Fears Confirmed..

[adamdeveaney]

I disagree heavily with the idea of having to go after P4 kids or talented G5 guys. We're upset that P4 poaches our talent but nobody in P4 complain about recruiting G5 guys up. Talent is talent, and it rarely neatly aligns with the number of stars next to your name. There is NFL talent playing in the FCS, (Blue Hens fans should be well aware of this) and as a G5 school we now get to be the bad guy offering that talent an opportunity to play FBS ball for more than "free".

My team of four stars will regularly beat your team of zero stars. Yes, there are always exceptions, but I'll bet an SEC 2nd stringer. on average, will be more valuable than than good FCS players looking to move up. Just look at all the stars next to SEC and Big 10 recruits.

Perhaps, but only if we can attract them. We offered a 3rd string Penn State tight end that it'd be awesome to have, but he will likely take his offers from OSU or Tulane.

[VIKING '87]

A couple things to say here
1) 2nd string SEC guys in the portal aren’t looking at Delaware as a top choice. They likely are looking for playing time at other P4 schools or the top end G5 schools like Boise state, Tulane, etc. (not that it’s impossible to land a big time recruit like this but it’s just rare)
2) The FBS guys in the portal that could be looking at Delaware are likely P4 guys buried on the depth chart or 2nd string G5 guys.
3) The FCS guys in the portal are looking at teams like Delaware as their top options. It’s a realistic option to get playing time at a higher level.

So when it comes to recruiting in the portal, the staff likely understand that unless a P4 player already has interest, it’s unlikely to win them over especially against teams that are much better than us. So why waste valuable and limited time going after unrealistic options when you can try and get the best of the talent available to you (buried P4, backup G5, and FCS/DII). Just my take.

Also you have to understand that they have to be a able to fill out a roster and it’s impossible not to recruit guys from lower levels to field a full team with depth to last a full college season.

We already have "2nd string" guys from P4 schools playing for us.

[PBreezeHen]

A couple things to say here
1) 2nd string SEC guys in the portal aren’t looking at Delaware as a top choice. They likely are looking for playing time at other P4 schools or the top end G5 schools like Boise state, Tulane, etc. (not that it’s impossible to land a big time recruit like this but it’s just rare)
2) The FBS guys in the portal that could be looking at Delaware are likely P4 guys buried on the depth chart or 2nd string G5 guys.
3) The FCS guys in the portal are looking at teams like Delaware as their top options. It’s a realistic option to get playing time at a higher level.

So when it comes to recruiting in the portal, the staff likely understand that unless a P4 player already has interest, it’s unlikely to win them over especially against teams that are much better than us. So why waste valuable and limited time going after unrealistic options when you can try and get the best of the talent available to you (buried P4, backup G5, and FCS/DII). Just my take.

Also you have to understand that they have to be a able to fill out a roster and it’s impossible not to recruit guys from lower levels to field a full team with depth to last a full college season.

We already have "2nd string" guys from P4 schools playing for us.

I wont speak on this comment lol.hahahaa

I am working currently with 6 portal guys. 2 -D2 starters, A P4 DL, 2 FBS WRS, and FBS kicker.
All accept the kicker have film.

All are VERY aware of UD. To be honest- We are alot more well known than I even think the staff realizes. I think there is a fear that we can not get or pay some of these guys. I beg to differ because the portal is rough. Rough beyond belief.

Another I know friend of my represents the FCS Offensive player Freshman of the year and he has not gotten 1 phone call or one offer. He will probably get picked for a G5 for absolutely nothing bc of how the portal works.

The portal works like this.
Big Money Players first.
Production high level players
FBS/P4 kids with Film
D2/FCS Stars-
High level recruits with no film...
Then everyone else.

You pay the big money guys first- and it falls in order.

Between weeks 1 and 2- The kids in the middle will rarely get phone calls because they have to wait for other kids to get paid.

Its essentially "If you wont come here, someone else will and you can stay home"

There are tons of kids, good players with good character(Carty Guys) - and this is my personal opinion bc I havent been here that long but I think the thought process is "why waste our time on a kid that will never come here" and thats not the case based on my conversations. We just as program dont explore those avenues.

I cant fault Carty for wanting a team full of "HIS" guys. It great for the program.. Less headaches etc... So we would want to fall in like a G5 version of Vanderbilt,Duke, Tulane,Baylor etc...


But I also have to be honest with where we are as a school and a FBS program... We are in our second year so I have to chill LOL. But damnit, I am holding us to a higher standard bc as a fan- Its my democratic right to demand excellence, so my rant continues...

Another thing I saw in here is for kids who dont post their offers. I would beg to say that most of those kids didnt mess their market up or have not much going for them. An offer from any school is leverage and its VERY risky not to post them. It sets your market as a recruit. Most of these kids arent going to get that much anyway to begin with. And if you have NO game film and just practice film- it is advisable to post every offer you bc it sets your market. Each offer you get tells other schools somethings. And its hard to hide things things now- SSN- Delaware is a PERFECT example of this even at the lower FBS...

I want people to know who offered my kids. It only benefits them.

Once you hit the portal- and you hit half way into week 1- week2- you dont have much to leverage with as an athlete. Its really that simple.

Im rambling a bit but in short- We can get a lot of these guys we dont think we can get because to honest, they would rather not fall a level or never pay ball again. The majority of the time- these kids were forced out of there schools and just want to prove themselves else where.

Its cool to find the "gems" but everyone is not a Trinidad Chambliss. This is college football and talent- plus coaching wins game.

We all can agree were a bit overmatched last year. We are at a about 14 players away from being just as good as Wake Forest and thats not a stretch.

Also- most of our positions coaches have BARELY seen the film on most of these kids they offer. That was watch Goldrich was for. There is not enough time during the season between practice, scheming, position meetings etc....

A lot to consider here but we CAN do better with our talent pool. We have a really good name out here right now.

[Cluck U]

Thank, PBH...always good to get some confirmation of how a system works...even if it is only one point of view.

"We can get a lot of these guys we dont think we can get because to honest, they would rather not fall a level or never pay ball again. The majority of the time- these kids were forced out of there schools and just want to prove themselves else where."

Other posters have pointed out that plenty of players get dropped through the process and end up with no offers. That is a shame if they are solid players with good character...but, it is also a good life lesson. In the real world, one has to market oneself if one wants to advance in any position.

There are probably a bunch of P4 kids that don't want to admit their only offers are from FCS or G5...because they still hope to play on a, "big time" team. Ego. IF, and I emphasize, "if," that is the reason they don't post offers and don't get a spot, especially after their agents implore them to post their lesser offers, then perhaps that ego isn't needed on a team.

In the end, Carty and Co. has put us into a good spot going into next year. A few tweaks, and a reimagined defense, and we might be competing for another bowl and a possible CUSA chipper.

[Hens79]

Frankly, I am not sure what to make of your posts PB. They are almost stream of consciousness. But I agree with the point I think you are making that is Carty isn’t doing enough in the portal. Some of us were a little surprised there weren’t more for the 2025 season. I suspect those same folks might not be surprised this year as it appears to be Cary’s modis operandi, but they will be a little disappointed.

In my view, despite a successful 7-6 start to FBS, the Hens could use upgrades at almost every position. To be at the top of the G5/6 will require significant portal usage. It just will just as it does with the P4.

[PBreezeHen]

Frankly, I am not sure what to make of your posts PB. They are almost stream of consciousness. But I agree with the point I think you are making that is Carty isn’t doing enough in the portal. Some of us were a little surprised there weren’t more for the 2025 season. I suspect those same folks might not be surprised this year as it appears to be Cary’s modis operandi, but they will be a little disappointed.

In my view, despite a successful 7-6 start to FBS, the Hens could use upgrades at almost every position. To be at the top of the G5/6 will require significant portal usage. It just will just as it does with the P4.

At the FCS level- any coach is happy to get FBS Talent. At the FBS level, you NEED FBS talent. I think that shift should be clearly evident. We are seeing with the high schoolers for sure.

Im giving Carty grace. Lost his best recruiter, Coach Link, and Coach Wright. Coaches are wearing multiple hats.

But Im going to be fairly critical too. We can make adjustments to what we think we can have/get. I feel/KNOW we can get more out of the portal. And as with anything in life, takes some trial and error.

I might be putting a lot on our team but I personally believe we Make the C-USA Championship game or we fail in 2026. We just simply need to be more dynamic in skill positions and give Manny his pieces.

[77HEN]

We can kind of guess how this affair works out. It’s helpful that PBreeze Hen typed some idea of how it goes: The portal works like this.
Big Money Players first.
Production high level players
FBS/P4 kids with Film
D2/FCS Stars-
High level recruits with no film...
Then everyone else.

Hopefully, we start hearing of some portal additions by next week or the following week. Are any Nova players in the portal? They always looked good when we played them.

[Caribbean Hen]

Nobody should forget Keeler and Carty won a national championship at Sam Houston a few years ago and it was because those two did an outstanding job upgrading the talent on the roster. It took serious talent upgrades to be able to win that title. I don’t think he suddenly developed a case of dementia.. Carty has a good eye on talent. That was FCS but He gets it and was groomed under the King of the transfer

Also, with so many players coming back has to mean we’re just not going to see busloads of transfers. We already have “transfers” when our best players announce they are staying

The better FCS players are all getting P4 offers, G6 teams getting leap frogged by FCS players who are getting paid.. some of em will be paid to sit on a P4 bench. I don’t like it at all because nobody gets to watch them play

[PBreezeHen]

Nobody should forget Keeler and Carty won a national championship at Sam Houston a few years ago and it was because those two did an outstanding job upgrading the talent on the roster. It took serious talent upgrades to be able to win that title. I don’t think he suddenly developed a case of dementia.. Carty has a good eye on talent. That was FCS but He gets it and was groomed under the King of the transfer

Also, with so many players coming back has to mean we’re just not going to see busloads of transfers. We already have “transfers” when our best players announce they are staying

The better FCS players are all getting P4 offers, G6 teams getting leap frogged by FCS players who are getting paid.. some of em will be paid to sit on a P4 bench. I don’t like it at all because nobody gets to watch them play

'Also, with so many players coming back has to mean we’re just not going to see busloads of transfers. We already have “transfers” when our best players announce they are staying"

This part concerns me.

[mpwerrell]

Well let’s do some math.

85 full scholarships (assumption) minus 13 scholarship players in the portal (see Jaxhen’s count in The Hatchery under Portal Departures) equals 72.

72 minus 21 scholarship players without eligibility equals 51.

51 plus 19 incoming scholarship freshmen equals 70.

At this point, that leaves 15 scholarships to give to transfers (15 + 70 =85).

This is a fluid situation but, as of today, I think these numbers are close.

[Attila the Hen]

I think for the right player, we might go to 86 or 87,

[Info Hound]

Anybody else fearful?

I'm not!

[Cluck U]

I think for the right player, we might go to 86 or 87,

That would have to be an awfully big player to take up an extra 2 schollies.

[Jaxhen1]

On offense, our CUSA ranking (12 teams) was:

2nd in Scoring Offense (29.0)
1st in Total Offense (411.6 ypg)
1st in Passing Offense (292.5 ypg)
4th in Passing Offensive Efficiency (133.3)
8th in Rushing Offense (119.2 ypg)
1st in First Downs (22.8 apg)
3rd in Third Down Conversions (41.6 percent)
5th in Fourth Down Conversions (52.8 percent)
4th in Red Zone Offense
7th in Sacks Against (27)

Returning at least 7 starters and several other 2nd team players from an offense that performed very well in its first year in FBS bodes really well for our offense next year. If we can improve our ability to run the ball when we need to, we should be even better next year. Getting a quality receiver to complement Wilson, a power back to get those short yardage conversions, and one or two OL from the portal should be our emphasis on the offensive side of the ball. I’m anticipating great things from our offense next year.

The defense on the other hand needs a significant upgrade in personnel and/or scheme.

[bluehenbillk]

Well let’s do some math.

85 full scholarships (assumption) minus 13 scholarship players in the portal (see Jaxhen’s count in The Hatchery under Portal Departures) equals 72.

72 minus 21 scholarship players without eligibility equals 51.

51 plus 19 incoming scholarship freshmen equals 70.

At this point, that leaves 15 scholarships to give to transfers (15 + 70 =85).

This is a fluid situation but, as of today, I think these numbers are close.

I don’t know where CUSA stands currently but the NCAA allows 105 scholarships now