[SamuelMcF]

Austin Jones has never lived up to being the #6 RB in his class. Of course, numerous top Stanford recruits have failed to do so too.

I'm ambivalent about all things Stanford Football now. There is no indication anything is getting better and how can Jones transferring make anything worse? The whole program feels very small and impotent now, like it is being led by General McClellan.

Nit: numerous top recruits EVERYWHERE have failed to do so too. But at the factories, they are swiftly replaced by another top recruit. At other schools, they are swiftly replaced by transfers.

Building on your nit... I heard Michael Irvin talking about the transfer portal to Colin Cowherd this week. He said that for the top players it is basically a place to test the bastardized free agency college sports now have, but in the main it is a tool for coaches to wash guys out of the program who aren't performing as expected, to make room for the next recruit with promise to be better.

As it relates to Stanford, if Shaw isn't forcing out way underperforming assistants, he sure as hell isn't telling underperforming players to transfer so they can be replaced by better recruits.

Agree on all counts, except the very last one a bit. Graduating scholarship seniors who have contributed nothing have been "not invited back" in years past. Not that many people here will know who these players are since they did precisely nothing at Stanford, but semi-recent examples include Taijuan Thomas, Lane Veach, Denzel Franklin, Jack Dreyer, and Jay Tyler. Nowadays these non-contributing players can be simply "encouraged" to enter the portal and try to convince another team to give them a scholarship.

That's my only disagreement. Certainly Shaw isn't telling underperforming NON-SENIORS to leave, as you stated. The degree/graduation rate is one of the only things he can still hang his hat on.

[SamuelMcF]

Austin Jones has never lived up to being the #6 RB in his class. Of course, numerous top Stanford recruits have failed to do so too.

I'm ambivalent about all things Stanford Football now. There is no indication anything is getting better and how can Jones transferring make anything worse? The whole program feels very small and impotent now, like it is being led by General McClellan.

Nit: numerous top recruits EVERYWHERE have failed to do so too. But at the factories, they are swiftly replaced by another top recruit. At other schools, they are swiftly replaced by transfers.

Building on your nit... I heard Michael Irvin talking about the transfer portal to Colin Cowherd this week. He said that for the top players it is basically a place to test the bastardized free agency college sports now have, but in the main it is a tool for coaches to wash guys out of the program who aren't performing as expected, to make room for the next recruit with promise to be better.

As it relates to Stanford, if Shaw isn't forcing out way underperforming assistants, he sure as hell isn't telling underperforming players to transfer so they can be replaced by better recruits.

Agree on all counts, except the very last one a bit. Graduating scholarship seniors who have contributed nothing have been "not invited back" in years past. Not that many people here will know who these players are since they did precisely nothing at Stanford, but semi-recent examples include Taijuan Thomas, Lane Veach, Denzel Franklin, Jack Dreyer, and Jay Tyler. Nowadays these non-contributing players can be simply "encouraged" to enter the portal and try to convince another team to give them a scholarship.

That's my only disagreement. Certainly Shaw isn't telling underperforming NON-SENIORS to leave, as you stated. The degree/graduation rate is one of the only things he can still hang his hat on.