re: Year 1 Records of some of the TOP SEC Coaches

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Which of these coaches had a "decimated roster?"

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I don't know, but my point is that a decimated roster used to be a bigger deal because the only real way to address it was through a few years of recruiting. Now you can get a head start through the portal with one offseason. The point is that today is different because of the speed of recovery that the portal allows for.

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The transfer portal definitely helps but you're also forced to build a team out of a bunch of spare parts and pieces, the portal hurts new coaches more than it helps IMO.

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Perhaps, but that's where I give Kelly kudos. He used the portal to get the missing pieces that he needed.

Think about it in years past: if your roster was severely hurting in multiple positions, you had to hit the recruiting trail and hope you picked up a few good players at those positions. It was a huge gamble, obviously, because you didn't know if those kids would pan out in college football, and it was also difficult for a new coach in many instances because he was starting fresh building trust and the recruits needed to put a lot more trust in him.

With the portal, you have your pick of players who are likely ready to hit the field on day 1 and they may have even seen the field in college, so you know what you're getting to a certain degree. It's less risky than recruiting your way out of a hole, and it's certainly a lot faster.

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The biggest benefit is the ability to grab a difference maker at quarterback like Lincoln Riley did.

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Wasn't LSU's starting QB for the season (who helped lead the team to the SECCG) taken from the portal this past offseason?

That sort of proves my point. When you have a lot of holes in your roster, you can now fill them with options from the portal. LSU was able to do that.

I also recognize that they had a few good players come in from the last recruiting class. That was great, and very helpful to the success of the team this year. However, I doubt the team would have been able to win the SECW without the help of the portal.