When I saw JK post this season is, " a zero year" that got my attention. I had no expectations of KU winning a game this season but as I think about the situation Leipold is in I will take a swing at what JK is referencing.
A real danger with the portal is that programs like KU, who are trying to climb up from the depths, will become the AA and AAA farm teams for the 25 to 30 programs that are established winners. And this is on the kids as much as it is on any other factor. Prunty went to South Carolina? Well, they just has a corner drafted fairly high in the first round of the draft. The sell was pretty easy, come to our SEC school and play against the best WR's in the country, prove you can play and you will get drafted. Play well enough and you will earn/drafted to get guaranteed money. A two or three star who shows they are a higher caliber talent in their first one or two seasons will be easy pickings for a winning SEC or BIG 10 program to come in and snatch them away under the new rules. KU isn't going to swoop in and grab that type of player from other programs. These kids all believe they are the man and they want exposure. Now add in the ability to make money on your likeness and losing programs are screwed. Coaches on the recruiting trail are going to hear a 17/18 year old kid ask them to, "Show me the Money, Jerry!" Perhaps a really well educated kid will throw out the "Kwan" and see if the coach is hip. If you saw Graham Mertz's interview on ESPN or CNN following his trademarking his initials and referring to how much money is out there for kids to make, you understand this is just the beginning of the nightmare for coaches. You don't just recruit a kid once anymore, you keep recruiting them every day if they show they can play.
The challenge for Leipold and it is a massive challenge under the new rules, is to recruit enough talented players to actually win games. Seems obvious but he also has to recruit enough talented players to create depth on the roster to withstand the inevitable departure of players in the first several seasons of his program. KU does not have "plug and play" reserves. How many programs actually have that today? 15 to 20? The DL's that left aren't going to light the SEC on fire, but they become legit depth for Auburn and Tennessee. This is the issue moving forward for KU and many, many other programs due to the portal. Your good players will leave to create depth at a power school. The power school can sell the kid on making money on his name due to the exposure and have a shot at getting drafted. It might all be bullshit but it is going to happen.
Leipold has been asked to pull off a monumental task. Recruit quality in numbers, at every position, and do so at a program that hasn't won or recruited in this manner for 14 years. Add that he was hired so late this cycle he can't be expected to pull in a good class for next year. Under the new rules, Leipold has a very, very steep mountain to climb. Can he do it? I hope so and if he does, the Stadium should have his name it.
A real danger with the portal is that programs like KU, who are trying to climb up from the depths, will become the AA and AAA farm teams for the 25 to 30 programs that are established winners. And this is on the kids as much as it is on any other factor. Prunty went to South Carolina? Well, they just has a corner drafted fairly high in the first round of the draft. The sell was pretty easy, come to our SEC school and play against the best WR's in the country, prove you can play and you will get drafted. Play well enough and you will earn/drafted to get guaranteed money. A two or three star who shows they are a higher caliber talent in their first one or two seasons will be easy pickings for a winning SEC or BIG 10 program to come in and snatch them away under the new rules. KU isn't going to swoop in and grab that type of player from other programs. These kids all believe they are the man and they want exposure. Now add in the ability to make money on your likeness and losing programs are screwed. Coaches on the recruiting trail are going to hear a 17/18 year old kid ask them to, "Show me the Money, Jerry!" Perhaps a really well educated kid will throw out the "Kwan" and see if the coach is hip. If you saw Graham Mertz's interview on ESPN or CNN following his trademarking his initials and referring to how much money is out there for kids to make, you understand this is just the beginning of the nightmare for coaches. You don't just recruit a kid once anymore, you keep recruiting them every day if they show they can play.
The challenge for Leipold and it is a massive challenge under the new rules, is to recruit enough talented players to actually win games. Seems obvious but he also has to recruit enough talented players to create depth on the roster to withstand the inevitable departure of players in the first several seasons of his program. KU does not have "plug and play" reserves. How many programs actually have that today? 15 to 20? The DL's that left aren't going to light the SEC on fire, but they become legit depth for Auburn and Tennessee. This is the issue moving forward for KU and many, many other programs due to the portal. Your good players will leave to create depth at a power school. The power school can sell the kid on making money on his name due to the exposure and have a shot at getting drafted. It might all be bullshit but it is going to happen.
Leipold has been asked to pull off a monumental task. Recruit quality in numbers, at every position, and do so at a program that hasn't won or recruited in this manner for 14 years. Add that he was hired so late this cycle he can't be expected to pull in a good class for next year. Under the new rules, Leipold has a very, very steep mountain to climb. Can he do it? I hope so and if he does, the Stadium should have his name it.
