Ray Icaza

Using our former QB Chad Mascoe as an example, if he has a big year at Campbell Univ. as projected he could enter the transfer portal and get picked up by a D1 school taking an available scholarship away from a HS kid in the class of 2023. This article also emphasized that this new development affects quarterbacks the most.

This article appeared in the Orlando Sentinel today talking about the effect of the transfer portal on HS recruits. Written by Chris Hayes and titled: HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS CHOOSE EARLY, GET AHEAD OF THE TRANSFER PORTAL. Oh how the times have changed. It used to be that high school players would wait until the February’s National Signing Day to make a big splash announcing their college choice. Flash forward to 2022 and many college prospects are enrolled in their school of choice by January. There are a number of reasons the expedited recruiting plan has picked up steam. The early National Signing Day option in December; the earlier availability to take official college recruiting visits; and then there is the NCAA transfer portal. [ Orlando area football teams land 19 players on all-state 1st teams ] The open transfer portal was somewhat brought on by the COVID pandemic. Students could suddenly transfer to another school immediately without penalty of having to sit out a transfer year. That aspect of the transfer changed the landscape of college football and basketball immensely, and it was open to all sports. It created a frenzy with players clogging the on-ramp like a big-city traffic jam. Last year, thousands of student athletes hit the portal, declaring their intention to transfer. Once officially in the portal, the recruiting process can start all over again, at least for those worthy. Some players wind up sitting in the portal for months and months, even up to a year. It’s not for everyone. Osceola's Derrick LeBlanc (Oklahoma), Ja'Keem Jackson (Florida) and John Walker (UCF) all committed last month. (Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel) With the portal opening, however, there was a sudden backlash on high school players trying to find a college destination. Coaches started recruiting the portal more heavily than the high school ranks, and who could blame them? Getting an experienced college player instead of a wide-eyed freshman out of high school was a no-brainer. [ Jones High receiver Jabari Smith commits to FAU ] There was a lack of scholarships to offer the high school players and many waited too late to make a decision. Those players wound up at the Football Championship Subdivision level or were left out entirely. Quarterbacks were the main victims. In the past, schools preferred getting their quarterback recruiting done early. A good example is Chad Mascoe, who guided Kissimmee Osceola to the state championship game in which the Kowboys lost to Seminole in 2020. He was once committed to FSU, but that didn’t work out so he waited to choose from his other offers. That list dwindled as signing day approached and schools were snagging their next quarterback out of the portal. The process was already bogged down by the extra year of eligibility granted to players due to the COVID pandemic. That impact is felt less and less now as the players finish their careers, but for Mascoe it was small consolation. He had four remaining Football Bowl Subdivision offers, but none was committable. He ended up at FCS Campbell, where he’s sure to be the star of the show. That’s not FBS, however, the highest level which is on every high schooler’s wishlist. [ Boone receiver Aidan Mizell commits to Florida Gators ] Things have changed this year. It’s been a record-setting offseason for recruiting in Central Florida, with 33 players in the Sentinel’s 2023 Super60 committing to their school of choice before August even arrived. Nine players committed in the final week of July. Sentinel Sports Final Weekdays Every morning, get the late sports scores and stories from the night before. > Antonio Ferguson of Apopka, an East Carolina defensive end commit, thinks the portal is a big reason for all of the summer activity. “I think the transfer portal definitely has an influence on people committing earlier than usual,” he said. “Because now, half of the spots are going to people in the transfer portal and the other half is going to high school recruits. “People are just trying to make sure to get their spots on the team and it’s making people commit faster.” [ Osceola 4-star DL John Walker becomes highest-ranked commit to UCF football ] Finally the recruits are wising up, listening to their coaches and taking advantage of opportunities. It often makes for a quick decision, but most players are going to be better off for it. But what if they’re not? Well, there is always the transfer portal. This article originally appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Chris Hays covers high school football, college football recruiting, the NFL and the Orlando Magic for the Sentinel. He can be reached at CHays@orlandosentinel.com. It pretty much reflects my opinion from back in February.

Our game was played under similar weather conditions which I think also limited the passing game, though both of the teams rely on the run attack. Regardless, our defense as usual was our main calling card and I wanted to highlight the outstanding play of our 4* DL #55 John Walker. Just confirmed his stat line for this ball game and he finished with 5 solo + 7 assists for a total of 12 tackles. Those are LB or Edge stats, so yes I continue to believe he is a 5*. If UCF can continue to recruit players like him and Kaven Call from your school they also can have a defense they can rely on in the coming years.

Regarding AHP, I would certainly put them ahead of a few teams ranked higher including ourselves.

AHP should put a scare in people with a dominant offensive output vs Los Alamitos CA, ranked 25th national and top 5 in California (56-27). The offensive weapons possessed by AHP are frightening from the RB's, WR's and QB. You better be ready to score some points or won't have a chance. The number 1 QB in the nation Malachi Nelson and his star receiver are unbelievable talents for Los Al but were no match for AHP. They beat Lowndes last week and though they have a very strong schedule the game with CMD on 9/16 is a must see.

That is a bit of good news for the Brevard Power 3. Congrats, not many expected this type of score.

Another point I can agree with, worry about winning playoff games and state rather than other people recognizing you as ELITE which is your term not mine. The respect you seek will be earned as you have also put it, "How You Finish the Season".

Without question, opening season games are the most difficult to forecast with so many unknowns. So how do you think you did in the opening round?

No matter how you dice it, a very impressive win to open the season.

You are 100% correct saying who in the state of FL could win all 3 of these games and my answer would be no one. Winning any of them will be a challenge and hope you can manage at least one. Those are ball busters for sure, but in reality the rest of your schedule, at least in preseason forecast has no team in Josh's top 25 or Maxprep top 50 albeit some good teams. Point being, these 3 games is really the only thing you can hang your hat on wanting recognition as being ELITE. Dozens of other FL teams could win the other 7.

Don't know as it would have been similar to the game tonight with 2 teams that need to establish the run which is their strength against 2 stout defenses. I thought it was a toss up. Our O-line performance was spotty tonight although I have confidence they will continue to gel and improve game by game. Ocoee will surprise some people as they have re-loaded pretty well with some quality players.

In a defensive struggle Osceola did enough to defeat Treasure Coast in a slugfest by the score of 14-5. They were able to run the ball better against our defensive front than I thought they would but despite giving up some yards they never got into the end zone. Their initial drive was helped by several offside penalties we committed early to keep the chains moving and got into field goal range and hit it. On the ensuing kickoff our sophomore star RB Taevion Swint return it for about a 90 yard TD. Later in the 2nd quarter we put together another good drive and Taevion punched in his second TD. They got a safety when their punt pinned us at our 1 yard line for the other 2 points. We only had one good drive in the second half and should have scored our 3rd TD on a short slant, but our receiver bobbled the ball and allowed the defender to strip it from him for an INT in the end zone. No more scoring in the second half. Offensively we were inconsistent throughout the game but I think their defense had alot to do with that. It was your typical UGLY WIN, but a win nevertheless against a team most on this forum picked to win the game against us. QB position still in flux as both were given opportunities throughout the game to earn the job and neither seemed to be the clear winner. On to the next game against a strong Sanford Seminole team that some didn't feel would dominate Sarasota Riverview but simply blow them out 48-0.

You are right, many posts are quite entertaining but your sober analysis earns respect.

In the event you forgot, we are the Kowboys. Not a member of a tribe. 20 years in California TOO. HUHH??

Unfortunately, you are still suffering mental loss. Your take was Lakeland vs Lake Gibson from the jump. Coach Castle vs Coach Pringle. Osceola has never been charged with a recruiting violation either, so you can't even replace Osceola for Lakeland in that respect either. Finally, the player in question is AT LAKELAND not Osceola. A bit late for deflecting.

Will do a toast to the Niceville program and tradition. From my faraway perch it is a class act and in a tight community a team folks can rally around. Good luck in the upcoming season.

I don't have an answer to that question, but I also didn't make the remark. My only take with this kid is he has been playing in our youth league, on the same team with many of our players for several years so it must have been a consideration for awhile. Our HC has zero intention of talking to players on other teams, but due to the aforementioned familiarity we were told he was going to make the transfer here. Obviously, in consultation with his Mom he made a different choice and they have their reasons. Didn't know if the question you posed was intended to solicit a response from me or the originator of the comment. In any event, this is how I see it.

You are correct and thanks for refreshing my memory on how it went down. I just remember having to re-kick was costly and we couldn't refuse the penalty. It was a tremendous game.

I didn't make the trip but listened the game live on the Niceville radio broadcast. The announcers were quite complimentary towards our players and I thought that showed alot of class. My recollection is we lost that game by a missed extra point (31-30), when we had actually tied it up but due to an offside penalty violation by our opponents we had to re-kick and missed the second try. Heartbreaking. Happily we got revenge the following year at our place 42-14.

Niceville hasn't been good for just the past three years, they have been for many years with down years losing 3-4 games and most only 1 or 2. They are a long distance from us therefore haven't played them except in two back-to-back Regional Finals (2013 and 2014) so that goes back a decade. They have a strong tradition and you are probably right that they lured Miami into that crazy drive for money. So still picking Niceville.

If you can draw any opinion from the past 2 years, they are 8-10 while Niceville is 21-3. Looking at their schedule, one of our top area teams Sanford Seminole traveled to Miami last year and gave them a 38-0 beatdown. Based on our team's experience in playoff games vs Niceville, I would be putting my money on the home team. They don't appear to be a big threat.

I second that opinion as that dynamic is amplified in our community not with triple the population growth but more like 50X what it was in 1970. Clearly the WDW effect adding lots of people, without the corresponding increase in football talent, coaching, resources, all the various things you might think would improve in this arena. Thank God for our feeder programs otherwise we would be toast.

Not alot of tape on Holland as he has been a backup the past two years, so only recent takes are from our Blue-Gold scrimmage and Spring game vs Edgewater in May. I posted my observations from that game as was impressed by his composure, earning his teammates respect and ability to make plays with his arm and his feet, all vs a quality opponent. Buggs played for a local christian school so don't know his thinking in transferring over, but we are happy to have him, just a big step up in the level of competition for him. Someone making an issue of this transfer as if we got someone we really needed knows nothing about our personnel. I didn't view it as a big "GET" when he starting practicing and over the last couple of months that view hasn't changed. Again, we will learn much more on Friday vs Treasure Coast.

I'm a fan, not the coach so it isn't for me to decide or speculate. If we get good weather Friday we will learn soon enough.

Your take is laughable as I did not accuse Lakeland of recruiting this particular kid if they taught you how to read and spell in Polk county; it's THACKER AVE by the way. I know nothing about this poster other than repeating his take. The crap you are shoveling my way needs to be directed at him, otherwise you are putting yourself in the same box. As for Gunner Holland, you obviously don't know diddly as he would prefer to play D and as a 2 time state wrestling champ is happy to compete with anyone. As I tend to fall back on, facts are troublesome and pointing out violations committed by your beloved "Legendary" school is undeniable. Others reading can decide who the "HATER" is.