You watch Oklahoma State bring in 50 portal kids and Colorado bring in 43 and I just think about the 2005 team we had under Coach Patterson. That squad had 18 seniors who had been in the system for four years. They knew the dfense like they knew their own names. We went 11-1 and should have been in the BCS title game conversation. You cannot build that kind of chemistry in one spring with 50 strangers running around in orange jerseys. Coach Patterson used to say it takes two years to learn this defense and three years to master it. Now these kids show up in January and they are supposed to be ready by September. It is madness.
I remember when a transfer meant a kid from a junior college who needed a second chance. You knew his story. You knew why he was here. Now it is just a shopping spree every winter. Oklahoma State is essentially running a fantasy football draft with real human beings. Eric Morris is a good coach but you cannot tell me 50 new faces in one offseason is a recipe for anything but chaos. We went through this ourselves when we jumped to the Big 12. That first year was rough because the chemistry was not there. It takes time to build trust on the field. You cannot fast-track that no matter how much NIL money you throw at it.
The worst part is the kids do not even stick around long enough to be part of something special. You look at our 2014 Peach Bowl team and half those guys would be in the portal today after their sophomore year. They would have missed out on the greatest run in program history because they got impatient. The portal has convinced every 19-year-old that the grass is greener somewhere else. Meanwhile we are sitting here watching the sport turn into free agency every December and wondering why the product feels different. It is because loyalty died and nobody wants to admit it.