Not sure if this has been discussed elsewhere yet, but a few players have already entered their names into the portal:

Rudolph - big one. started to look like his old self as of recent. good luck and next man up.

Lafayette - was a good looking player before his knee injury. lost a step since and they tried making him an undersized LB/huskie this year.

CJ Brown - solid player. hurt most of this season

Feel free to add names as they announce. Plenty more, I'm sure. Nature of the sport. Next man up!!!

Go Huskies

Here are the Rudolph, Brown, and Lafayette announcements.

https://x.com/RudolphTrayvon/status/1729...06437?s=20

https://x.com/devin_lafayette/status/172...88528?s=20

https://x.com/cj_brown24/status/17295871...26568?s=20

I am hoping for a big name QB coming to NIU. Also, a couple P5 WR's that maybe didn't get much playing time this year.

(11-28-2023 03:28 PM)mustangfootball2004 Wrote:  I am hoping for a big name QB coming to NIU. Also, a couple P5 WR's that maybe didn't get much playing time this year.

It’s a weird time to be a coach with the portal…do I think WR 5 at LSU or Bama is better than Rudolph, absolutely. But when the portal opens will Rudolph get more offers because he has known stats. Potential isn’t for the portal, except for non P5 schools looking for guys.

In the end it might be better players coming to the smaller guys, more proven to the bigger guys.

(11-28-2023 03:27 PM)epasnoopy Wrote:  Here are the Rudolph, Brown, and Lafayette announcements.

https://x.com/RudolphTrayvon/status/1729...06437?s=20

https://x.com/devin_lafayette/status/172...88528?s=20

https://x.com/cj_brown24/status/17295871...26568?s=20

These announcements are just silly. Thank you to ... so grateful ... blah blah blah .... I am out!
Just leave your playbook and go. This is all nonsense.

(11-28-2023 04:06 PM)HuskieJ Wrote:  

(11-28-2023 03:27 PM)epasnoopy Wrote:  Here are the Rudolph, Brown, and Lafayette announcements.

https://x.com/RudolphTrayvon/status/1729...06437?s=20

https://x.com/devin_lafayette/status/172...88528?s=20

https://x.com/cj_brown24/status/17295871...26568?s=20

These announcements are just silly. Thank you to ... so grateful ... blah blah blah .... I am out!
Just leave your playbook and go. This is all nonsense.

Yes, it is.

(11-28-2023 03:22 PM)Red Dog Wrote:  Not sure if this has been discussed elsewhere yet, but a few players have already entered their names into the portal:

Rudolph - big one. started to look like his old self as of recent. good luck and next man up.

Lafayette - was a good looking player before his knee injury. lost a step since and they tried making him an undersized LB/huskie this year.

CJ Brown - solid player. hurt most of this season

Feel free to add names as they announce. Plenty more, I'm sure. Nature of the sport. Next man up!!!

Go Huskies

Was brown asked to leave? I mean…the celebrated him on senior day didn’t they? They usually only do that for guys who are gone.

Don’t blame Rudolph for chasing the bag and trying to get NIL money. Just disappointing considering NIU and Hammock gave him this opportunity as he was not well recruited and walked on. Loyalty to a program is long gone. Hopefully NIU can grab a few guys from the portal from FCS or power 5 school who didn’t get much playing time

(11-28-2023 04:06 PM)HuskieJ Wrote:  

(11-28-2023 03:27 PM)epasnoopy Wrote:  Here are the Rudolph, Brown, and Lafayette announcements.

https://x.com/RudolphTrayvon/status/1729...06437?s=20

https://x.com/devin_lafayette/status/172...88528?s=20

https://x.com/cj_brown24/status/17295871...26568?s=20

These announcements are just silly. Thank you to ... so grateful ... blah blah blah .... I am out!
Just leave your playbook and go. This is all nonsense.

It's like an award acceptance speech. Take your award/plaque/certificate and go.

(11-28-2023 04:09 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(11-28-2023 04:06 PM)HuskieJ Wrote:  

(11-28-2023 03:27 PM)epasnoopy Wrote:  Here are the Rudolph, Brown, and Lafayette announcements.

https://x.com/RudolphTrayvon/status/1729...06437?s=20

https://x.com/devin_lafayette/status/172...88528?s=20

https://x.com/cj_brown24/status/17295871...26568?s=20

These announcements are just silly. Thank you to ... so grateful ... blah blah blah .... I am out!
Just leave your playbook and go. This is all nonsense.

Yes, it is.

100%

Thank everyone, how great it was, thankful and leave.

And I assume not playing in a bowl game? That’s far worse than not playing due to draft . At least they are going pro. These guys love everyone and then are against playing. This is exactly the kind of crap I figured was coming with NIL and no sit transfer. This more than anything is a slow kill for NIU and MAC and smaller school programs as a whole. Only thing it’s bringing is mediocrity and a slew of new players each year. I can’t see myself following this crap anymore. It’s already lost me in NCAA basketball which I followed religiously for decades.

You guys are acting like they owe NIU something. They don't and sun will rise tomorrow.

(11-28-2023 04:56 PM)numbersdontlie Wrote:  You guys are acting like they owe NIU something. They don't and sun will rise tomorrow.

I disagree with you wholeheartedly. NIU gave them a tuition free education and an opportunity to play. If a kid graduates then in my opinion he fulfilled his part of a scholarship and can absolutely go play and enjoy another university. But other than being a grad transfer, this transfer any time you want BS is dog crap

This came into being because coaches were restricting where players could transfer while doing whatever they pleased themselves. Also because athletes in every other sport but football and I believe baseball were already allowed this freedom. It came down to allowing football players to do what everyone else was already doing.

Edit:
I hate it too and wish we could go back to keeping your players for five years, but fair is fair.

(11-28-2023 04:40 PM)randyfensfanclub1 Wrote:  

(11-28-2023 04:09 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(11-28-2023 04:06 PM)HuskieJ Wrote:  

(11-28-2023 03:27 PM)epasnoopy Wrote:  Here are the Rudolph, Brown, and Lafayette announcements.

https://x.com/RudolphTrayvon/status/1729...06437?s=20

https://x.com/devin_lafayette/status/172...88528?s=20

https://x.com/cj_brown24/status/17295871...26568?s=20

These announcements are just silly. Thank you to ... so grateful ... blah blah blah .... I am out!
Just leave your playbook and go. This is all nonsense.

Yes, it is.

100%

Thank everyone, how great it was, thankful and leave.

And I assume not playing in a bowl game? That’s far worse than not playing due to draft . At least they are going pro. These guys love everyone and then are against playing. This is exactly the kind of crap I figured was coming with NIL and no sit transfer. This more than anything is a slow kill for NIU and MAC and smaller school programs as a whole. Only thing it’s bringing is mediocrity and a slew of new players each year. I can’t see myself following this crap anymore. It’s already lost me in NCAA basketball which I followed religiously for decades.

I wish I could disagree....

(11-28-2023 05:05 PM)NIU1981 Wrote:  This came into being because coaches were restricting where players could transfer while doing whatever they pleased themselves. Also because athletes in every other sport but football and I believe baseball were already allowed this freedom. It came down to allowing football players to do what everyone else was already doing.

Edit:
I hate it too and wish we could go back to keeping your players for five years, but fair is fair.

This came into being for 1 reason: lawsuits.

I’m not going to go into the greedy NCAA bs. They had the Ed OBannon lawsuit , NW and said screw it. We don’t need this. Even then what they envisioned spun out of control that there basically are no rules. Remember likeness or supply service ? Remember no donors to schools in NIL? Now schools promote the NIL!

And they put the transfer thing in place with Covid. They could never go back.


Don’t anyone who supports NIL and transfer in its current evolved state take a shot at one person at NIU for losing players. It’s out of their control whether you like it or not. That’s why many older coaches in sports got out. People say players were owned by schools. But this is now better? NIU is in better shape? College athletes top to bottom all make out and benefit? I bet 99.9% of money in NIL is football and bball, m and w. Only reason not 99.99 is LSUs Livy Dunne.

(11-28-2023 04:56 PM)numbersdontlie Wrote:  You guys are acting like they owe NIU something. They don't and sun will rise tomorrow.

I don’t think they owe anyone anything, but spare me the fake feelings about leaving. Leave and go chase your NIL. Don’t care about you anymore especially Rudolph. We gave him the chance no one else would and the payback is to take off, so keep your speech and just go.

(11-28-2023 06:57 PM)HuskieJ Wrote:  

(11-28-2023 04:56 PM)numbersdontlie Wrote:  You guys are acting like they owe NIU something. They don't and sun will rise tomorrow.

I don’t think they owe anyone anything, but spare me the fake feelings about leaving. Leave and go chase your NIL. Don’t care about you anymore especially Rudolph. We gave him the chance no one else would and the payback is to take off, so keep your speech and just go.

Yup. I like how they thank coaches. It’s like it’s seen as next level. Thanks coach for preparing me to get money. It’s like we are a feeder program. Prepare players not for post graduation life but next school.

(11-28-2023 04:24 PM)JoeNovak Wrote:  Don’t blame Rudolph for chasing the bag and trying to get NIL money. Just disappointing considering NIU and Hammock gave him this opportunity as he was not well recruited and walked on. Loyalty to a program is long gone. Hopefully NIU can grab a few guys from the portal from FCS or power 5 school who didn’t get much playing time

The walk-on thing for Rudolph misrepresents his worth. He was a 3 star recruit out of HS with offers from Toledo, Miami, CMU, EMU and NIU.

There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal profiling the Washington State Cougars football team. It’s behind a paywall so I haven’t linked it. While on a larger scale than NIU, very similar problems facing it in regards to funding and retaining players. There are no deep pockets at the school so they rely upon alumni to beat the bushes to raise money. Only 2 teams left in the PAC 12 so they are orphans and don’t have the NIL resources to retain or recruit so players are jumping.

If you have the ability to read the article, I’d strongly recommend it.

(11-28-2023 08:15 PM)Prince Crossing Wrote:  There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal profiling the Washington State Cougars football team. It’s behind a paywall so I haven’t linked it. While on a larger scale than NIU, very similar problems facing it in regards to funding and retaining players. There are no deep pockets at the school so they rely upon alumni to beat the bushes to raise money. Only 2 teams left in the PAC 12 so they are orphans and don’t have the NIL resources to retain or recruit so players are jumping.

If you have the ability to read the article, I’d strongly recommend it.

K State is losing its starting Qb (Will Howard) and they are in a similar situation as Wash St, but not as dire.