I’m getting a little annoyed with the people who are saying we shouldn’t rely on portal players and we need to build through HS recruiting and develop those guys. That’s what Mel wants to do too! And he is doing that, but it takes time for these guys to develop into starters. Also you can’t just ignore the portal all together and what it can do for your team if used properly…
In any case, here are some key quotes from Mel over the last few years that hopefully will help people understand what Mel is trying to do.
“You know, it’s not very complicated. We embrace the portal. We’re going to build our team through the high school ranks. It’s very similar to what we did while I was in the NFL,” Tucker said “You want to build through the draft. You complement or supplement your roster through free agency.”
“So the high school ranks for us is the draft. The portal is free agency.”
“Like, are you going to find another Ken Walker? Probably not,” Tucker said at Big Ten media days. “Those guys don’t hop into the portal every year. He was the best running back in college football, arguably. The pressure — and it’s not a bad thing — is for us to be thorough and do our due diligence and make sure we are doing a great job identifying and evaluating and going after the right guys. We don’t need to reach for high school guys. We don’t need to reach in the portal.”
“One year, we may take three guys — or it could be 15,” Tucker said. “I don’t anticipate it being 15 guys anymore, like it was in the first year or so. But you never know.”
“The portal is here, and it’s not going away,” Tucker said. “We’re gonna embrace it. We have to maintain our flexibility. We have to be able to adapt and to adjust because at the end of the day we need to do what we can to have a strong roster. Whatever it takes.”
In any case, here are some key quotes from Mel over the last few years that hopefully will help people understand what Mel is trying to do.
“You know, it’s not very complicated. We embrace the portal. We’re going to build our team through the high school ranks. It’s very similar to what we did while I was in the NFL,” Tucker said “You want to build through the draft. You complement or supplement your roster through free agency.”
“So the high school ranks for us is the draft. The portal is free agency.”
“Like, are you going to find another Ken Walker? Probably not,” Tucker said at Big Ten media days. “Those guys don’t hop into the portal every year. He was the best running back in college football, arguably. The pressure — and it’s not a bad thing — is for us to be thorough and do our due diligence and make sure we are doing a great job identifying and evaluating and going after the right guys. We don’t need to reach for high school guys. We don’t need to reach in the portal.”
“One year, we may take three guys — or it could be 15,” Tucker said. “I don’t anticipate it being 15 guys anymore, like it was in the first year or so. But you never know.”
“The portal is here, and it’s not going away,” Tucker said. “We’re gonna embrace it. We have to maintain our flexibility. We have to be able to adapt and to adjust because at the end of the day we need to do what we can to have a strong roster. Whatever it takes.”
