NIU Head Football Coach Thomas Hammock shares his thoughts about the Portal

A kid who is willing to develop and spend the time putting in the work is more valuable than a talented player who sits around spending all the money he got to be there instead while they do the bare minimum to get by and keep collecting a check.

Indiana proved that, I hope college football learns from this season.

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Indiana is full of transfers. Seems like half the team came from JMU. I don’t think that supports your point.

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Yes, they transferred in a bunch of upperclassman who cared more about getting better than getting large amounts of NIL deals.

An elite player is a talented player who puts in the work. That's what Alabama had before the NIL. When they started getting paid, they quit caring about how they were going to improve and instead only cared about getting paid. That was why Saban retired.

Indiana looks like an old school team because they are an old school team. They put in the work and it showed on the field. Alabama players sat around on their asses cashing checks.

That video of Bryant is all I could think about watching Alabama play Indiana the other day. What he said all the way back in 1958 - almost 70 years ago - is still relevant in collegiate athletics. The Tide had the #2 most talented roster in all of college football per the 247 Sports Talent Composite. They got their asses kicked by a bunch of players who, while not as talented, had infinite more heart and buy-in.

Thats exactly why i wrote it. Tide fans talking about ND not going to a bowl...well lets talk about your messiah Saban running for the hills.

That’s a cool video but doesn’t apply to IU. They are more talented than anyone in the SEC.

Cignetti is a great coach. He is also famously a great evaluator of talent.

Tell me with a straight face you wouldn’t have traded for their WR1, RB2, entire OL, and QB. I think so many people are crying in their cereal over NIL / SEC that something is being lost in all this.

Too many coaches are relying on media + pissing contest for “top class” & making lazy evals. The staffs that are winning are the ones not doing this.

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Alabama, on paper, was WAY more talented than Indiana was. What Saban hated was the fact that after they lost to Michigan in the Rose Bowl individual players, instead of coming him to talk about team goals for the 2024 season, instead came to him asking how much he was going to give them to keep them on the roster.

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And thats when he knew he wouldn't be able to afford to keep his teams together. I give Saban credit for seeing the writing on the wall. He knew his and the SEC's dominance was over and he left town.

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That’s a cool video but doesn’t apply to IU. They are more talented than anyone in the SEC.

Cignetti is a great coach. He is also famously a great evaluator of talent.

Tell me with a straight face you wouldn’t have traded for their WR1, RB2, entire OL, and QB. I think so many people are crying in their cereal over NIL / SEC that something is being lost in all this.

Too many coaches are relying on media + pissing contest for “top class” & making lazy evals. The staffs that are winning are the ones not doing this.

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Games are won and lost in the weeks, months and sometimes years prior to the game. Everyone wants to win on game day, but it's the ones who have put in the work and time that come out with the victories most often.

That talent you see came from them putting in the work. This happened with Alabama players under Saban as well. I don't mean the 5 stars, I mean the lower rated guys. They were so well coached up that even while they had less physical talent, they were so smart they had an extra step on other players. That was due to play recognition and other factors. Things where they had to put in the work to get there.

The difference between an elite player and a talented player is consistency. A talented player will make some plays, an elite player is the same thing but doesn't make the mistakes because they have put in the work. You don't do it until you get it right, you do it until you can't get it wrong.

That was the reason Saban retired. He took talented players and turned them into elite players, but while he was still getting in talented players, they started to only care about getting paid rather than being developed. And it showed on the field even before Saban left, and it's the same problems Georgia is having right now as well.

Recruiting will change after what Indiana has done. Or at least I hope so.

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They’re well coached, yes,

That doesn’t mean you can teach things like speed.

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Speed isn't just about how fast you move. It's also about processing what is going on and so forth. A guy can be faster in movement, but his first step can be slower due to processing the play. A guy who studies film and puts the work in recognizes things sooner and takes the first step quicker. More importantly, they take the right step.

I didn't see Indiana players with a ton of speed, I saw a team that didn't make mistakes and did the basics perfectly. That's development.

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Indiana is full of transfers. Seems like half the team came from JMU. I don’t think that supports your point.

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Indiana has the most living alumni as any school in the country. I suspect someone came in that understood NIL and reached out to those alumni who before, must not have cared about anything but basketball. It will be all about money for here on out.