$?

 

[TheJackWePack5]

He played in 3 total games and had 4 tackles. Then played like none last year.

I’m not ready to give up on him. He was good enough to play snaps at safety in Dallas during the the Big 12 title game.

The majority of our DB transfers also played sparingly and transferred down a level or to non-P5.

We’ll be fine.

 

[cymonw1980]

3 or 4 years ago, we could find a Mike Rose, develop him to full potential, and enjoy his ISU career. Are those days gone? Seems like now when we find a hidden gem, he will be lured away by the wealthy. I hope there's a way we can avoid that.

I think our staff can adapt. I feel bad for them, though. It used to be you recruited and you coached. Now you have a 3rd job requirement? Help your players get $$$? Or can you just tell them, hire an agent and let him/her find your $$$?

Yes.... I think this is the new way. We will all learn as we go. It will definitely be different.

I am all for guys making money. Unfortunately, the NCAA has no real power and those with power have always looked out for themselves not the game. There are ways to do this that would make it better for players (including paying players), better for schools / coaches, etc. But not in the best interest of teams like tosu, texas, usc, etc. So it won't happen.

I believe in the new world, you need to be scouting the transfer portal looking for guys you can pick up to replace attrition from your program. Try to minimize departures, but be ready to replace those guys. Adapt or die.

If you grab a guy from the portal, the good thing is his free transfer is gone. So, if he wants to transfer again, he likely needs to sit a year. So, almost better to get a R-FR/SO from the portal than it is a HS kid that you develop for USC to pick up in a pay for play deal (aka NIL).

 

[SolarGarlic]

He played in 3 total games and had 4 tackles. Then played like none last year.

He played some crucial drives down the stretch in 2020. He's solid depth.

 

[SolarGarlic]

3 or 4 years ago, we could find a Mike Rose, develop him to full potential, and enjoy his ISU career. Are those days gone? Seems like now when we find a hidden gem, he will be lured away by the wealthy. I hope there's a way we can avoid that.

I think our staff can adapt. I feel bad for them, though. It used to be you recruited and you coached. Now you have a 3rd job requirement? Help your players get $$$? Or can you just tell them, hire an agent and let him/her find your $$$?

It's unfortunate that the current "get yours" mentality is the antithesis of our program culture and one of our main selling points.

 

[ScottyP]

I’m not ready to give up on him. He was good enough to play snaps at safety in Dallas during the the Big 12 title game.

The majority of our DB transfers also played sparingly and transferred down a level or to non-P5.

We’ll be fine.

I thought he did pretty well in that game as well.

 

[LarryISU]

It's unfortunate that the current "get yours" mentality is the antithesis of our program culture and one of our main selling points.

Exactly! "5-Star Culture" was a lot more alluring before the Portal and NIL.

 

[allfourcy]

Exactly! "5-Star Culture" was a lot more alluring before the Portal and NIL.

Never thought about that in that context. Truly stinks.

 

[Frak]

Not saying it is the end of the world at all but it is concerning. If you go back and look at my past posts this was primarily about the DLine depth and talent vs the safety depth and the potential to see more of a traditional 4-3 style this year. It is a completely valid point and question to discuss.

Like Jeff Woody says "players, positions, plays" you want your best 11 on the field as much as possible. If you have 4-5 guys on your DLine you would consider to be in your "best 11" and only 2 safeties you categorize as that, there's no reason to sacrifice not having your best guys on the field just to stick to a specific defensive scheme.

I honestly thought that they should have been playing more 4-2-5 the past few years just because McDonald is not a 3 man front DE and probably never will be. He's a 4-3 DE/Leo. But as much as they talk about mixing in some 4 man and even list the players that way in the depth chart, they never actually do it. I would not expect that to change.

 

[Sarge_Slaughter_the_Hawks]

Spoke to Craig. He is disgusted ISU left AAU. Campbell was ready to leave too but Dan McCarney talked him into staying while he sorts out the AAU business.

 

[acoustimac]

Spoke to Craig. He is disgusted ISU left AAU. Campbell was ready to leave too but Dan McCarney talked him into staying while he sorts out the AAU business.

I honestly cannot imagine how the membership in AAU makes any difference to a player. Most probably have no idea that the university ever was a member or what it even means or meant. Membership consists of an incredibly tiny minority of NCAA division one schools. Does non-membership change the academic programs at all? No.

 

[MugNight]

My cousin’s, roommate’s, sister’s, coworker’s husband said we are switching to a 6 man front goal line D as our base.

 

[isucy86]

have not read all 13 pages here, so sorry if I am repeating something already said.

April 20th: McDonald announced his planned camp on twtter...
April 28th: McDonald says "camp has been postponed due to weather check new date" (it was supposed to be Apr 30th not sure if there was bad weather in the forecast? I live out of state now so do not keep up with the weather)
April 30th: He is in the portal

Maybe the camp did get postponed "due to weather" and it is just a coincidence that he entered the portal a couple days later... but that seems really odd.

Did ISU know about the camp? What made him change the date? Did they ask him not to have it?

Something happened in the 10 days between announcing a football camp and then suddenly changing the date, and transferring.

They could be unrelated (maybe he had full approval / support from ISU coaches to run the camp). Trevon Howard (still on the team) was also supposed to participate along with "other" ISU athletes. So, let's see if the camp goes forward on May 21st (new date) and if any ISU football players participate.

Also, CM and Trevon Howard seem to be big on the NIL stuff. This is not a bad thing - more power to them, hope they make a bunch of $. But I could also see this as a situation where he was offered an opportunity to make more... again, may have nothing to do with a pay-for-play deal ("NIL") but if he signs with a mid tier SEC team or a team at the "neb" type of level (lots of fan support, likely trying to compete) this is exactly the type of player you go after. You are not going to out bid tex a&m, tOSU, etc. for top guys. But you don't need to. You grab rising talent from good programs pay them and they burn their free transfer. So, unless they want to sit out a year you have them for the rest of their eligibility.

This is where athletes will need guidance from a agent or marketing agency.

Maybe he could pull off a camp in 10 days, but that seems like a recipe for disaster. I don't know what he was charging or how many attendees he wanted- but if his team was serious they should have announced camp at least 90 days in advance. Would also be curious if they marketed beyond Twitter.