I would have had Grunk and Cousins over Toure and Martin but either group is solidIf you could lock in only five players from the 2025 squad who are eligible for 2026, who would you choose? For me, it would be Rappleyea, Dixon, Toure, Donkoh, and Martin.
Crazy $$$$IMO, this is partly why we grabbed so many from ISU. Most came cheaply. We supposedly have $30m to build out a roster. That includes retention, recruiting, and portal acquisitions. You can't spend indiscriminately. You have to calculate worth and project costs in each position room. $30m is better than most but not all. But even $30m runs out if you want to buy all top rated players. Maybe Texas tech or Ohio st will go $40m+ this year? We don't have everyone else's strategy to assess when making offers.
I also think Cousins was a major win. Also, people are sleeping on keeping Malachi Goodman. That guy dominated in one of the All American games against the best in the nation and is probably not far from seeing the field as a RS Fr.I would have had Grunk and Cousins over Toure and Martin but either group is solid
Per 247, High school recruits + portal transfersAn interesting exercise. Including the 2026 HS recruiting classes, which team at this point has the better roster leading into 2026, VT or PSU?
PSU has a coach that develops players, VT has aPer 247, High school recruits + portal transfers
VT is ranked 24th
0 five star
7 four star
17 three star
PSU is ranked 42nd
0 five star
7 four star
24 three star
I suspect PSU has the better team going into 2026 because returning players like Rapp, Cousins, Dixson, etc are better than what VT has.
Comparisons to the rest of the BiG are ugly.
USC has 1 five star and 23 four stars
Oregon has 3 five stars and 12 four stars
OSU has 2 five stars and 12 four stars
Michigan has 2 five stars and 9 four stars
agree, just thought Grunk was a better final prospect but think that the two for one QB situation is what CMC thought was the best route to go with by getting his starter and the backupI also think Cousins was a major win. Also, people are sleeping on keeping Malachi Goodman. That guy dominated in one of the All American games against the best in the nation and is probably not far from seeing the field as a RS Fr.
I think Grunk was a conscious decision that Becht and Manske are much better as a 1-2 in the QB room than Grunk and oft-injured whoever was left.
More work needed on the RB & DE rooms. I originally left out TEs, but that room is now 8.5/10. Tweak the blocking issue and it's solid.UPDATE: Position Groups (Rooms) that have improved/dropped off so far from portal acquisitions IMHO (quality of room scale 1-10; does not consider graduating or NFL-bound "drop-outs")...
WR:4.5 -> 7
LB:5.5 -> 7
QB:6.5 -> 8
RB:7 -> 5.5
OL:7 -> 7.5
DT:4.5 -> 7
DE:7.0 -> 6.5
CB:7 -> 7
S:7 -> 7.5
Just get all rooms up to an 8 and 2026 should be good to go.
Or they see that Coach Campbell is out working the portal to find guys at their positions and now they have to work a little harder to get reps.Dejuan Lane and Randy Andrika entered the portal today. I can't help but wonder if they felt disrespected like Amare Campbell.
USC has had similar classes before, maybe not quite this good but I haven’t done much with them for quite some timePer 247, High school recruits + portal transfers
VT is ranked 24th
0 five star
7 four star
17 three star
PSU is ranked 42nd
0 five star
7 four star
24 three star
I suspect PSU has the better team going into 2026 because returning players like Rapp, Cousins, Dixson, etc are better than what VT has.
Comparisons to the rest of the BiG are ugly.
USC has 1 five star and 23 four stars
Oregon has 3 five stars and 12 four stars
OSU has 2 five stars and 12 four stars
Michigan has 2 five stars and 9 four stars
It may be that we are bringing in lots of new competition at their positions. And it is possible some in the portal return, though I doubt many will.Dejuan Lane and Randy Andrika entered the portal today. I can't help but wonder if they felt disrespected like Amare Campbell.
It could be that or it could be that Campbell wants his own guys. Or it could be $$$. Who knows?It may be that we are bringing in lots of new competition at their positions. And it is possible some in the portal return, though I doubt many will.