CKD has really had only one full recruiting cycle, and he has pretty much flipped the entire roster - which was needed/expected given the differences in his system and Saban’s.
I guess my biggest concern from this portal season is that we’re losing a lot of experience. Not just game experience, but system experience. Bringing in a studly freshman class helps for sure, but losing kids that have been in our weightlifting system, film rooms, etc
During Saban’s run, he and many other programs were able to stockpile 5-stars upon 5-stars. Nowadays, if a 5-star comes in and doesn’t start right away, they’ll start to get $1M offers from multiple different schools and also get promised playing time.
Saban would be fighting these same battles - maybe he would be able to hold on to a couple more players here and there, but the days of stockpiling 5-stars is gone unless your school has the money to spend. And even then, playing time becomes an issue.
I think we’ve played this transfer cycle fairly well, but it becomes way more important nowadays to have a strong eye for talent - which, so far, DeBoer and Morgan have shown to have.
Hopefully they continue.
