Everyone's chasing the five-stars and the portal headliners, but the real program builders are the juco sleepers you find in the spring. We're sitting here in April, the big portal window is gone, and our focus has to shift. The staff needs to be hitting those junior college film rooms hard right now, looking for the next guy who's a year or two of development away from being a SEC starter.
Look at the edge room. Cashius Howell is about to get drafted, and that's a huge hole. We can't just rely on the high school croots who won't be ready for two years. We need a juco edge with a grown man's body who can come in, learn the system this summer, and provide real depth by October. That's how you build sustainable depth without hitting the panic portal button every winter.
I'm hearing some noise about a couple of names out in Kansas and Mississippi. These are the guys with maybe one P5 offer but a motor that doesn't quit. Find me a 6'4", 260-pound juco defensive end with a 10-sack season under his belt. That's the kind of silent commit that wins you games in November when the injuries pile up. The crystal ball doesn't glow for these guys, but the good programs always have one or two on the roster ready to contribute.
