I dont think Mendoza was a huge sum and no real stars at WR/RB.

The OL and DL/front 7.

Can we learn from that?

I thought Mendoza cost them around $2 million?

Announcers mentioned Mendoza's brother. Enlighten me

TXAGGIES said:

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I dont think Mendoza was a huge sum and no real stars at WR/RB.

The OL and DL/front 7.

Can we learn from that?

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No one knows…

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-football/news/nil-money-school-how-texas-tech-playoff-teams-compare-2025/1113311c3c2de9dc001aacf1

Indiana paid big for Mendoza and a few more. He's also still riding the very solid unit he developed at JMU that he moved over to Indiana. Great coach, but his true litmus test starts once the JMU core moves on and he has to develop a roster through both recruiting and the portal.

It'll be fascinating to watch.

MidlandOil$ said:

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It's coaching. Cignetti is a great coach (just google him)

We have more NIL$, resources and facilities than an Indiana ever could dream of.

It's simply coaching.

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Mark Cuban would like a word.

I'm guessing a lot of folks are going to be studying what they're doing and attempt to replicate.

SteveA said:

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Coaching still accounts for a lot. Cignetti looks to be the real deal.

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this is the answer it is the only possible answer.

greg.w.h said:

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TXAGGIES said:

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I dont think Mendoza was a huge sum and no real stars at WR/RB.

The OL and DL/front 7.

Can we learn from that?

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No one knows…

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-football/news/nil-money-school-how-texas-tech-playoff-teams-compare-2025/1113311c3c2de9dc001aacf1

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The article you linked to seems to confirm that, indeed, no one knows.

Quote:

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While exact NIL spending by each team isn't always publicly available, some figures have been previously reported.

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Quote:

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6 Alabama N/A
7 Georgia N/A
8 Indiana N/A

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Quote:

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*Based off of reported figures, if applicable.

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SunrayAg said:

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MidlandOil$ said:

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It's coaching. Cignetti is a great coach (just google him)

We have more NIL$, resources and facilities than an Indiana ever could dream of.

It's simply coaching.

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This is false. The quarterback touches the ball on every play. A quarterback who can read defenses, make adjustments, and make accurate throws will win more games than an old dude standing on the sidelines.

Belicheck was the best coach ever… until he didn't have the best quarterback ever on his team. With an average roster he's an average coach.

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Yes we can learn from them

The portal players are often just better than the high school players. The experience they have is critical. Portal evaluations and signings every year need to be part of the strategy

Overall, i'd say we should try to be more like a Georgia/Indiana mix.

Bring in 30 high schoolers like Georgia every year and don't pay them much NIL (except a few blue chippers we're highest on). The best of the bunch high schoolers that become starters we pay them. Everyone else we pay nothing and let them transfer out.

Portal strategy like Indiana: elite evaluations and coaching. Pay big NIL to a few top end guys. Then get a bunch of cheap G5 players with experience.

This type of strategy would lead to many players being unhappy and wanting out, but if we could navigate that it would be be the best case scenario for on-field talent

Quote:

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The experience they have is critical.

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Just the strength training and nutrition programs at even a G5 are going to be lightyears ahead of all but a few high schools. A few years of being a full time football player without the pretense of being fulltime students will help a lot of guys get better than they were as 17 year olds.

MidlandOil$ said:

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It's coaching. Cignetti is a great coach (just google him)

We have more NIL$, resources and facilities than an Indiana ever could dream of.

It's simply coaching.

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No it's not….. players grit, determination, hard work, lack of entitlement, buying in, smartness, players who were over looked and have a chip on their shoulders, and mostly its players who worked hard to get there vs those who were already good going into college and didn't have to work extra hard to get there

Everything you describe is literally coaches.
From recruiting the type of players you are describing to building the system and buy-in you are describing. Thank you so much for making my point.

They have a great coach.

Bacardi Rambo said:

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Bring in 30 high schoolers like Georgia every year and don't pay them much NIL (except a few blue chippers we're highest on). The best of the bunch high schoolers that become starters we pay them. Everyone else we pay nothing and let them transfer out.

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You're going to have a VERY hard time filling in that "not super elite 5*, but still really good potential 4*" part of your class if you don't intend to be competitive with NIL. Put another way, this strategy sounds good but I think it would lead to you having almost no HS talent on the roster.

Even kids with marginal potential are going to get $$ from somebody.

The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article a week or so ago about how IU does very little full on hitting at practice. One OLineman said that he hit the turf during practice maybe twice all year. Cignetti said injuries are bad enough, why collect more during practice. IU practices execution all day every day. I know the WSJ isn't the best sports source but I had never heard that before. Seems to be working out.

JDCAG (NOT Colin) said:

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Bacardi Rambo said:

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Bring in 30 high schoolers like Georgia every year and don't pay them much NIL (except a few blue chippers we're highest on). The best of the bunch high schoolers that become starters we pay them. Everyone else we pay nothing and let them transfer out.

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You're going to have a VERY hard time filling in that "not super elite 5*, but still really good potential 4*" part of your class if you don't intend to be competitive with NIL. Put another way, this strategy sounds good but I think it would lead to you having almost no HS talent on the roster.

Even kids with marginal potential are going to get $$ from somebody.

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Just looking at our portal losses and they're all "good potential 4*" types. IMO, those middle players are the worst use of NIL resources.

Those middle tier 4 stars usually have the measurables but don't always have the drive. Their high school ranking makes them think they deserve early playing time. So then they get offended when we don't pay them more and they leave.

A better way would be:

There's maybe 15 players in a class we are really high on each year. 5 or 4 stars. Pay market rate to all the best guys our scouts think are home runs

Then bring in 15 or so 3 stars that are hungry. Projects. Diamonds in the rough with high character. Get them on the cheap

Then spend the NIL savings on retaining the best players and bringing in the best portal players.

TMan86 said:

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The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article a week or so ago about how IU does very little full on hitting at practice. One OLineman said that he hit the turf during practice maybe twice all year. Cignetti said injuries are bad enough, why collect more during practice. IU practices execution all day every day. I know the WSJ isn't the best sports source but I had never heard that before. Seems to be working out.

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Very interesting. I'm going to read up on that.

SunrayAg said:

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MidlandOil$ said:

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It's coaching. Cignetti is a great coach (just google him)

We have more NIL$, resources and facilities than an Indiana ever could dream of.

It's simply coaching.

---

This is false. The quarterback touches the ball on every play. A quarterback who can read defenses, make adjustments, and make accurate throws will win more games than an old dude standing on the sidelines.

Belicheck was the best coach ever… until he didn't have the best quarterback ever on his team. With an average roster he's an average coach.

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Weird how Saban could win so much despite having a ton of different QB's over the years. Hell, he even changed QB mid-game and won.

TMan86 said:

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The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article a week or so ago about how IU does very little full on hitting at practice. One OLineman said that he hit the turf during practice maybe twice all year. Cignetti said injuries are bad enough, why collect more during practice. IU practices execution all day every day. I know the WSJ isn't the best sports source but I had never heard that before. Seems to be working out.

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IIRC Mike Leach had a similar approach. I don't know about the contact aspect, but they would practice execution to the point they couldn't **** up. It was all about decision making being second nature, speed, and consistency. He wanted his players to be so good at executing that opposing teams couldn't stop them even if they knew what was coming.

And that makes a lot of sense to me. Every play has a probable payoff distribution. There are minor chances it goes to the house either way and chances steadily increase and converge on a most probable yards gained/lost depending on situation. Every drive is a series of those probabilities, and the overall probability of the drive resulting in points depends on the successive outcome of plays. The biggest thing that is in a coach's control is the consistency with which the play is executed and eliminating the random noise from player error. The OC can call the perfect play, but a high snap or incorrectly run route can **** it all up. Drill so hard that you remove that from the equation and you can call plays with confidence based on your situation/needs.

Looking at us, we had a ton of unforced errors that killed us in our last two games and some that nearly killed us in others. If we want to be a championship team, we MUST execute consistently to the point that players execute perfectly out of habit.

Three key factors:
1) Great Coaching
2) Great Culture (athletes, administration, boosters & alums)
3) Great QB

We have a lot to work to do on all three categories. I don't see those being fixed anytime soon over the new few years. Honestly, we seem to always be in denial on what we have while others are facing and acting upon reality. TexAgs claimed this year:

1) Elko - top notch coach and needs the salary / contract he deserves. Always supportive of the coaches / admins until they are on their way out .

2) Culture - top notch (despite prior ADs listing concerns, instability in leadership including at the university).

3) QB - Reed is one of the best players in the country and should be in NYC for the Heisman trophy award.

- If you can't identify the problem or even detect reality (delusional), you aren't ever going to make the changes needed to be in the title hunt. Of the three, the easiest fix is obtaining an elite QB who can make the throws / decisions needed to win. Reed is about to be a true senior - he should already be developed - time to face reality (he's had 3 seasons already) and stop talking about development (he's about to be a senior - he should have already developed and is likely at or near his ceiling and it's not at the level needed for a title).

Bacardi Rambo said:

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Yes we can learn from them

The portal players are often just better than the high school players. The experience they have is critical. Portal evaluations and signings every year need to be part of the strategy

Overall, i'd say we should try to be more like a Georgia/Indiana mix.

Bring in 30 high schoolers like Georgia every year and don't pay them much NIL (except a few blue chippers we're highest on). The best of the bunch high schoolers that become starters we pay them. Everyone else we pay nothing and let them transfer out.

Portal strategy like Indiana: elite evaluations and coaching. Pay big NIL to a few top end guys. Then get a bunch of cheap G5 players with experience.

This type of strategy would lead to many players being unhappy and wanting out, but if we could navigate that it would be be the best case scenario for on-field talent

---

This is also how we learn how much college football sucks compared to what it used to be. This is just pro football but even less loyalty and continuity than the NFL.

NIL and the portal have destroyed the greatness and uniqueness of college football. Might as well watch the NFL.

TexAggie1999 said:

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Bacardi Rambo said:

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Yes we can learn from them

The portal players are often just better than the high school players. The experience they have is critical. Portal evaluations and signings every year need to be part of the strategy

Overall, i'd say we should try to be more like a Georgia/Indiana mix.

Bring in 30 high schoolers like Georgia every year and don't pay them much NIL (except a few blue chippers we're highest on). The best of the bunch high schoolers that become starters we pay them. Everyone else we pay nothing and let them transfer out.

Portal strategy like Indiana: elite evaluations and coaching. Pay big NIL to a few top end guys. Then get a bunch of cheap G5 players with experience.

This type of strategy would lead to many players being unhappy and wanting out, but if we could navigate that it would be be the best case scenario for on-field talent

---

This is also how we learn how much college football sucks compared to what it used to be. This is just pro football but even less loyalty and continuity than the NFL.

NIL and the portal have destroyed the greatness and uniqueness of college football. Might as well watch the NFL.

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Let's be real here. A scummy class of people and companies made billions for decades while kids were exploited and schools mostly broke even

The kids absolutely deserve to be paid and not exploited

There should be rules in place. Contracts. Taxes. Etc

What makes college football great is the atmospheres. That's always been the thing that was unique and great about college football