Austin Booker to enter transfer portal

Man, this is lame.

Unless there was funny business, abusive coaching, something off the field, etc. .... shouldn't guys who sign out of high school have to give it at least 3 years??


Did you really think you were going to be/supposed to be the starter in year 2?? Dude, come on
I agree with you but with the days of the portal being what it is…here we are.
 

Man, this is lame.

Unless there was funny business, abusive coaching, something off the field, etc. .... shouldn't guys who sign out of high school have to give it at least 3 years??


Did you really think you were going to be/supposed to be the starter in year 2?? Dude, come on
It's not about this year. He is looking ahead and knows who is going to be ahead of him.
 


This is why we need to step up in the NIL world! Guys can have a lot of reasons to transfer and I wish him the best. That being said, NIL could have been a factor.
You really think a third string dlineman from here is getting a huge NIL
S

Sounds like the Gophers knew this was likely coming. They made a conscious decision to play Finnessy at rDE when they had an opportunity to give those snaps to Booker. The staff is excited to return 7 of their 8 starters on the DL from this year and add Smith, Schuster, Eastern and Schwarz to the mix.

PS. MJ Anderson can sting you all day, but if a guy continually can't pass his piss tests and that's a standard rule the players understand going into the program, coach isn't going to make an exception. MJ made his own bed - just like Tank Brown and Rashad Cheney.
Logan-Redding better than MJ anyways. Rather give those snaps to an up and comer like Smith
 

And Danny and Jah are underclassmen. Might be a long wait for Austin to see substantial playing time.
Danny, Jah and Jalen Logan-Redding (more of a strong side) are all young and all were higher than Booker on the depth chart.
 


Man, this is lame.

Unless there was funny business, abusive coaching, something off the field, etc. .... shouldn't guys who sign out of high school have to give it at least 3 years??


Did you really think you were going to be/supposed to be the starter in year 2?? Dude, come on
If you're him, why wait another year.

At least three guys higher than him on the depth chart have multiple years left.
 

Yup, this one stings. It's now in my top 3 painful transfers:
  1. Bucky Irving
  2. MJ Anderson
  3. Austin Booker
Wonder if he's going closer to home for Purdue or IU? I guess an NIL offer elsewhere is a possibility based on his HS film, but he's not done much here yet. I was confident that would change next year, but I could be wrong.
Booker more than Ky Thomas?

I'm not happy about losing Booker, but Thomas probably would have been our #2 RB last year and likely starter next year.
 

Booker more than Ky Thomas?

I'm not happy about losing Booker, but Thomas probably would have been our #2 RB last year and likely starter next year.
I’d have Thomas over Anderson too. I think Anderson is a good player, but I don’t think our defense changes much with or without him. I think we clearly could have used Thomas this year.
 

I’d have Thomas over Anderson too. I think Anderson is a good player, but I don’t think our defense changes much with or without him. I think we clearly could have used Thomas this year.
Yeah, it's close for me.

Anderson was really good for ISU last year. Their message boards are pretty devastated he is leaving. But I can't argue with your logic either.
 



Danny, Jah and Jalen Logan-Redding (more of a strong side) are all young and all were higher than Booker on the depth chart.
Logan-Redding was getting 3tech snaps in the Wisc game. Maybe earlier games too don’t remember.

That may not mean anything for the future, just saying.
 

Booker more than Ky Thomas?

I'm not happy about losing Booker, but Thomas probably would have been our #2 RB last year and likely starter next year.
Agree.
Bucky by far biggest loss
Ky is probably 2nd or 3rd
 










He still has the 10th class in B12 and only 12 HS kids with 6 transfers. OL from WI, 2 DL from MN, a K from Nebraska and Texas State and a Colorado State DL. Looks like a lot of spots to fill or he likes his roster.
 

Just another reason I'm not going to get that worked up about National Signing Day anymore.

Good luck to Booker. Not going to hold anything against him. He wants to see the field and for whatever reason, he doesn't see that happening here.
 

Just another reason I'm not going to get that worked up about National Signing Day anymore.

Good luck to Booker. Not going to hold anything against him. He wants to see the field and for whatever reason, he doesn't see that happening here.
I hear what you're saying, but for me, it doesn't change NSD much.

The overwhelming vast majority of guys who are leaving are buried on the depth chart. Even before the portal, a lot of guys were announced on signing day and then never really cracked the starting lineup. I guess it doesn't change anything to me if the player ends his career at Kansas or not playing on our bench. Plus, we now have the portal guys who you can mentally plug in to the 2 deeps immediately.

I do get what you're saying, but that's only really true for me for guys like Bucky and Dixon. For the rest, it doesn't change much for me.
 

Exactly why I am not getting worked up or even really following recruiting anymore.
Agreed. NSD used to be a really big deal, as these were going to be "the guys" in the next 3, 4, 5 years.

No longer remotely the case.


I'm going to pay attention to the spring ball battles and who is coming in (both in the winter window, and the late spring/summer window) looking to make an impact for next fall.
 

Leipold is a Midwest guy and seems to want the same type of kids that Fleck, Campbell, and others want.
Good observation.

Everyone, of course, likes to get flashy, high-athletic/skilled players from the south. But I like it when midwestern guys recognize the value of midwestern players, too.
 

He still has the 10th class in B12 and only 12 HS kids with 6 transfers. OL from WI, 2 DL from MN, a K from Nebraska and Texas State and a Colorado State DL. Looks like a lot of spots to fill or he likes his roster.
Maybe trying to copy the K-State model, with NDSU's former coach?

I haven't actually analyzed it, but wild guessing.
 

I hear what you're saying, but for me, it doesn't change NSD much.

The overwhelming vast majority of guys who are leaving are buried on the depth chart. Even before the portal, a lot of guys were announced on signing day and then never really cracked the starting lineup. I guess it doesn't change anything to me if the player ends his career at Kansas or not playing on our bench. Plus, we now have the portal guys who you can mentally plug in to the 2 deeps immediately.

I do get what you're saying, but that's only really true for me for guys like Bucky and Dixon. For the rest, it doesn't change much for me.
I will still follow the process as I think the quality of recruit is a good indication of the Gophers' brand, but (and I guess I always knew this) some of these guys aren't going to develop further or fit into the teams' framework, and the portal gives them the opportunity to better define their playing futures. I think the portal just makes the transient nature of the enterprise more transparent. That's not necessarily a bad thing for guys like Booker who appear to be buried to some extent.
 

I will still follow the process as I think the quality of recruit is a good indication of the Gophers' brand, but (and I guess I always knew this) some of these guys aren't going to develop further or fit into the teams' framework, and the portal gives them the opportunity to better define their playing futures. I think the portal just makes the transient nature of the enterprise more transparent. That's not necessarily a bad thing for guys like Booker who appear to be buried to some extent.
You're right though. That was always kind of fun too - the player who you think is just going to be depth and/or special teams who emerges later in his career. That is a fun part of college football and following recruiting that we will likely lose a lot of going forward.
 

I think the portal just makes the transient nature of the enterprise more transparent.
Very true.

It's just that, you'd like to think there is some correlation between a team year-to-year, not completely independent.

Of course I'm not saying 2023 will be that relative to 2022. It just seems to be creeping more that way, in general for college football year-to-year.
 



I’d have Thomas over Anderson too. I think Anderson is a good player, but I don’t think our defense changes much with or without him. I think we clearly could have used Thomas this year.
He would have helped our very average to poor pass rush a lot this year. He was a significant loss on the field.
 




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