What does the 2025 Roster look like?

[Carm]

I pieced together the fall 2025 roster as it may shed some light on where we are likely to be in year and what the Class of 2025 needs.

Caveats-

• RS are included in their "new" class; I have not attempted to project future red shirts
• Obviously, I have no idea who will transfer out or otherwise leave, or who may transfer in
• Scholarship athletes in regular typeface, walk-ons in italics.

Things that pop out to me -

1. they are probably counting on some of the 2023 walk-ons at LB to contribute a fair amount - the walk-ons look good on paper, and we'll need them to be.
2. The numbers at DB (especially with Amare Sanders now CB'd to Nebraska) and LB in the 2024 class suggest at least a couple '24 DBs will land at LB. Also suggests we really need Jacob Smith in the 2024 class.
3. The 2025 class will have to have more than an average number of DBs and LBs.

What are your thoughts?

Please let me know if you think I have any errors or omissions

POS	Fr (2025s)	Soph (2024s)	Jr (2023s + RS2022s)	Sr (2022s + RS 2021s)
QB		Daniel Kaelin	Luke Longval	Henrich Haarberg
			Jack Woche	Chubba Purdy
RB		Kewan Lacy	Emmett Johnson	Gabe Ervin
			Kwinten Ives	Trevin Luben
			Cole Ballard
			Gage Wager
FB		Izaac Dickey	Lanson Ternus	Caden Becker
				Trevor Ruth
WR		Dae'vonn Hall	Malachi Coleman	Zavier Betts
		Jacory Barney	Jaidyn Doss	Ty Hahn
		Isaiah McMorris	Brice Turner	Barron Miles Jr
		Quinn Clark	Jaylen Lloyd	Elliott Brown
			Jeremiah Chrles	Taveon Thompson
			Demetrius Bell	Alex Bullock
			Cooper Hausman
			Roman Mangini
TE		Carter Nelson	Chase Androff	Thomas Fidone
		Ian Flynt	Jack Appleget	Arik Gilbert
		Keelan Smith	Janiran Bonner	Nate Boerkircher
			Ishmael Smith Flores	Caden Becker
			Luke Lindenmeyer
			Cayden Echternach
OL		Gibson Pyle	Justin Jenkins	Henry Lutovsky
		Landen Davidson	Jacob Hood	Teddy Prochazka
		Jake Peters	Tyler Knaak	Braden Klover
			Gunnar Gottula	Joey Mancino
			Brock Knutson	Keegan Menning
			Sam Sledge
			Mason Goldman
			David Borchers
			Grant Seagren
			Dylan Parrott
DL	Tyson Terry	Carlon Jones	Brodie Tagaloa	Ru'Quan Buckley
		Ashton Murphy	Vincent Carroll-Jackson	Blaise Gunnerson
			Riley Van Poppel	Elijah Jeudy
			Cameron Lenhardt	Kai Wallin
			Sua Lefotu	AJ Rollins
			Jason Maciejczak	James Williams
			Prince Umanmielen
			Leslie Black
			Conor Connealy
LB		Willis McGahee	Eric Fields	Seth Malcom
			Dylan Rogers	Randolp Kpai
			Maverick Noonnan	Mikai Gbayor
			Korver Demma	Jimari Butler
			Noah Bustard	Chief Borders
			Danny Pasko	Kaine Williams
			Jacob Bower	Grant Buda
DB	Caden VerMaas	Roger Gradney	Dwight Bootle II	Tamon Lynum
		Mario Buford	Syncere Safeeulah	Malclm Hartzog
		Evan Taylor	Ethan Nation	Koby Bretz
		Braylen Prude	Gage Stenger	Corey Collier
		Rex Guthrie	Rahmir Stewart	Ashton Hausmann
		Callen Barta	Cooper Wilson	Blake Closman
		Donovan Jones	Mason Blankenship Jones	Derek Branch
			D'Andre Barnes
ST		Kamdyn Koch	Tristan Alvano	Camden Witucki
		Nico Ottomanelli	Will DePooter

 

[Fargo Husker]

My thoughts?

15-0 at worst.

 

[Kaladin]

That OL group?

 

[Carm]

That OL group?

Buit that's why the skilled players have to be so fast

 

[Jim14510]

That OL group?

LT Teddy
LG Lotovsky
C Sledge
RG - ??
RT Knaak? Gunnar?

 

[Kaladin]

LT Teddy
LG Lotovsky
C Sledge
RG - ??
RT Knaak? Gunnar?

Teddy is injury prone, Luto should be solid by then, and Sledge and Gunnar will be RS sophomores.

Gonna need to bring on some serious OL transfers. We will be a playoff contender by 2025 though so I suppose we will be fine on the OL front

 

[Carm]

One thing to keep in mind - I can't forecast transfers. But if I counted right, there are 79 scholarships on this table for soph-sr years. That leaves 6 for the 2025 class. Obviously, that won't happen, I am assuming they will want steady state in the low 20s. But that means 15 of the scholarship guys you see in junior and senior year (guessing they don't process a lot of guys after freshman year) have to be gone by fall, 2025 as well.

 

[Carm]

I posted this in the July recruiting thread but it's also relevant here

These are the guys we seem to be pursuing at present (July 4, 2023) based on what is in the public domain

Targets of Current Focus
Grant Brix - OL	6-6, 290
Jacob Smith - LB/Edge	6-4, 225
Amare Sanders - DB	6-2, 187
Preston Taumua - OL	6-3.5, 300
Others
Nuku Mafi - OL/DL	6-5, 285
Semisi Tonga - OL	6-4, 310
Devoux Tuataga - Edge	6-5.5, 230
Jayshawn Ross - Edge/LB	6-3, 220
Brayden Platt - LB	6-1, 220
Take No Matter What - NOT IN THE 27
Caden Durham - RB	5-9 195
Gatlin Bair - WR	6-2 180	doesn't impact current class numbers

I'm now thinking we plan to take 27. That means that they anticipate that at least 20 of the guys they have with 3 or 4 years of eligibility this fall will be gone by the fall of 2025 (so they can recruit a "normal" 2025 class). Of course, about have of the guys that have 3/4 years eligibility are guys they recruited. in the class of 2023.

I think they are looking at 5 OL, and Sanders is the 8th DB - although to me, this likely means 1-2 of the current DBs are going start as LBs. 5 OLs and 6 DBs in this class is consistent with what they need to have the right scholarship numbers total in each group (18 or so).

Looking at it this way, Mafi and Tonga are plans B & C, respectively, after Brix/Taumua.

Ross, Tuataga, and Platt are likely the Plan Bs for Smith and Sanders (i.e., if they don't get Sanders, they move 1 DB to LB and recruit a second LB)

 

[BorWhiskey]

Good stuff @Carm . I was wondering if there is a rule that prevents us from letting a kid go NIL day one instead of scholly. I recall you saying that the only way to transfer from scholarship to NIL is if they are post graduate. But I’m wondering if some of our players are getting their tuition covered through NIL in the ’24 class, and since we don’t need to be public about the specifics it doesn’t make anyone look any worse off.

Also, do walk-ons sign LOIs? Not sure if there is any benefit to the player having never signed an LOI and getting his tuition funded through NIL.

 

[Carm]

Good stuff @Carm . I was wondering if there is a rule that prevents us from letting a kid go NIL day one instead of scholly. I recall you saying that the only way to transfer from scholarship to NIL is if they are post graduate. But I’m wondering if some of our players are getting their tuition covered through NIL in the ’24 class, and since we don’t need to be public about the specifics it doesn’t make anyone look any worse off.

Also, do walk-ons sign LOIs? Not sure if there is any benefit to the player having never signed an LOI and getting his tuition funded through NIL.

Walk-ons do not sign letters of intent. A letter of intent is effectively a contract of sorts in which the player agrees to attend in return for a scholarship.


A player could walk-on instead of signing a scholarship in theory but there are practical difficulties

1. The school doesn't know the player is really there until they enroll
2. The player is guaranteed a 4/5 scholarship if they take the scholarship. They could just be cut from the team at any time if they walk on, for any reason (poor performance, injury, etc.)
3. The NIL cannot (in theory at least) be offered as an inducement to attend the school. There is no way to iron-clad guarantee the amount of NIL. E.g., even if an amount was put forth, how does the collective know it will be able to get the funds in the future with certainty.

If I was the player, I'd be happy with NIL for a final year of eligibility, but I would never agree to take NIL in lieu of scholarship as a freshman.

 

[Pepe Silvia]

Walk-ons do not sign letters of intent. A letter of intent is effectively a contract of sorts in which the player agrees to attend in return for a scholarship.

View attachment 24876
A player could walk-on instead of signing a scholarship in theory but there are practical difficulties

1. The school doesn't know the player is really there until they enroll
2. The player is guaranteed a 4/5 scholarship if they take the scholarship. They could just be cut from the team at any time if they walk on, for any reason (poor performance, injury, etc.)
3. The NIL cannot (in theory at least) be offered as an inducement to attend the school. There is no way to iron-clad guarantee the amount of NIL. E.g., even if an amount was put forth, how does the collective know it will be able to get the funds in the future with certainty.

If I was the player, I'd be happy with NIL for a final year of eligibility, but I would never agree to take NIL in lieu of scholarship as a freshman.

I wonder if NIL has changed how many players take summer classes? before most would take 1 class each session so they could get scholarship money during the summer, which meant most had no problem graduating in 4 years or less. now with NIL I wonder if some don't need to do that in the summer?

I can definitely see risk in having a HS recruit walk on with NIL rather than a scholarship since they could be poached by other schools much easier. however we should be able to transition a majority of 4th year guys to walk-on/NIL deals

 

[Carm]

I wonder if NIL has changed how many players take summer classes? before most would take 1 class each session so they could get scholarship money during the summer, which meant most had no problem graduating in 4 years or less. now with NIL I wonder if some don't need to do that in the summer?

I can definitely see risk in having a HS recruit walk on with NIL rather than a scholarship since they could be poached by other schools much easier. however we should be able to transition a majority of 4th year guys to walk-on/NIL deals

You can't transition guys until the 4/5-year scholarship is fulfilled. In other words, if a guy redshirts, he is entitled to 5 years regardless of when he graduates.

The reason we see this now is that they gave everyone an extra year for Covid in 2020 without lengthening the schollie commitment. That means guys in their 6th year can be given a scholarship but are not entitled to one. This NIL-in-lieu-of scholarship gambit should go away once all the guys who were around for 2020 are gone.

 

[Pepe Silvia]

This NIL-in-lieu-of scholarship gambit should go away once all the guys who were around for 2020 are gone.

I hope not. if that loophole allows us to bring in more numbers we need to exploit it as much as possible