NIL strikes again

[Ghost of the HEB]

Second 4 star DB we’ve lost this month. This is becoming a bad trend. USC just offered Blocker last week

🚨NEW🚨 4-star CB CJ Blocker has decommitted from Utah.
Read: https://t.co/gzWnTb5oZQ pic.twitter.com/FID8zKSSsE
— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) November 23, 2022

[Tony (admin)]

Perhaps Utah Football has already peaked. It was a great run. 🙁 

[dystopiamembrane]

It was an amazing run. I have enjoyed the last nearly 20 years. Who would have guessed this would happen?

[Charlie]

1990 Why would we expect to beat the Y very often?
1998 Why would we expect to win the MWC championship?
2004 Why would we expect to ever have the BCS let us in?
2008 Why would we expect to beat Alabama?
2010 Why would we expect to ever get into the Pac 10?
2021 Why would we expect to go to the Rose Bowl?
Why would we expect any more break throughs? Some may think it is all done. Some may think more is possible. Kinda like half full or half empty.

When I finished in 1979 college and returned to work in SLC, oddly in downtown offices Y fans outnumbered Ute fans 8 or 9 to 1. As a Ute fan most thought I hade no hope at all. I have enjoyed the ride. I expect more ride.

[Ghost of the HEB]

Alexa, play ‘Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)’ by Green Day

[Utesbyfive]

I think we have. It’s probably time for Whitt to retire before things get really ugly. I don’t want to watch him ride the ship to the bottom.

[LetItRide]

F

[Tednab]

Grateful for the ride I’ve seen with this program since the days of the WAC, came along way.. This is gonna be hard to compete with here on end

[cj13]

Well if we aren’t ever going to be able to compete against the best in the near future, as long as we are consistently better than BYU is enough for me. Our recruiting should still be better than their with high 3 stars as our new ceiling.

[UtesRule]

Boy, an awful lot of doom and gloom out there. I’m not sold that the current era of Utah football is over, just because we’re losing a couple of guys due to NIL in early recruiting.

[J Rocksville]

We built this program on 2 and 3 star prospects that felt overlooked and had a chip on their shoulders. Those guys will still be there. Not every college player can be a millionaire.

Almost every game I hear a name of a high 4 star kid that I recall being bummed about utah missing out on, and more often than not they are scrubs. Just keep finding guys that want to work to get better and we’ll be fine. Maybe not top 5, but in good years probably 5-15. I mean right now we’re all disappointed at being 14. 5 years ago a 3 loss utah team wouldn’t even be ranked. We’re now a program that gets the benefit of the doubt. NIL is changing things, but that doesn’t automatically mean we’ll never find a way to compete.

[UteBacker]

There’s being pessimistic and there’s being realistic.  To me, these are realistic comments.  If you are a top-quality player you want to play in the SEC or Big Ten (and I certainly don’t blame them).

The ACC, Big XII & Pac12 will be closer to the Mountain West in talent than they will be to the SEC, especially with the better players in the middling leagues using the transfer portal as free agency (again, I don’t blame these kids).

It’s the new college football world order.   As Ute fans, we better adjust expectations or find another hobby.  I’m trying to decide which way I’m going to go and it sucks.

[EagleMountainUte]

Utah has to get better at possibly recruiting kids that are possibly not getting playing time. So giving this a chance to maybe come back is what will need to happen. Free agency ass kissing is now a thing. 

[The Miami Ute]

I’m not really worried. A lot of these so called 4 and 5 star recruits never really pan out. There’s also the fact that only 11 guys can play on offense and defense at one time and you can only have 85 guys on scholarship at any time. That means that a lot of these young men will quickly become disillusioned with their teams and that Utah can use the Transfer Portal with a vengeance to fill out roster holes.

[EagleMountainUte]

Well 11* until you need to rest a guy or you end up playing a RB in the Rose Bowl. Which isn’t ideal with a series of unfortunate injuries at one position.

[Torg]

Maybe we should be going door to door a la “pennies by the inch”