I still believe Dabo is the best option for Clemson to achieve persistent top 10 CFB status. I also believe he has failed to evolve his principles in how he competes to the new landscape of CFB to the extent needed to maintain the previous decade of performance. Others on this board know the game and areas of relative weakness (coaching, play calling, etc.) better than I do, but it is clear that our gap in talent is a large component in our drop off.
His admirable loyalty to developing the talent he commits to has left him at a relative disadvantage as transfer dynamics evolved. The portal dynamics made a miss in talent evaluation for Clemson a larger issue compared to the teams we compete against. The way he recruited made kids relatively sticky to the program reducing opportunities for recruiting the portal (top talent did not leave) without pushing kids he'd committed to to the side. This is admirable and something that is best for the student athlete, even in the evolving landscape. I don't expect, or necessarily want, Clemson to be more aggressive in pushing kids out if there is miss in evaluating how they translate from HS to college. I also want us to be in perennial top 10 program.
It seems to me that an increased scholarship allowance provides an opportunity to more aggressively bring in portal talent while staying committed to HS prospects and level the playing field for a Clemson roster. 85 ships are managed in a similar way as he manages them today; 15 are targeted a portal talent; and 5 left for walk-ons. The evolution of how the NIL impacts each program and how those dollars are managed will be key to harnessing top talent. Key questions remain: Will Clemson be able to raise funds that are at least top 15 in CFB? Will Dabo deploy them to attract talent and not just to retain it?
Dabo must evolve to get back to the performance that earned him top 5 compensation in CFB or we've just started to see what ugly looks like.
His admirable loyalty to developing the talent he commits to has left him at a relative disadvantage as transfer dynamics evolved. The portal dynamics made a miss in talent evaluation for Clemson a larger issue compared to the teams we compete against. The way he recruited made kids relatively sticky to the program reducing opportunities for recruiting the portal (top talent did not leave) without pushing kids he'd committed to to the side. This is admirable and something that is best for the student athlete, even in the evolving landscape. I don't expect, or necessarily want, Clemson to be more aggressive in pushing kids out if there is miss in evaluating how they translate from HS to college. I also want us to be in perennial top 10 program.
It seems to me that an increased scholarship allowance provides an opportunity to more aggressively bring in portal talent while staying committed to HS prospects and level the playing field for a Clemson roster. 85 ships are managed in a similar way as he manages them today; 15 are targeted a portal talent; and 5 left for walk-ons. The evolution of how the NIL impacts each program and how those dollars are managed will be key to harnessing top talent. Key questions remain: Will Clemson be able to raise funds that are at least top 15 in CFB? Will Dabo deploy them to attract talent and not just to retain it?
Dabo must evolve to get back to the performance that earned him top 5 compensation in CFB or we've just started to see what ugly looks like.
