A lot of freshman & sophomore's, plus a few portals from division one. The Bobcats are going to be young and cherry picked for transfer to larger schools in their later college playing days.

In addition to the mass exodus, there will be a matching inflow from the portal. To keep at 85 on scholarship, things have to match. It seems that as many as half the players on the team will turn over every year, at least for awhile. As a result, trying to project the lineup one year out will become impossible. Everyone, fans, players, and staff, are going to have to get used to an environment where players can leave at a drop of a hat, always looking to maximize their person utility, which could include personal goals like more money, more playing time, better coaching, better facilities, and a great college town.

And no mention of academics, sadly, the original mission of colleges and universities.

I don't claim to understand how many years any player has, with some seeming to play for 7 or 8, but here is my best guess. He was originally a UCF recruit in 2020, and seems to have redshirted in 2020. That would mean he could play in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Add a Covid year, and add a hardship year for his injury last year, and I would guess he will still be playing in 2026, if he chooses to do so. Thus, my uninformed guess is that he has 3 years remaining.


It is a factor at Ohio. One reason Ohio has had some success in the portal is their sports management program. Nevertheless, it seems clear that "college football" is now a profession, and the education is of secondary importance. The logical endpoint is for colleges to spin off their teams.

Theres quite a few top 100 academic schools that still play big boy football, not sure it has to be mutually exclusive.

He most certainly has 2. He was certainly a redshirt his first year, so he only exhausted 1 year at UCF and came to us as a Redshirt Sophomore. In a normal world, he would be coming back for his redshirt Senior year, but we know he has his Covid year available which makes 2. Assuming the 3rd based on injury seems like a stretch to me, but the NCAA is a mystery on these things and pretty soft these days so it is entirely possible.

I am fine with Parker being the guy and becoming a run first offense, I think he has enough of an arm to be dangerous. It will be interesting to see if the coaches are tempted by a portal QB instead.

Can't understate the importance of a good bowl showing with a young team thrown into a mess with all the portal departures. Has to be seen as an attractive option for guys looking for a new home. The bowl performance can help paint the story - A good young core and a coaching staff that can re-load.

Yes, he can't apply until after he has used all his other eligibility, so it won't be known for sure whether it will be granted for awhile, but in 2022 he was only able to play in two games before a season ending injury against Iowa State. It seems to me that the NCAA would approve an extra year, if he applies. Of course, with the portal, he might be gone by then for other reasons.


One huge advantage of the early bowl game is that it is already out of the way. Albin and staff are no doubt studying who will be left on the team, figuring out what holes will need to be filled, and poring over lists and videos of players who are available, finding ways to fill those holes. With all that, and arranging for early signing this week for those already committed to Ohio, they staff has a busy, busy week, and having no game to prepare for at the same time is a good thing.