@iunorth IU loses Grant Wilson too. So two scholarship QBs. You may get one back in Cherry and you have Herrera coming in, but IU needs another vet
sammy and i have gone back and forth on this quite a bit in texts...i'm going to preface this by saying if the staff thinks alberto is ready, then i trust the staff.
that out of the way, i don't think we can extrapolate a ton from garbage time minutes this year. i think he's a twitchier athlete than fernando but i also think the arm talent is lacking. now could they build that up more? sure, but, from what i've seen, i think he's closer to peyton ramsey than fernando.
i'm not saying they need to break the bank but it would be frustrating to me to just add a grant wilson type and not a guy who's actually going to really push alberto.
Assuming our NIL isn't limitless, which would be preferable?
1) Bring in a backup level QB behind Alberto + top 10 level offensive lineman
2) Bring in a top 10 QB + average offensive lineman
Obviously QB is the most important position on the team. I think we will find out soon enough how much faith the staff has in Alberto by how the NIL dollars are used in the portal.
Furthermore, if we go with option 2, then how likely is it that Alberto would stay? If incoming QB isn't a senior, I would think that would mean there is a good chance he is gone.
@hurryinghoosiers Ive never understood the worry about a guy transferring out. If someone is transferring out because they are afraid they wont win the starting job, they are probably not as good as the player coming in. I hope Alberto earns the starting job, but there is no reason to hand the starting job for the most important position just because his brother was elite for us.
Should be an interesting portal class with how many jobs opened up. Will be a lot of starting caliber players in the portal this year
@hurryinghoosiers Ive never understood the worry about a guy transferring out. If someone is transferring out because they are afraid they wont win the starting job, they are probably not as good as the player coming in. I hope Alberto earns the starting job, but there is no reason to hand the starting job for the most important position just because his brother was elite for us.
Should be an interesting portal class with how many jobs opened up. Will be a lot of starting caliber players in the portal this year
I never meant to imply that we should hand the job to Alberto because of his brother.
Just a thought process based on there likely being a finite amount of NIL funds to use and how best to allocate those funds.
Would we have to spend a lot of money to actually get someone better than Alberto? And how much better would that person actually be? Would those funds be better utilized at other positions where we could see bigger improvement in talent?
IF Alberto is ready, AND you think there's another guy in the room that would be ready should Alberto get hurt, then I think you focus on HS guys for QB this offseason.
If either of those things you're not comfortable with, you look for a starter level, experienced, proven winner at QB in the portal.
Follow your previous, proven model, of finding proven production from the rest of the position groups, over rankings and hype.
But I would definitely focus pretty heavily on OLine and DLine. With Cig's system, if our OLine and DLine remains anything close to elite, it'll virtually guarantee we're competitive at the top of the league again. So I'd spend enough money on those areas, to ensure you have depth and talent on the lines.
We're not going to bring in 2 true freshman qbs in the same class.
@hurryinghoosiers It all depends on who is available, we dont know who enters the portal. QB wise, I dont think I will be too impressed with the QBs who are on the market. I dont see a point in spending a bunch of NIL on a Malik Washington or Avery Johnson type player, we wouldnt be title contenders with them anyways so it would make more sense to load up the rest of the roster and hope Alberto is a baller.
If a guy like Drew Mestemaker, Sagapolutele or Darian Mensah is available, I would go for them. There just arent a lot of high ceiling guys with proven production this cycle
I have complete confidence that Coach Cignetti will pick the replacement for F. Mendoza. Either if it's Alberto or one from the portal remains to be seen. In Cig, I trust.
Assuming our NIL isn't limitless, which would be preferable?
1) Bring in a backup level QB behind Alberto + top 10 level offensive lineman
2) Bring in a top 10 QB + average offensive lineman
Obviously QB is the most important position on the team. I think we will find out soon enough how much faith the staff has in Alberto by how the NIL dollars are used in the portal.
Furthermore, if we go with option 2, then how likely is it that Alberto would stay? If incoming QB isn't a senior, I would think that would mean there is a good chance he is gone.
1 and it's not even close. An elite offensive line (IU needs to probably replace 3 starters and their main backup) can make a good to average QB look great. An average OLine, can make great QBs look, well, average.
@thehoosierhuddle Nebraska and Colorado both spent big money bringing in a bunch of veteran OL in the portal and it didnt work out for either of them. Unless Smith shoots up the draft boards, I dont see why wouldnt be able to retain him with a top end NIL deal, that would keep 3 guys on the OL and then we only need to replace C / RT like we did last year.
Depth wise, we also have Ajani who I thought he played well against Wisconsin, it was Lynch/Benson who looked off. I would be fine with Lawrence as a swing tackle. Only real glaring hole on the OL next season looks to be center to me
@hoosierdaddy Smith is a Day 2 pick. Even the end of round two gets $4-6 million. If that’s on the table, he’s not staying. IU has a good NIL chest, but that’s a tough match.
IU also needs depth. So it’s not just plugging with underclassmen, you need guys who can play.
Austin Leibfried, 6-6, 308, R-F, will probably be the center next year. He's the best of the freshman OL & is FB savvy.
Just joined this forum. Cal alum and lifelong Cal fan that moved to Indiana a few years ago. I really enjoyed watching Mendoza develop at Cal, was sad to have seen him leave, but knew IU was getting a guy with NFL potential but needed the right coaching to get him to the next level.
Been fun watching him develop into a 1st round (if not #1) draft pick.
As for Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele (affectionately known as JKS by Cal fans), he will very likely stay at Cal at least one more season to see who his next HC/OC is and see if Cal can recruit some decent players around him as he plays in Berkeley for 2026.
If Cal is unsuccessful in building around him, JKS will be one of the hottest, if not THE hottest NIL/Portal target following the 2026 season.
As an aside, being a Cal QB isn't the worst place to hone NFL skills. Current NFL starters Aaron Rodgers and Jared Goff both did okay after their stints at Cal - just that there usually is a decade (or oftentimes longer) gap between.
@dht I think the reason Cal has struggled is due to the conference they're in. The ACC and Big 12 will find it harder to retain talent.
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