It's a glass half full on the transfer portal for me. 

I'm wondering if you're talking about Clemson about not using the portal? I'm seeing that Georgia lost 21 players to the portal since 2023 and they have added 11 players. Clemson has added zero portal players in that time period. Dabo has been one of the few coaches to speak out and say he doesn't like it and isn't going to do it. Some have questioned if his mindset is the reason Clemson hasn't won or played in a playoff game for a little while. 

Dan Lanning is doing a great job with the portal. He's added positions of need, but isn't totally relying on it and still focusing on traditional recruiting. It seems like after a certain point there's diminished returns on taking a bunch of portal players. 

For why I'm a glass half full on the matter I really like the parity this year that I've never seen before. When else have you seen 10+ teams that may actually have a chance to win it all. While I think the Ducks can most certainly win it all it's hard to say they're a sure bet like some of the Alabama and Georgia teams more recently. In past years there's often been just one dominant team and maybe a couple others and then the competition just totally drops off. A lot of the parity is coming from the transfer portal. It certainly helps teams like the Ducks. 

On the other hand a team that loses say 40% of their players is a problem. Some other criticisms is small schools will almost act like a farm league and any of their players that develop will just go elsewhere. I can't say those aren't valid criticisms. I don't have the answer and I wonder if some partial measures could help the portal from getting out of hand? Would being required to sit out 4 games help? I'm not sure, going back to a whole year might. Of course this doesn't seem fair when coaches leave all the time. 

Getting back to your last comment about the Ducks not being Michigan next year I agree. I felt the same way about this year before we picked up DG that we'd be in trouble without a big transfer QB. With seeing limited play from Dante Moore this year and with a bunch of O-line players leaving we could certainly take a step back. Michigan just landed the top QB recruit and are recruiting well. They'll probably be back real soon. I feel the same way with the Ducks as long as Dan Lanning is here in that we could do the same even if we take a step back. I would at least think we would be better than Michigan has been this year.  

I might make another thread about the state of modern football. Overall my take is positive. The level of play has been top notch this year along with the parity. NIL has really benefited college football with players sticking around and the benefits extend to the NFL and most importantly the NFL. Take Bo for example, he probably would've been a mid to late pick and buried on an NFL bench if he left for the draft rather than join the Ducks because of NIL. Now he could be rookie of the year! 

It's a good topic of discussion and I have more thoughts on the matter for another time. 

Go Ducks! 

Early signing day is this week.  Conference Championship game Saturday.  Playoff selection show Sunday.  Portal opens next week.  The Duck roster will take a hit, and probably with a couple of names that fans and coaches might not be expecting.  That said, there will be the same thing happening on other rosters.  Expect a number of new faces on the Duck roster before this window closes...