As Armand Shyne walks out the door, it's a reminder that depth is not often accomplished by having a reliable senior athlete backing up your starter. Upperclassmen want to play and we've lost quite a few pretty good players the last few years who would have definitely seen some playing time but wanted more.
Now that transferring is so easy, I expect the exodus of upperclassmen to grow. That presents a problem for a team like Utah who relies a lot on "player development" to fill its roster. Utah can't take a lightly recruited kid, coach him up for 3 years and then expect him to be a backup. Depth needs to come from quality younger players. That's great if you're Alabama and your backup is a 4 star kid who's probably ready to play from day 1. It's not so great if you're Utah and your backup is a 2 star who needs to put on 20 pounds. A player development program like Utah is in a Catch 22. Their reserves are older and itchy to be in the limelight and yet their new recruits aren't ready to see the field.
SIDE NOTE: I see this new environment really helping Utah State. Not only are they picking up a lot of Utah's restless transfers but a player like Jalen Greene (from USC) was a huge contributor last year. Having Gary Anderson, who has a great resume to flash to potential transfers, will land them lots of good talent in the years to come. I see USU maintaining their position as second best program in the state.
Now that transferring is so easy, I expect the exodus of upperclassmen to grow. That presents a problem for a team like Utah who relies a lot on "player development" to fill its roster. Utah can't take a lightly recruited kid, coach him up for 3 years and then expect him to be a backup. Depth needs to come from quality younger players. That's great if you're Alabama and your backup is a 4 star kid who's probably ready to play from day 1. It's not so great if you're Utah and your backup is a 2 star who needs to put on 20 pounds. A player development program like Utah is in a Catch 22. Their reserves are older and itchy to be in the limelight and yet their new recruits aren't ready to see the field.
SIDE NOTE: I see this new environment really helping Utah State. Not only are they picking up a lot of Utah's restless transfers but a player like Jalen Greene (from USC) was a huge contributor last year. Having Gary Anderson, who has a great resume to flash to potential transfers, will land them lots of good talent in the years to come. I see USU maintaining their position as second best program in the state.
