@kkott Agreed. NIL needs some guardrails, but IU has benefited greatly from it. Also, it's not what is ruining the sport. It's the TV people in charge looking to squeeze every dollar out of things.
Thank you for reading Hoosier Huddle
Coach Cig, his staff, and NIL put IU where it is today. Also, welcome to big boy football.I say cut bait,not worth the drama for one player
NIL has completely ruined college football. He among the rest just milk it for the biggest pay dayLet him go to Bama or LSU for a year.when he doesn’t get enough touches he will be available for half the money.
This is an exciting recruitment. Taking off my Hoosier glasses, I do wonder what variable will be the difference maker for his decision?
Simple. Playing time, money and distance from home (meaning does he want to play close to home or does he want to get away from home)
@lncolnpk have you read this, or are you just sharing your opinion? Distance from home could be influential to some, but at this point I think most of these top guys are looking at it as a step in their professional development and it's not a factor for many. A couple things that you didn't mention, but I would guess at: 1)development is a factor and one that tilts in IUs favor. 2) I would also guess that facilities also play a role, even subconsciously as I would guess it makes an impression walking in to the facilities at Bama/LSU/Texas compared to IU, and that one I would guess hurts IU. I've heard some IU writers/podcasters basically say the facilities at IU aren't as bad as many say, but I'd imagine those schools are the top of the ladder and show better than IUs at the moment.
@kkott just my opinion. If it was me, I would have rather have my parents travel a short distance to see me play live than have to get on a plane if all other variables are equal.
@lncolnpk - I can't imagine playing time having any impact for him. Much like Jeremiah Smith, WR's can jump in and be stars right out of the gate. He is going to start no matter where he goes. It's why it's worth overpaying a high-end WR recruit, because you will get an immediate difference maker in year 1 and assuming you keep him, you have 3 years of that before he goes pro.
@yothn Don't think Jeremiah Smith is a good comparison for anyone else as very few prospects come in and have his level of impact as a freshman. But, I do agree that I think Cig and Co have determined that MS is like getting an experienced WR and intend to pay and give him every opp to play, as such. The field at IU is wide open for him to come in and be our #1. I believe TX has another WR commit already that's in MS's range as far as ratings go, and that they probably have a more stacked WR room than we do, so I would think PT favors IU as well at the moment. Of course, that's assuming Becker goes pro after this year, but even if he were to return, that still leaves another starting wideout spot open.
@kkott he is very close to generational type. His speed, length, versatility are off the charts. Hes also polished as far as doing the small stuff. He’s already a willing blocker. He’s a two way player so he understands the other side of the ball. He can take the top off on first downs too.
@kkott - I am referring to high-end receivers. For example, even though OSU has Jeremiah Smith, Chris Henry Jr. (#10 recruit) is a lock to start and be a heavy contributor at OSU this year. Dakorien Moore at Oregon was a freshman last year and entered in as one of the top WR in the B1G. I get that Smith was certainly more hyped, and he's been every bit of it but the point I was making was that Sales is starting no matter where he goes so PT is likely the last thing on his mind. Not because he doesn't want it, but because no team will sit him so it shouldn't be a differentiating factor here.
Simple. Playing time, money and distance from home (meaning does he want to play close to home or does he want to get away from home)
The other factor is who is under center and the type of offense being run. Hoover is a known entity playing in a new offense, while Manning is a multi-year starter who’s been at UT for the entirety of his career. Clearly, we hope the Hoover transition from TCU mirrors Mendoza’s from Cal to IU, but I‘m not sure his example will ever be anything more than an outlier. Manning, on the other hand, as struggled with consistency at UT, and one could easily conclude that someone who hasn’t been able to “get it” after 3 seasons isn’t suddenly going to blossom in Year 4.
In the end, Sales likely can’t go wrong at either IU or UT (if those are truly the two finalists), though I obviously hope he picks us.
Will Manning leave after this year?
@jackskip23 If QB play is on his factors list... then he'll have to "guess" what it'll be like. Neither Hoover or Manning will likely be in college when Sales is playing. So Sales would have to judge the program and coaches track records, more than anything on the likely QB style and overall play. I would have to think IU/Cig/Shanahan/Sunseri would get the edge in a Texas/Sark etc... comparison.
I have a friend who is a family friend. Of course she won’t share anything about recruitment. But in early days when I think most people assumed he would go to Bama, she did say a that he was very close to his mom and family here also and thought that might be a factor.