Wisconsin WR Aron Cruickshank has entered the transfer portal

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Sometimes I wonder about all this early leaving. However in comparison to other sports (basketball, hockey, and baseball for example) football has more rules it appears.
 


Among his other duties/contributions, didn't he run the wildcat for the Badgers?
If I recall him, he was the opposite side of the coin from our Seth Green; Seth is big, strong and tough; Cruickshank was really speedy and elusive. This in addition to being a good return guy (judging by the 2 TDs on returns).

Imagine our new offensive coordinator designing wildcat plays utilizing both Seth and Cruickshank. Plus we need a dynamic returner.
 

Cruikshank had offers from Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State coming out of HS. He was a HS QB.
 



RememberMurray said:
Among his other duties/contributions, didn't he run the wildcat for the Badgers?
If I recall him, he was the opposite side of the coin from our Seth Green; Seth is big, strong and tough; Cruickshank was really speedy and elusive. This in addition to being a good return guy (judging by the 2 TDs on returns).

Imagine our new offensive coordinator designing wildcat plays utilizing both Seth and Cruickshank. Plus we need a dynamic returner.
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Yeah he was a bit of a gadget guy but some fans hoped he could do more this coming year.
 





If one enters the portal are they forever banished from their college of origin?
 


A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
No.

You can enter the portal and then withdraw and remain at your school with no consequences.
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Wouldn’t that also be up to the coach? I would think most coaches would want to fill that scholarship ASAP.
 

WAGopher said:
Wouldn’t that also be up to the coach? I would think most coaches would want to fill that scholarship ASAP.
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I guess in theory you could give the kid the heave ho, but it doesn't seem to happen.
 



Aside from him having the same name as Hermoine Granger's cat, having good speed and being a decent return man, is there any reason for Fleck to pursue him other than sticking it to the Badgers?
 

He will go to a team that runs the spread and play a RB/WR role. He is not a natural WR but he has good hands and is pretty good with the ball in his hands.

I'm glad he's gone, especially since we can't seem to kick the ball through the end zone. That said, we don't have a huge need for him. He can't return punts, which is much harder to do. He's not really a WR and we don't throw the ball to our RBs very much.
 

Otis said:
Aside from him having the same name as Hermoine Granger's cat, having good speed and being a decent return man, is there any reason for Fleck to pursue him other than sticking it to the Badgers?
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Not based on production, but he also only got used for strange gadget plays so who knows.

Taking this guy and Spielman would probabbly be a bit much ;)
 

I can't say I've followed his career (at all), but the 2 returns for TDs caught my eye.

Then again, maybe Fleck and Co. have someone waiting in the wings whom they love as a return guy. If you have someone who is a weapon there, it can be a momentum-changer. Speed kills.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I guess in theory you could give the kid the heave ho, but it doesn't seem to happen.
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How many kids enter the portal and then stay at the school? I'm sure more than zero, but guessing it is rare?

I know Schiano just talked down the QB who was going to leave Rutgers. But that's obviously a special situation.
 


MplsGopher said:
How many kids enter the portal and then stay at the school? I'm sure more than zero, but guessing it is rare?

I know Schiano just talked down the QB who was going to leave Rutgers. But that's obviously a special situation.
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I think it is fairly frequent.

A lot are testing the waters.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I think it is fairly frequent.

A lot are testing the waters.
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Just entering the portal doesn't assure you are done at your current school. That said, I am sure coaches and teammates aren't crazy about supporting a player who was looking to get out of town but didn't get a good enough offer to actually leave.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Just entering the portal doesn't assure you are done at your current school. That said, I am sure coaches and teammates aren't crazy about supporting a player who was looking to get out of town but didn't get a good enough offer to actually leave.
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Right, I would think that too.

On the other hand, if I remember correctly, there is only supposed to be someone like a compliance officer at the school who has access to enter someone in the portal. So it could be a thing where the player goes to that person without the coach or team knowing, puts the name in, that allows other coaches to contact the person or not. I can't remember if coaches are allowed to access it, or they have to get a report from their school's person on who is in it ... and if their own players would then be withheld from the report? Seems unlikely. Or seems like they'd hear from other coaches second hand "hey I saw so and so is in the portal"
 

MNVCGUY said:
Just entering the portal doesn't assure you are done at your current school. That said, I am sure coaches and teammates aren't crazy about supporting a player who was looking to get out of town but didn't get a good enough offer to actually leave.
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I'm sure it is a dance.

I suspect coaches don't like it, but see it just like crooting ... gotta keep the kid happy / interested.

If the kid gets no bites it probabbly makes the coach happy anyway as it convinces the kid that he is in a good place.

Most of the top talent guys tend to already know where they're going.

The other guys tend to be non starters who I'm sure sometimes the coaches don't like losing ... other times they don't mind.
 

It is interesting to consider this announcement came after the Cephus announcement that he is going pro. So here is a guy that just ran a kickoff back for a TD on one of college football's biggest stages (Rose Bowl), with word he will be moving up the ladder of importance in terms of passing targets on Wisconsin's roster, with a QB battle looming between a solid incumbent vs the most heralded QB recruit ever at the school... and Cruickshank wants out so bad he is transferring.

Hmmmmm.
 

He's from inner city Brooklyn. I wonder if the Wisconsin bumpkinville, and maybe overt/passive agressive racism, in Madison has made him homesick.
 

MplsGopher said:
Right, I would think that too.

On the other hand, if I remember correctly, there is only supposed to be someone like a compliance officer at the school who has access to enter someone in the portal. So it could be a thing where the player goes to that person without the coach or team knowing, puts the name in, that allows other coaches to contact the person or not. I can't remember if coaches are allowed to access it, or they have to get a report from their school's person on who is in it ... and if their own players would then be withheld from the report? Seems unlikely. Or seems like they'd hear from other coaches second hand "hey I saw so and so is in the portal"
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Just going out on a limb here, I'd say it's a pretty safe assumption that if a player enters the portal, their coach is going to know that happened.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I think it is fairly frequent.

A lot are testing the waters.
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I have no data, but I think it'd be pretty rare for someone to enter the portal and then be welcome to stay at the school. I could see it in a very unique situation (e.g., Mom is dying and I need to transfer to a school closer to home, and then Mom passes away so the need to transfer has disappeared ), but if I were a coach I definitely would not want my players thinking they should continually "test the waters" every year to see if they can move up to another team. I wonder how many players enter the portal and end up with no offers, and thus no scholarship, at all.
 

Livingat45north said:
I have no data, but I think it'd be pretty rare for someone to enter the portal and then be welcome to stay at the school. I could see it in a very unique situation (e.g., Mom is dying and I need to transfer to a school closer to home, and then Mom passes away so the need to transfer has disappeared ), but if I were a coach I definitely would not want my players thinking they should continually "test the waters" every year to see if they can move up to another team. I wonder how many players enter the portal and end up with no offers, and thus no scholarship, at all.
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Would never happen, player simply stays at school. Coaches never push players out.

Perhaps if the add Respect My Decision! to their departure tweet that will move the needle on being accepted back to the tribe.
 

RememberMurray said:
I can't say I've followed his career (at all), but the 2 returns for TDs caught my eye.

Then again, maybe Fleck and Co. have someone waiting in the wings whom they love as a return guy. If you have someone who is a weapon there, it can be a momentum-changer. Speed kills.
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I really hope it's not Douglas next year. It felt like every punt had a 50/50 chance of being muffed.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Would never happen, player simply stays at school. Coaches never push players out.

Perhaps if the add Respect My Decision! to their departure tweet that will move the needle on being accepted back to the tribe.
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Is this right? I honestly don't know. When a player puts their name in the portal, do they still have a guaranteed scholarship at their "old" school, or at that point are they in limbo until and if they land with another team. I get that a coach could accept them back, but is a coach legally obligated to do that?

And yes, coaches certainly push players out the door. The "I don't see you ever making the field for our team so if you want to play you should go somewhere else" message probably gets told to quite a few players this time of year.
 

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