You know, I remember when Gary Patterson built champions from three-star recruits who bled purple. That was development. What your staff is doing is just modern roster management with better marketing. Every coach claims they develop better than the portal, until their star quarterback enters it. I watched the Southwest Conference die, then the old Big 12, all because of this chase for "something real." Real was when a kid like LaDainian Tomlinson stayed and became a legend through the system. Now, if a player has two good games, his agent is shopping him for NIL deals. Your staff is just playing the same game everybody else is, they're just getting praised for it earlier in the year. I've seen this movie before. It ends when a deeper-pocketed program comes calling for your developed players, and they wave goodbye on their way out the portal. Loyalty built programs. Transactions just rent them.
