Matt is writing a notebook feature on today's presser. Braun talked a lot about what the game means to him and the program, and how much those extra practices will help. What stood out the most to me were his answers to Matt and my questions about recruiting, the transfer portal and staffing.
First, he said that the coaching staff would stay intact through the bowl game. "We started this ride together, as a group with these players...and we're going to finish thing off together, the right way." So the coaching staff evaluation is ongoing, but they won't make any changes until after the bowl game.
I asked about the transfer portal and he had some interesting things to say. He said it was a fluid situation. "It hasn't been easy, there's a lot going on." First, he talked about finding out where players are in their decision process regarding next season and beyond. He doesn't think there will be many transfers, but guys are also deciding about their extra COVID year. They are also in the concurrent process of evaluating their team needs.
They still don't have a DPP in place and won't have that in place until after the bowl game, either. The most interesting thing to me was his statement that the recruiting operation would look very different next year, not necessarily in terms of people, but in terms of numbers. Sounds like they are going to ramp up. The bottom line is that I don't think there will be much portal activity in this early window because they just aren't ready. But it sounds like he has a vision that he's working toward and trying to put the pieces in place. That could be Skip Holtz's impact. He said not to expect many "big splash" names in the portal, but pointed out that Ben Bryant, AJ Henning, Richie Hagarty, Cam Johnson, et al, weren't the biggest names out there, but they were "the right guys for Northwestern."
First, he said that the coaching staff would stay intact through the bowl game. "We started this ride together, as a group with these players...and we're going to finish thing off together, the right way." So the coaching staff evaluation is ongoing, but they won't make any changes until after the bowl game.
I asked about the transfer portal and he had some interesting things to say. He said it was a fluid situation. "It hasn't been easy, there's a lot going on." First, he talked about finding out where players are in their decision process regarding next season and beyond. He doesn't think there will be many transfers, but guys are also deciding about their extra COVID year. They are also in the concurrent process of evaluating their team needs.
They still don't have a DPP in place and won't have that in place until after the bowl game, either. The most interesting thing to me was his statement that the recruiting operation would look very different next year, not necessarily in terms of people, but in terms of numbers. Sounds like they are going to ramp up. The bottom line is that I don't think there will be much portal activity in this early window because they just aren't ready. But it sounds like he has a vision that he's working toward and trying to put the pieces in place. That could be Skip Holtz's impact. He said not to expect many "big splash" names in the portal, but pointed out that Ben Bryant, AJ Henning, Richie Hagarty, Cam Johnson, et al, weren't the biggest names out there, but they were "the right guys for Northwestern."
