FSU football inherited a few positions that had not been recruited properly by the old regime. The transfer portal is being used to bridge the gaps created.
FSU football hasn’t signed a high school quarterback since the 2017 recruiting cycle. The offensive line had a guy that played defensive tackle his entire time on campus, starting on the offensive line after making the transition in fall camp.
I don’t blame the coaching staff for not signing a quarterback in 2018. I agreed with thinking of not just settling for a player with the QB’s they had on the roster at the time.
However, not signing a QB in the 2019 recruiting cycle was entirely on the current regime. The good news is they may be in a better position now than if they had signed a high school player due to graduate transfer Alex Hornibrook’s decision to leave Wisconsin for FSU.
I don’t expect Hornibrook to win the starting job over James Blackman. However, he’s a great stop-gap because he has three years of starting experience against good competition.
If he has to see the field in 2019, I’d think three years of starting experience would serve much better than a high school quarterback that didn’t early enroll.
The one year Hornibrook has left to play will not scare off potential QB targets/commits like Jeff Sims.
FSU football has used the transfer portal as a stop-gap for the offensive line as well.
The staff will add graduate transfer Ryan Roberts once he graduates from Northern Illinois in May. He’ll have one year of eligibility left to play.
They’ve used the transfer portal to add Jay Williams, a JUCO product from California that has two years remaining to play. Roberts will likely definitely see time playing time if not starting with Williams likely playing a good amount of snaps too.
Both players have enough eligibility to help things moving forward without scaring away potential recruits coming from the high school ranks.
I don’t think the transfer portal should be relied on every year. That likely means the staff isn’t landing the kids they want/need to land from the high school ranks.
It also can be a headache for the staff as they have to be aware of current players on the roster that could be looking to put their name in the portal.
However, if used properly the transfer portal is a great way to bridge the gap on the roster with experienced players if you happen to miss on high school recruits.