Strack: PJ Fleck, Gophers Managing Portal Era Talent Better than Most Big Ten Teams

[BleedGopher]

Per Strack:

Minnesota Gophers impressive in transfer portal this offseason​

And so far this offseason, there aren’t a lot of Big Ten teams that have done a better job of managing the portal than Minnesota Gophers head coach PJ Fleck, and his assistant coaches, who work tirelessly to do all of the above.

Since the end of the 2023 season, only Iowa (7), Penn State (8) and Illinois (9) have lost fewer players to the portal than Minnesota (10), according to The Athletic. No team with 12 portal exits or less has gained back more than 7, except for the Gophers (9).

School	Portal Exits	Portal Gains
Iowa	7	0
Penn State	8	6
Illinois	9	7
Minnesota	10	9
Nebraska	10	6
Northwestern	10	1
Rutgers	12	4
Oregon	13	11
Maryland	14	5
Michigan	15	3
Wisconsin	16	12
UCLA	18	7
Ohio State	22	7
USC	22	11
Washington	26	14
Purdue	26	16
Indiana	30	21
Michigan State	31	11

PJ Fleck, Gophers Managing Portal Era Talent Better than Most Big Ten Teams

PJ Fleck and the Minnesota Gophers were once very afraid of the transfer portal and NIL era, in general. Clearly, that is no longer the case.

www.minnesotasportsfan.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[Out State Gopher]

Another Blessing PJ has given the U, the state of Minnesota & Gopher football fans. In PJ We Trust. Making Gopher Football Great Again.

 

[fmlizard]

This confirms something many of us have sensed, that the Gophers tend to have less attrition to the portal than peer programs.

It's striking to see that all Big 18 schools had net losses to the Portal, but the Gophers (-1) have the fewest so far. "Transfers down" must be quite a bit more common than "transfers up"

 

[Word]

This confirms something many of us have sensed, that the Gophers tend to have less attrition to the portal than peer programs.

It's striking to see that all Big 18 schools had net losses to the Portal, but the Gophers (-1) have the fewest so far. "Transfers down" must be quite a bit more common than "transfers up"

Purdue has a ton of exits considering the coach is in his 2nd year. Some of the others you understand with a new coach

 

[Harrymannback77]

Definitely doesn't fit the narrative some like to spin on here that we're losing critical pieces. Other than Bucky, who do we miss? We had a pretty good safety that left last year, can't recall the name?

 

[Hates Monikers]

Four new portal exits for us so far this morning, so those numbers are officially old.

 

[bamor5229]

Definitely doesn't fit the narrative some like to spin on here that we're losing critical pieces. Other than Bucky, who do we miss? We had a pretty good safety that left last year, can't recall the name?

Austin Booker had a great year for Kansas on their DL and Flip Dixon had a good year for Rutgers at Safety, but other than those two and the one you mentioned, not really much production elsewhere.

 

[Harrymannback77]

Austin Booker had a great year for Kansas on their DL and Flip Dixon had a good year for Rutgers at Safety, but other than those two and the one you mentioned, not really much production elsewhere.

Yes, Dixon. Couldn't recall it. I liked that kid. Felt he could have done some good things here. And I had forgotten Booker. He is looking like a sure fire second round pick!

 

[short ornery norwegian]

in football, the big stars can command hefty NIL payments, but if you're not a star, I suspect the NIL money is not a big factor. when 2nd and 3rd-string players hit the portal, they're looking for more playing time. If they can get more money too, that's great. but I suspect the playing time is more of a concern.

sure, we see the stories where star players are asking for lots of money. but those are the exceptions, not the rule. (however - I did see a tweet from a writer, claiming that an anonymous coach told the writer that a player in the portal wanted $1.5-million.)

 

[SeaBee_Gopher]

I agree PJ has done a good job with the portal, but these numbers can be misleading. Ohio State has 22 exits and only 7 additions, but take a look at those additions! They plucked probably the best college safety in the nation from Alabama, the top rated quarterback recruit from 2023 and a few other high four stars just for fun.

https://247sports.com/college/ohio-state/season/2024-football/transferportal/?institutionkey=24046

Those 22 exists couldn't make the cut and left looking for playing time at mostly other P-5 schools. I'm glad these talented players could leave and play rather than rot on the bench. A lot of them are former four stars that are now three stars because they couldn't get on the field. At least nowadays the average P-5 school is probably better than Ohio State's scout team!!!