The thing is, the portal had hundreds or thousands of players in it. From all those players, the Ohio staff found a large number of players who could help the team, some from FCS, some from Division II, but also some from P5. The coaches had to evaluate the players, convince them that Ohio was where they should be, then coach them into Ohio's systems, and most importantly, build a cohesive team, intermixing old and new players, and uniting them to a common goal. It's a lot more complicated than just dropping to NIL bucks on the table and having a team. Ohio's coaches did a great job. Indiana is another team that has done a fantastic job with the portal.
Some others haven't done nearly as well. For example, Kent went from a good team to a last place team. They lost a lot to the portal, but of course, they could have replaced all those players with others to fill needs and replace departures. No doubt they tried, but they clearly failed. They are quite simply not a good team anymore.
Still others have improved via the portal, but at what cost? Colorado went from 1-11 to 4-8 in the first year of the portal, and they are now 7-2 in the second year. But, they put a lot of cash out in order to do so, way more than most teams have available. Yes, they have improved, but have they gotten their money's worth? Maybe, I don't know.
Last Edited: 11/11/2024 4:51:57 PM by L.C.