2024 Football Portal News

RoseBowl1942 said:
Totally fair and it’s good we have diverse opinions to have a healthy debate. For the record, I’m not suggesting we lower the admissions standards to the Alabama level (which let’s be real, is letting in kids that have no business being in college at all). But I do think our standards need not be extremely high. If someone can successfully navigate Duke and get a diploma without extreme levels of help, that should be sufficient to check the box of being academic enough. Heck, that’s the standard we set for every student that gets let in the door for whatever reason we decide (including massive donor kids who get an acceptance letter). If we are comfortable giving diplomas to kids that might not otherwise make it through admissions because they have wealthy parents, then we should be willing to admit and give diplomas to football players that meet the same standards when actually in Duke’s classrooms. Heck, at least the football players did something outstanding enough to warrant consideration beyond winning the lottery of birth to an extremely wealthy individual!
Click to expand...
I think we're pretty close to agreement, here. I do agree that most US college students on track to timely graduate would probably do just fine at Duke, or really at any of the Ivies and similarly competitive schools. We all know that the hardest thing about these schools is getting in. Yes, the major matters a lot, but that is true at any school. Tech majors at Virginia Tech work very hard for their degrees, and many pivot to something else.
 
Other item
Mike Petrik said:
I think we're pretty close to agreement, here. I do agree that most US college students on track to timely graduate would probably do just fine at Duke, or really at any of the Ivies and similarly competitive schools. We all know that the hardest thing about these schools is getting in. Yes, the major matters a lot, but that is true at any school. Tech majors at Virginia Tech work very hard for their degrees, and many pivot to something else.
Click to expand...
Yeah honestly, once you get past the admissions monster, the path to the degree is just so much easier. It’s like they put the final boss as the first thing on level 1, rather than at the end of the game.

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and view sports (namely football) as my biggest direct connection back to school, but my fervent desire as a younger person to keep Duke super selective and elite has just waned massively. Also probably going through the alumni admissions process for years and seeing stellar kids rejected, but a couple meh kids accepted has killed my feelings there too.

But personally (and if we’re being honest, probably selfishly), I’d rather lower the standards a bit and watch us win games. Though again, I’m years out and the cache of a super selective Duke degree doesn’t do much for me personally given work experience as much as getting the satisfaction of a Duke win on a Saturday, so very biased here
 
Mike Petrik said:
I think we're pretty close to agreement, here. I do agree that most US college students on track to timely graduate would probably do just fine at Duke, or really at any of the Ivies and similarly competitive schools. We all know that the hardest thing about these schools is getting in. Yes, the major matters a lot, but that is true at any school. Tech majors at Virginia Tech work very hard for their degrees, and many pivot to something else.
Click to expand...
These days many colleges also offer majors/areas of study that don't require setting foot in a classroom. I believe Shadeur Sanders went to a classroom for the first time at the end of his second year he stated on a social media post. That new paradigm also affords a lot more flexibility to watch recordings and study on your own. I do think Duke doesn't offer as much "online coursework" as other schools but certainly has certain classes that offer more flexibility for the revenue sports athletes.

To your statement, I don't think "most US college students" would do fine at Duke if majoring in biology, math, economics, or several other majors as you somewhat alluded to. They are hard at Duke with students that are tops in the country/world. As you said, a lot depends on the major and there's probably a field of study at Duke that wouldn't be such a high hurdle for a "typical" high achieving student. But the rigor and difficulty of coursework at Duke on average doesn't compare to State U....Duke is way way harder with a much more high achieving cohort of students than an "average" college. I don't think it's controversial to say that. Despite grade inflation, Duke actually still has a reputation of being a harder top school. It's not like Harvard where everyone graduates with honors....
 
RoseBowl1942 said:
Other item

Yeah honestly, once you get past the admissions monster, the path to the degree is just so much easier. It’s like they put the final boss as the first thing on level 1, rather than at the end of the game.

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and view sports (namely football) as my biggest direct connection back to school, but my fervent desire as a younger person to keep Duke super selective and elite has just waned massively. Also probably going through the alumni admissions process for years and seeing stellar kids rejected, but a couple meh kids accepted has killed my feelings there too.

But personally (and if we’re being honest, probably selfishly), I’d rather lower the standards a bit and watch us win games. Though again, I’m years out and the cache of a super selective Duke degree doesn’t do much for me personally given work experience as much as getting the satisfaction of a Duke win on a Saturday, so very biased here
Click to expand...
Doing almuni interviews did that to me too.
 
RoseBowl1942 said:
Other item

Yeah honestly, once you get past the admissions monster, the path to the degree is just so much easier. It’s like they put the final boss as the first thing on level 1, rather than at the end of the game.

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and view sports (namely football) as my biggest direct connection back to school, but my fervent desire as a younger person to keep Duke super selective and elite has just waned massively. Also probably going through the alumni admissions process for years and seeing stellar kids rejected, but a couple meh kids accepted has killed my feelings there too.

But personally (and if we’re being honest, probably selfishly), I’d rather lower the standards a bit and watch us win games. Though again, I’m years out and the cache of a super selective Duke degree doesn’t do much for me personally given work experience as much as getting the satisfaction of a Duke win on a Saturday, so very biased here
Click to expand...
Doesn't have to be a philosophical inquiry. There are 6,500 under graduates -- the football team has at most 105 members now; basketball 15. There are scholarships for other sports -- and admission preferences for music and other interests. At least 90 percent of the student body is the product of competitive admissions process.
 
@Mike Petrik

Ok, for the record, this Harvard Cooper dude is not at all a tacit endorsement of your position that Duke should lean in on the “we’re for smart kids” and not take my approach of throwing it all out the window to become a slightly more selective Alabama. Like, does it come at a horrible time for my argument? Yeah. But come on. How was I supposed to know we’d take an All-Ivy kid today of all days?
 
Jaymf7 said:
Article above says out of high school he “drew interest” from Oregon, UCLA and Notre Dame. Had impressive numbers at Harvard (1k yds snd 11 tds in a season). Looks like a solid player.
Click to expand...
He drew more than interest. Solid offers from ND and other top programs like Oregon Fast and skilled player
 
DoubleBlue said:
Does Barkate have one or two years of eligibility remaining? He played in four games his freshman year (2022) and then the full 2023 and 2024 seasons, so in order to have two more years 2022 would have to be a redshirt. He's listed as a Junior. He graduated in three years from Harvard which is impressive. https://www.espn.com/college-football/player/_/id/4804878/cooper-barkate
Click to expand...
Potentially brilliant pickup! Two years eligibility left according to the Crimson:
www.thecrimson.com

Harvard Football Wide Receiver Cooper Barkate to Transfer to Duke | Sports | The Harvard Crimson

Harvard football’s star junior wide receiver Cooper Barkate will transfer to play for Duke University’s football team in the fall of 2025, Duke Football announced on X.
www.thecrimson.com www.thecrimson.com
 
Mike Petrik said:
Potentially brilliant pickup! Two years eligibility left according to the Crimson:
www.thecrimson.com

Harvard Football Wide Receiver Cooper Barkate to Transfer to Duke | Sports | The Harvard Crimson

Harvard football’s star junior wide receiver Cooper Barkate will transfer to play for Duke University’s football team in the fall of 2025, Duke Football announced on X.
www.thecrimson.com www.thecrimson.com
Click to expand...
Ah, there's the answer. This could be the prototype transfer for Duke. Here's a quote from that article:
In the Ivy League, players cannot preserve eligibility by sitting out a season — called redshirting — early in their college careers, meaning that Barkate would have only had one more year of eligibility at Harvard.
At Duke, Barkate will have two years of play left since the four games Barkate played in as a freshman at Harvard were not enough to use up eligibility.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top