Good start for a unit that has a strong tradition at Cal. Proof will be in the actual play starting with UCLA followed by the challenge of keeping the team together in this new era of journeyman football players who move through the portal to get more money and more minutes on the field, all in pursuit of a golden ticket to the instant riches promised by an NFL contract. There’s no longer much truth in the student athlete label which used to mean multiple years representing the institution that recruited you, but now is all too frequently just a way station and a self centered means to the ultimate prize of playing in the NFL. NIL money has ruined college sports combined with the ease of portal movement, so Cal is now in a big money contest with all the other Power 4-5 teams to see if it can put together a championship team made up of players from all corners of the portal recruiting world. No matter what happens, it will not be the same as having high school recruits representing Cal on the football field for all four years of their undergraduate education but rather paid employees who are here today but easily gone tomorrow for more money and more exposure.
I feel you, and you are certainly not alone in these sentiments. That said, I'm very pleased that the new administration has embraced the challenges of these changes and put a plan into place to put us in danger of succeeding given the current reality.
Good start for a unit that has a strong tradition at Cal. Proof will be in the actual play starting with UCLA followed by the challenge of keeping the team together in this new era of journeyman football players who move through the portal to get more money and more minutes on the field, all in pursuit of a golden ticket to the instant riches promised by an NFL contract. There’s no longer much truth in the student athlete label which used to mean multiple years representing the institution that recruited you, but now is all too frequently just a way station and a self centered means to the ultimate prize of playing in the NFL. NIL money has ruined college sports combined with the ease of portal movement, so Cal is now in a big money contest with all the other Power 4-5 teams to see if it can put together a championship team made up of players from all corners of the portal recruiting world. No matter what happens, it will not be the same as having high school recruits representing Cal on the football field for all four years of their undergraduate education but rather paid employees who are here today but easily gone tomorrow for more money and more exposure.
I feel you, and you are certainly not alone in these sentiments. That said, I'm very pleased that the new administration has embraced the challenges of these changes and put a plan into place to put us in danger of succeeding given the current reality.
I like that language, in danger of succeeding. Go Bears!
I like it. Focus on the unit. Let the bonds form. Brand new energy and purpose. Haven’t seen this in a long while.