2024 Football Portal News

For good or ill, collegiate athletics - or at least where they generate money - is a meritocracy. Schools want to win, but not lose boatloads of money trying. And maybe even fund some of those non-revenue sports in the process.

Athletes want to play. Some athletes want to be paid in more than a scholarship. Some athletes don't want to wait to play or don't want to be the back up. And some would rather be the backup on a good or great team rather than a starter on a mediocre team. Others, the opposite.

The current system - albeit a far cry from what we grew up with - encourages athletes to find their own comfort and skill level, with a great reshuffling every season. It's amazing how fast it's all changed!

-jk
Like many here, I don’t like the changes, because they are fundamentally inimical to the concept of student-athlete. But they happened, and Duke must either compete in this new environment or pivot to Ivy League rules. I have made my uneasy peace with this new environment, which by the way was driven largely by “student-athletes, as long as Duke follows the rules (such as they are) and treats its athletes fairly, which I 100% believe it does. One remarkably welcome surprise in this new world is that it actually seems to be working in favor of allowing our football program to advance to a new level.
 
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If the steps listed up thread are correct that the agent for the school contacts the agent for the player to see what his asking price is, then Murphy should probably fire his agent.

GoDuke!
 
For good or ill, collegiate athletics - or at least where they generate money - is a meritocracy. Schools want to win, but not lose boatloads of money trying. And maybe even fund some of those non-revenue sports in the process.

Athletes want to play. Some athletes want to be paid in more than a scholarship. Some athletes don't want to wait to play or don't want to be the back up. And some would rather be the backup on a good or great team rather than a starter on a mediocre team. Others, the opposite.

The current system - albeit a far cry from what we grew up with - encourages athletes to find their own comfort and skill level, with a great reshuffling every season. It's amazing how fast it's all changed!

-jk
Glad you didn’t refer to them as student athletes. That part of the equation is gone (specifically for revenue sports).
 
Glad you didn’t refer to them as student athletes. That part of the equation is gone (specifically for revenue sports).
Yes, and this is not an unimportant casualty, at least for me. The one-and-done phenomenon in basketball has replaced my passion with interest, and the portal quite possibly will do the same for me in football. I'm glad that these young athletes are now getting paid, but I already have professional sports options, and my affection for Duke athletics is a function of cheering for student-athletes, in other words athletes who represent my alma mater in a way that is not chiefly commercial. As that diminishes, so does my passion.
 
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Absolutely not ... and many, many things wrong with the current model. And that is why this is likely my last post on these threads, because I just cannot believe the all-in attitude of most on this board. It's been mostly fun being here, but I can't stomach it any more. Pollyanna is leaving the room.
I may do the same. It is...disturbing seeing this though I am happy the kids are finally getting due recompense instead of more exploitation
 
Like many here, I don’t like the changes, because they are fundamentally inimical to the concept of student-athlete. But they happened, and Duke must either compete in this new environment or pivot to Ivy League rules. I have made my uneasy peace with this new environment, which by the way was driven largely by “student-athletes, as long as Duke follows the rules (such as they are) and treats its athletes fairly, which I 100% believe it does. One remarkably welcome surprise in this new world is that it actually seems to be working in favor of allowing our football program to advance to a new level.
What many overlook is that while Duke played by the rules other schools have been paying athletes for years. Some were direct payments from boosters. Other methods were giving athletes “jobs” so they could pay them. An old Robbie Benson movie from fifty years ago had him playing a star basketball player whose job was to water the athletic fields. Of course they had automatic sprinklers. Rick Robey, former star basketball player for Kentucky, supposedly worked for one of the horse farms. Wonder how ofter he went to work? That whole time Duke was honorable and absolutely sucked in football. We were able to compete in basketball because of one of the greatest coaches of all time. At least now every program gets to compete with the same rules. Many of us may not care for the rules but this is a fairer system. We can try this for a few years and see how it works out. Then if we don’t like it we can always drop down to a different level. When James B Duke built that football stadium and hired Wallace Wade he chose for Duke to compete at the highest levels of football.
 
What many overlook is that while Duke played by the rules other schools have been paying athletes for years. Some were direct payments from boosters. Other methods were giving athletes “jobs” so they could pay them. An old Robbie Benson movie from fifty years ago had him playing a star basketball player whose job was to water the athletic fields. Of course they had automatic sprinklers. Rick Robey, former star basketball player for Kentucky, supposedly worked for one of the horse farms. Wonder how ofter he went to work? That whole time Duke was honorable and absolutely sucked in football. We were able to compete in basketball because of one of the greatest coaches of all time. At least now every program gets to compete with the same rules. Many of us may not care for the rules but this is a fairer system. We can try this for a few years and see how it works out. Then if we don’t like it we can always drop down to a different level. When James B Duke built that football stadium and hired Wallace Wade he chose for Duke to compete at the highest levels of football.
Ok, but we sucked at football for reasons other than just being honorable.
 
What many overlook is that while Duke played by the rules other schools have been paying athletes for years. Some were direct payments from boosters. Other methods were giving athletes “jobs” so they could pay them. An old Robbie Benson movie from fifty years ago had him playing a star basketball player whose job was to water the athletic fields. Of course they had automatic sprinklers. Rick Robey, former star basketball player for Kentucky, supposedly worked for one of the horse farms. Wonder how ofter he went to work? That whole time Duke was honorable and absolutely sucked in football. We were able to compete in basketball because of one of the greatest coaches of all time. At least now every program gets to compete with the same rules. Many of us may not care for the rules but this is a fairer system. We can try this for a few years and see how it works out. Then if we don’t like it we can always drop down to a different level. When James B Duke built that football stadium and hired Wallace Wade he chose for Duke to compete at the highest levels of football.
Yes, I think there is some truth to the notion that the new rules make it easier for institutions like Duke that follow the rules to compete. And yes, I also think that Arnie is correct that our prolonged football dormancy a function of institutional indifference as well, which started to change in the Cutcliffe era. I am thoroughly enjoying our football rebirth, but I hope that somehow we can sustain a substantial and genuine devotion to the student-athlete concept. If not, my passion will diminish somewhat, as it has for basketball.
 
that's fair, but it's also fair to say that the vast majority of the roster isn't getting NIL money, so they can call themselves whatever they want.
Wellllll...

If you are talking about backups and the guys who are not even on the 2-deep then you are right that the NIL payments are functionally non-existent (Darien Mensah got $0 at Tulane this past year as he came into camp as the 3rd string QB). But I would imagine most if not all of the projected starters for Duke Football and a healthy chunk of the backups are getting something.

Heck, on the latest edition of the DBR podcast Ryan Young -- hardly a big name player -- told a story about being paid $2000 to attend a birthday party.
 
Duke has gotten a commitment from App St. running back Anderson Castle. Thanks to Covid and NCAA redshirt rules, Castle will be in his 6th year of college football next year. He's one of those guys who is always in the RB rotation but is rarely the main ball-carrier. Last season he had 246 yards rushing on 50 attempts.

Feels like a depth/special teams kinda piece for Duke.

 
3) As others have mentioned, the portal is the wild wild west. You know how on the first day of NBA free agency we see dozens of players sign contracts even though there was barely time for the team and the player to even shake hands, let alone negotiate all the finer details of a 4-year contract? Well, that is because the "start of free agency" is sorta a fake starting line and most teams have been speaking to agents for weeks at that point. Well, it should come as no surprise that the same thing happens with regard to the college portal opening. Now, my impression is that the portal stuff happens fairly quickly -- I've been told that conversations with agents don't really start up until after the regular season has ended for teams because coaches cannot be bothered with that stuff in the midst of their regular season. In any event, if you think the first time Duke spoke to Darien Mensah and his representatives was the moment he arrived on campus... well, you are being naïve.
Well, if that's true now, I suspect it's not gonna be true for long. Coaches are frankly not going to be able to afford the luxury of waiting or of saying they "can't be bothered" as lots and lots of portalizing players are making contacts, establishing relationships, weighing offers, and the like.
 
Duke has gotten a commitment from App St. running back Anderson Castle. Thanks to Covid and NCAA redshirt rules, Castle will be in his 6th year of college football next year. He's one of those guys who is always in the RB rotation but is rarely the main ball-carrier. Last season he had 246 yards rushing on 50 attempts.

Feels like a depth/special teams kinda piece for Duke.

4.9 yards per carry is pretty stout. :)
Welcome Anderson!!

From Watauga Democrat:
"Castle, who represented Watauga High in the Shrine Bowl in 2019, was a 3-star football recruit and a 3-sport athlete for the Pioneers. As a 3-year high school quarterback, Castle rushed for 4,420 yards, passed for 2,692 yards, and accounted for 101 touchdowns while helping the Pioneers accumulate a 36-6 record.
Castle started out as an outside linebacker for his hometown Mountaineers but was quickly moved to running back as a true freshman in 2020."
 
Need WRs. Any news specifically on that front (other than our one former Michigan / OU get)
Need Tight Ends portal guy visited from I believe Western Michigan. Noah Gray has been outstanding with the Kansas City Chiefs. Good selling point. Also need lineman Defense and Offense
 
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