Leaderboard

Am I crazy (and maybe a little cruel here) for thinking some of y'all are waaay too high on KD? Where would you rank him among our LBs the last 10 years? Maybe I am underestimating him.

This would be a huge recruiting win if he returns. And it's also a good reason why Littrell & Co. need to stop being so petty and removing players from the roster as soon as they hit the portal. There's always a chance they could change their minds, but it's hard when it seems like the coaches are acting like they've moved on. Wonder if he's worried he wont get the waiver after waiting so long to transfer? EDIT: KD, if you're reading this, all this butthurt from fans is just a testament to how much we think you're needed for the success of our football team! Come home & help get that elusive bowl win!

As much as I dislike SMU, I don't think it's them this time. I really do believe it is aTm. That's why Jimbo was so mad at Saban. Saban called him out with the truth and he didn't like that. Especially since they are all money whipping these kids.

You can’t blame Littrell in this situation.

Not quite sure what your point is. If NT or G5 had more players the bigs were interested in, there would be more offers to those players. As it is now, the Bigs are not going to give a ship to a transfer unless he has a lot higher perceived ceiling than what they can get out of high school and jucos or fills a dire need. To be very blunt there are just not that many players in the G5, that the Bigs covet enough to give up a 4 star high school recruit to sign. Between NIL and the new transfer rules, G5 and even some P5 are doomed to be raided at will by teams higher up in the football hierarchy. The courts and NCAA have done their best to end any slim hope of any G5 or underfunded program had to ever really compete.

I keep hearing how deep our running back stable is and yet I usually hear about Oscar, Ayo or Ike, even Qualon. What about big Keith J? Is he still in the mix as I hope so, I really like his combination of size, speed and game. I do believe he is well over 6 foot and 200 pounds now. If we are 6 deep is it possible one or more of the RB's would be asked to play another position? It would seem now with KD's departure we are getting a little thin at LB.

The Sasketchewan Roughriders pulled their starting quarterback down 33-6 with 9 minutes left on Thursday, giving Mason Fine his first chance to play in the CFL. He completed three short passes on his first drive but it ended on a sack. His next drive was an incompletion and an interception on a bad pass. His final drive was his best. He completed four straight passes, including a 15- and 45-yarder, and threw a 5-yard touchdown in that massive Canadian endzone. Final numbers: 7-for-9 with 83 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 pick. The CFL season is on WatchESPN with some games each week on an ESPN channel. Fine looks pretty comfortable in the league after one season holding a clipboard.

Excellent take!

Personally, I would definitely rank him below Zach Orr. Maybe somewhere between E.J. Ejiya and Brandon Garner. But I'm just another knucklehead on a message board. IIRC, Phil Bennett said KD was as good a player as he's ever coached. And in my opinion, his opinion means more than my opinion.

From ESPN

That’s really interesting… This thread, which I just checked and is like top 100 most replied threads in GMG history, would be in flames.

If you look deeper, almost every “senior” is a super senior and those classed as juniors are seniors or higher academically. Covid has the roster all out of whack.

You didn't compare the contract to a job, which is a comparison that fits much closer than a marriage or military service. Anyone can quit a job and the only penalty is that their old employer stops paying them and providing benefits.

Blayze McNemar @BlayzeMcnemar · 14h "I am very excited to announce that I have chosen to further my academic and athletic career at the University of North Texas. Thank you to everyone who helped and supported me on this journey. Go Mean Green!" Blayze McNemar - Galena HS, Galena, KS - 3B/OF/UT. #64 of Top 100 Elite players. Has played all infield and outfield positions. Sister, Riley McNemar, is an infielder for Auburn.

$mells like $mut tampering again with $$$..... Not that they have an illegal history of throwing $$ or cars at football players...

Still can’t shake the disgust over this. I get it from his point of view but selfishly as a LOYAL fan who gets so rarely rewarded for it, his legacy is entirely tarnished for me. Hope that feels good for him.

KD was good for us, he's wasn't Zac orr though. I like what we have at LB. I think we'll be ok.

The difference between now and previous downtimes is that now just feels hopeless. Any decent player we get, will just leave us for more money. How much would a P5 school have paid for a sophomore Brandon Kennedy or a freshman Jamario Thomas or a junior Mason Fine? Hard to invest in this when you get gut-punched by your all conference linebacker transferring (at the end of June!). I don’t know what the solution is, or if there will be a solution. All I know is that since the selfishness of NIL and the transfer portal hit college football, I care about it less and less.

I wonder who will be the first program to drop down or drop out out of Football altogether. I can see it happening as fan interest goes away from the non P-5 schools. Just not sure who will be the first to blink.

Not trying to paint a dark picture but that is a super low number of seniors to have on this 22 squad. On the other hand, we are still a very young team. It seems like all of Littrell's teams are pretty young as very few make it to their senior seasons. 2022 ROSTER LINK

This would be huge and I don’t take it as petty that he was removed from the active roster by the athletic department. Basically, KD removed himself when he entered the portal. He can be added back just as easily as he was removed. Edit: I think KD read the accolades, had teams (Jimbo) chirping in his ear and decided to test the market. I don’t like it but I can’t blame him. My guess is that he waited too late and would end up having to sit out a year and didn’t want to do that considering he has already taken an extra year. My other assumption is that he was probably undersized to play the same position in the SEC and would have to move positions. These are all assumptions on my part, or a humble opinion, and we know what assumptions lead to.

I don't think people are placing him on any all time lists at this point, but in terms of the current roster he is by far the best and most impactful player as it stands today. Preseason All-American (1 of 2 CUSA players to do so), returning from a 1st team All-CUSA season, leader of the defense, and was immediately contacted and offered by A&M and Ole Miss after entering the portal so I think that shows what other teams feel about his ability.

Herbert really likes him too, great relationship. He's going to stick in the league and make money. Hands got better as the year went on, and he made a great 4th down catch in the last loss against the Raiders last year. Herbert is starting to trust him.

-I don't think that Keith Jackson wants to be known as such because of the "Whoa Nellie" that was connected with the announcer. Here he is known as BK Jackson. He was red-shirted last year. He had one carry for no gain, certainly no indication of what he's capable of. He's younger than the three named so I'd imagine that he'll begin to get some carries this year, even with a rather "loaded" room. He had roughly the same 247 average as Adaway and Ragsdale so he should have some moments this year but we'll soon know.

ha! Okay, guys thanks for painting the picture. My most vivid memory from that game was seeing the ladies leave at HT, ahead of us guys, to scout places to eat. Then they returned during one of the first OTs having already eaten, wondering where we had been.

Setting up an auto draft for $10 is not nearly the commitment as asking people to make the trek to Denton for football. People have all kinds of junk subscriptions being auto-deducted from their account. I'm not saying 300K people donating is attainable, I have no idea, but I think you need to reverse how you're thinking these two things ($10 auto-deduction/attending a football game) compare.

You are correct, in part. Your example is allowed by the new rules. It hasn't changed that it is a binding scholarship contract. After transfer the athlete would still become committed to their new school (new scholarship) for the duration of their undergrad eligibility, unless transferring again with more restrictions on the second transfer. Someone above suggested additional rules to correct the current new rules to rein in some of the poaching from other programs. That's all this is about. Carry on.

We could have them advertise for GMG.com, problem solved. Just put their picture up with some quote saying this is the best place for Mean Green Sports talk and you should be good to go.

Agree. And if they don't reevaluate when they publish, it makes the magazine useless.

Looks like we're sooooo gonna own the AAC!!!

A scholarship is a contract, which includes stipulations. So is joining the Marines, or buying a car, or getting married, etc. They can quit the contract, but there could be penalties. Time for them to grow up, or don't sign a contract!

247 has a crystal ball for Ole Miss

I have a suggestion. If a player transfers and gets a NIL at the new school, they have to pay the original school the cost of attendance for the time spent. If they are going to use as as farm teams, they should have to provide some compensation.

The current one-time transfer exception is not good for college football. Even professional athletes have contracts that bind them to teams for certain time periods and allow organizations a fair opportunity to build a winning roster. A transfer model must be adopted that offers athletes the option to explore other opportunities, but still incentivizes schools to invest in and develop players. I propose a model where all players have the opportunity to transfer and be immediately eligible AFTER they have accumulated the equivalent of 60 credit hours at their current institution AND again after they graduate (if they still have eligibility remaining). If a player declines to transfer when they hit the 60 hours, that player loses the opportunity to transfer and be eligible immediately until they are a grad transfer. Any player may elect to transfer during the transfer window at ANY point in their career, but transferring before or after your “free” 60 hour transfer or “free” grad transfer will cause you to sit out a year AND lose a year of eligibility. Hardship waivers are no longer available for anyone. If your dog gets sick and you want to transfer, too bad. If someone in your social studies class looks at you funny, too bad. If your favorite coach gets hired somewhere else, too bad. You can still transfer during any transfer window, but there are consequences for doing so outside of your “free” opportunities. The transfer window also opens and closes in the spring. Let’s say it is open from February 15-April 15. If you opt to explore your transfer option when you are eligible, you cannot participate in offseason workouts or spring football at your current school and you must sign with your new school by X date to be eligible for the next football season. If you do not sign by X date, you must wait until the next year’s transfer window and lose a year of eligibility or you may drop down a level to Juco, FCS, DII, DIII and be eligible immediately. The 60 hours must be accumulated AT the current institution. If you graduate high school with 30 hours of college credit, that doesn’t count. Everyone starts at 0 towards the transfer requirement when they enroll at their school. This proposed transfer model allows players who fulfill their obligations as student athletes the freedom to fulfill their athletic potential while also rewarding schools for the investments they make in these players to adequately plan and build winning rosters.

Keith Jackson?

Me looking for teams that can beat NT of that slate: LBSt & Vermont are very very good teams though.

Well, what do you make of that?

That is a lot easier to swallow than aTm !!!

When it comes to paying players, SMU has a lot of experience.

I would be willing to donate to a “pool” for NIL.

I agree some restrictions over the timing of free transfers needs to be implemented, but this is just silly and you guys hold 19 year olds to much higher standards than yourself. Your reasoning that athletes need to stay where they decide to go when they are 17/18 years old and nobody else has to is what? The school is offering them a scholarship so they should be forced to stay? Do you think students on academic scholarships should have the same limits? The extremely large majority of student athletes transferring schools is because they aren't getting playing time, many find the grass isn't always greener on the other side but they should have that right to do that if they want. You mentioned professional athletes as a comparison to these students, but forgot to mention the biggest difference..they are getting paid. A scholarship is not payment and never will be. Why should athletic scholarships be viewed any differently than academic or band or anything else? When an athlete transfers they lose their scholarship and it's up to another institution to determine if they are worth another one, just like any other student. And no hardship waivers?? You have to be kidding. I totally agree the waiver program is broken, and more often than not the NCAA passes waivers for transfers to bigger schools regardless of the reason. But to rob a kid who has a dying parent or loved one of the opportunity to be closer to their family is absurd. Everyone here is passionate about UNT I get that, and losing a player like KD at this time of year sucks and those people who tampered with him should be punished. But if he had left 3+ months ago I wouldn't be upset and none of you should be either. Lots of hurt feelings around here simply because we lost a good player, but I didn't see anyone crying about the system when we landed transfers from Georgia, Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, LA Tech, North Carolina, Texas Tech, Alabama, the list goes on and on.

He gets a bunch of pub, telling him his worth is high, then he decides to leave? That is the opposite of tampering, that's either smart or hubris or somewhere in between. Smart programs have dedicated portal staff so they are in contact within the hour of portal declaration