My final message to any potential "opt-outer"

Rhode Island Dork

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If you are considering opting out, before you do, walk onto the field at Williams-Brice, look up high in the West stands, & see the names and numbers up on the box. NONE of those guys opted out. Finish the game, guys, & stomp a hole in Illinois to make a statement to the playoff committee further exemplifying that they screwed up, big time!

 

18IsTheMan

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None of those players could or had a reason to. I say let them make the decision that is best for them.
Uh, Clowney? The #1 pick in the entire draft? With today’s mindset, he had every incentive in the world opt out. But he went and played. In today’s world, he would be mocked and scorned for playing.
 

Lurker123

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Different era. Hard to compare. Would Clowney have opted out? Would others have?

I said it once before, our players are mercenaries now. Kennard, for example, played 4 years at GT, then we hired him for one year.

Do you think he's overly worried about his name on our stadium?

They are mercenaries, and we should expect them to act like mercenaries. Then be pleasantly surprised if they don't.
 

Yard_Pimps

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Uh, Clowney? The #1 pick in the entire draft? With today’s mindset, he had every incentive in the world opt out. But he went and played. In today’s world, he would be mocked and scorned for playing.
Times don’t stay the same.
 

will110

Joined Aug 17, 2018
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You don’t know what they would have done. This is a different time as someone said above. Integrity has nothing to do with this. What’s best for the Team< what’s best for the kids future.
Integrity has everything to do with it.

Every player committed to be part of a team, not to quit when it might be better for them to not play.
 

DrMickeySC

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Clowney finished about a year or two before opting out started. In fact, he was one of the first that had the National media talking about the possibility. It was a scandalous thought at the time, but common now. It is what it is, to quote Spurrier.

I’m a lot more concerned about retaining our good players for the next year. I figure we might have one or two good players go into the portal, but if that’s all, we will be way ahead of average.

I think the best you can do in today’s game is have a core of strong players who are committed to USC, and hope the other comings and goings are a net positive. I think the 2024 roster was a net positive - some really good catches in the portal, and addition by subtraction for some of the ones we lost.
 

will110

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Clowney finished about a year or two before opting out started. In fact, he was one of the first that had the National media talking about the possibility. It was a scandalous thought at the time, but common now. It is what it is, to quote Spurrier.

I’m a lot more concerned about retaining our good players for the next year. I figure we might have one or two good players go into the portal, but if that’s all, we will be way ahead of average.

I think the best you can do in today’s game is have a core of strong players who are committed to USC, and hope the other comings and goings are a net positive. I think the 2024 roster was a net positive - some really good catches in the portal, and addition by subtraction for some of the ones we lost.
There was talk that Clowney should just skip his junior year (2013) entirely.
 

atl-cock

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Jan 18, 2022
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Different era. Hard to compare. Would Clowney have opted out? Would others have?

I said it once before, our players are mercenaries now. Kennard, for example, played 4 years at GT, then we hired him for one year.

Do you think he's overly worried about his name on our stadium?

They are mercenaries, and we should expect them to act like mercenaries. Then be pleasantly surprised if they don't.
Um, I don't want mercenaries around.
 

Rhode Island Dork

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None of those players could or had a reason to. I say let them make the decision that is best for them.
Ignorant. Rogers, Clowney, & Sharpe were all top 10 draft picks. Jeffery was 2nd round. Wadiak was 3rd round. All could have & had plenty of "reason" to, but they chose "we before me" & played it until the end.
You don’t know what they would have done. This is a different time as someone said above. Integrity has nothing to do with this. What’s best for the Team< what’s best for the kids future.
Mercy. I sure hope you aren't raising children with that selfish stance in life.
 

KingWard

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The people who opt out aren't the kind of people who care about anybody's "message". :rolleyes:
 
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Yard_Pimps

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Ignorant. Rogers, Clowney, & Sharpe were all top 10 draft picks. Jeffery was 2nd round. Wadiak was 3rd round. All could have & had plenty of "reason" to, but they chose "we before me" & played it until the end.

Mercy. I sure hope you aren't raising children with that selfish stance in life.
A clowney did take a lot of plays off that year. It was talked about in the media. Secondly Roger’s and sharpe are not even in this conversation. Do you have any idea what a first round draft pick got back then. It not comparing apple to apples sir. You can also bet your sweet tail I would advise my kid to skip the bowl game that means nothing if he is moving on anyway. No need to risk it and the backups could use the experience for next year.
 
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18IsTheMan

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So, no to the portal ?
Just asking

I don't think every player who comes via the portal is a mercenary.

Rattler was a portal player, but he was 100% Gamecock.

Antwane Wells came via the portal, but he was obviously a mercenary.
 
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KingWard

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Um, I don't want mercenaries around.
You need to find yourself a nice Division 2 team to support. Certainly nothing higher than FCS, where "meaningless" bowl participation isn't an issue. I'm being sincere, not snarky.
 

Rhode Island Dork

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A clowney did take a lot of plays off that year. It was talked about in the media. Secondly Roger’s and sharpe are not even in this conversation. Do you have any idea what a first round draft pick got back then. It not comparing apple to apples sir. You can also bet your sweet tail I would advise my kid to skip the bowl game that means nothing if he is moving on anyway. No need to risk it and the backups could use the experience for next year.
Bless your poor soul.
 
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Piscis

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Um, I don't want mercenaries around.
You should probably find another sport to watch. College football players are primarily mercenaries now with NIL. Do you think Stewart fell in love with Columbia and the University of South Carolina? No, he came for the money.
 

Piscis

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I don't think any player who comes via the portal is a mercenary.

Rattler was a portal player, but he was 100% Gamecock.

Antwane Wells came via the portal, but he was obviously a mercenary.
I think Rattler was 100% Rattler. He followed Beamer looking for a place where he could start and improve his draft stock. Carolina had basically no qb at the time and Rattler knew he could come in and play right away. On that level, yes, Rattler was something of a mercenary but you could say the payment was "in kind".

Rattler coming to Carolina helped both parties.
 

18IsTheMan

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I think Rattler was 100% Rattler. He followed Beamer looking for a place where he could start and improve his draft stock. Carolina had basically no qb at the time and Rattler knew he could come in and play right away. On that level, yes, Rattler was something of a mercenary but you could say the payment was "in kind".

Rattler coming to Carolina helped both parties.

You obviously did not watch Rattler play if your opinion of him is that he was 100% Rattler. Awful take.

Dude played behind 2 god-awful OLs and took a relentless beating. Never once showed a bit of frustration against his OL and even defended them and deflected criticism from them. He laid it all on the field last year for a pretty bad team. That's not a mercenary.

Was it a good fit for him? Of course it was. It doesn't make a player in the portal a mercenary because he looks for a place that's a good fit and where he can start.
 

will110

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I think Rattler was 100% Rattler. He followed Beamer looking for a place where he could start and improve his draft stock. Carolina had basically no qb at the time and Rattler knew he could come in and play right away. On that level, yes, Rattler was something of a mercenary but you could say the payment was "in kind".

Rattler coming to Carolina helped both parties.
Rattler wouldn't come back to Columbia and still be part of the program if his decision was purely "100% Rattler." Obviously his coming here helped both parties; no athlete is going to go to a situation that's not beneficial.
 
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18IsTheMan

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Rattler wouldn't come back to Columbia and still be part of the program if his decision was purely "100% Rattler." Obviously his coming here helped both parties; no athlete is going to go to a situation that's not beneficial.
Right. Even recruits out of high school pick their school based on what they think is beneficial and a good fit.
 
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Yard_Pimps

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You obviously did not watch Rattler play if your opinion of him is that he was 100% Rattler. Awful take.

Dude played behind 2 god-awful OLs and took a relentless beating. Never once showed a bit of frustration against his OL and even defended them and deflected criticism from them. He laid it all on the field last year for a pretty bad team. That's not a mercenary.

Was it a good fit for him? Of course it was. It doesn't make a player in the portal a mercenary because he looks for a place that's a good fit and where he can start.
It’s comical you think rattler wasn’t a mercenary. You do realize mercenaries still live, die and fight for their team. However at the end of the day they are hired guns. Which is what rattler was. Lmfao. Man the delusion around here.
 

Piscis

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Then may I suggest
I saddened me to learn a few years ago that the service academies now allow players to leave without any obligation to pay back the cost of their education for up to two years after they start. In the old days, if any student left the academy before they graduated they were required to pay back the full cost of their education, room, board, training, everything.

The service academies are still the purest form of college sports but they aren't as pure as they used to be.
 

18IsTheMan

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Beamer has sent as strong a message as possible to our players that this bowl is absolutely not meaningless and that it's of utmost importance for us to go out and put a stamp on this season by notching our 10th win. Glad he's not taking the pussified, limp-wristed approach of some coaches.
 
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Lurker123

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Beamer has sent as strong a message as possible to our players that this bowl is absolutely not meaningless and that it's of utmost importance for us to go out and put a stamp on this season by notching our 10th win. Glad he's not taking the pussified, limp-wristed approach of some coaches.

To be fair, he doesn't have too much of a say. I applaud him giving it his best, and not just rolling over.

But the guys will still decide on their own. He can't really do much more than ask.

That being said, I keep holding my breath. I worry that once 1 or 2 real contributors drop out, it'll be a flood of them. So I am holding my breath in hopes of not hearing that first one.
 

18IsTheMan

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To be fair, he doesn't have too much of a say. I applaud him giving it his best, and not just rolling over.

But the guys will still decide on their own. He can't really do much more than ask.

That being said, I keep holding my breath. I worry that once 1 or 2 real contributors drop out, it'll be a flood of them. So I am holding my breath in hopes of not hearing that first one.

Of course, but, yes, he's impressing on them the importance of it, which is all he can really do.
 
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Rhode Island Dork

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To be fair, he doesn't have too much of a say. I applaud him giving it his best, and not just rolling over.

But the guys will still decide on their own. He can't really do much more than ask.

That being said, I keep holding my breath. I worry that once 1 or 2 real contributors drop out, it'll be a flood of them. So I am holding my breath in hopes of not hearing that first one.
Yeah. The follow the leader types can be problematic.
 

adcoop

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The Citrus Bowl is a huge deal for our program. Huge.

Anyone who doesn't grasp that hasn't been a fan for more than 5 minutes.
Yes, it's huge, but none of us have any control of what these kids decide. We line up and play with whoever decides to make the trip. I know I won't waste one bit of emotional energy on kids that would be classmates of my own kids.
 

atl-cock

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You need to find yourself a nice Division 2 team to support. Certainly nothing higher than FCS, where "meaningless" bowl participation isn't an issue. I'm being sincere, not snarky.
Newberry?
 

atl-cock

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I saddened me to learn a few years ago that the service academies now allow players to leave without any obligation to pay back the cost of their education for up to two years after they start. In the old days, if any student left the academy before they graduated they were required to pay back the full cost of their education, room, board, training, everything.

The service academies are still the purest form of college sports but they aren't as pure as they used to be.
I belive that D-III is the purest since they do not offer athletic scholarships.
 
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