Max Olson, ESPN joins 365 Sports to discuss his thoughts on what players are still in the portal that could make a big impact, what teams have raised some eyebrows this offseason in the transfer portal, his thoughts on Micah Hudson going back to Texas Tech, his thoughts on the Texas roster budget and more.
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Max Olsen, ESPN.com, who uh covers the transfer portal like you can’t imagine, joins us on this Friday morning. Max, thank you very much for your time. The portal closed and yet there’s always news. Uh let me let me ask you this. Let’s start with this. What are or who are in your opinion the highest rated difference makers left in the portal that you think could like make an immediate impact? Yeah, guys, I you know that that list is is dwindling a little bit as as players make their uh commitments to get signed and and get get rolling on on their new program. But I think the top guy still out there would would be AJ Holly from Houston. Um he’s he’s a guy who is a proven starter, was an all Big 12 player last season. Um certainly a ball hawk guy that’s you know played over 2,000 career snaps and so you know at this point guys like that you know you don’t typically see them hit the spring portal window. he he decided to move on after their spring game um which was a surprise and you know he’s got a lot of teams valid for him. I think at this point LSU is probably the favorite and that would be another just a cherry on top to uh certainly one of the the top two or three portal classes in the country. Um but yeah, a lot of demand for AJ Hall. Miami was in the mix as well. Um I I think he’s probably the best out there right now. Max, who are the uh couple of teams that uh maybe have piqu your interest the most with what they’ve done through the portal this off season? Just overall or the spring period? Yeah. Yeah, I guess let’s let’s do spring period. Yeah, I mean I I would say spring period like it it’s been interesting to see, you know, certainly from a Big 12 standpoint. Um you know, I think West Virginia is one of those that you look at and say like I I’m curious to see how all the pieces fit together there. Uh that’s been one of the more dramatic uh roster rebuilds that we’ve really seen this off seasonason. Um and and part of that is obviously they had some really good players leave the program this offseason after Neil Brown was fired, but that has certainly cleared room for for Richrod to go out and get his guys and I think by my account, West Virginia has brought in 43 transfers this off season. Um so just it’s going to be a completely different looking team next year. Um and and I think that’s interesting to see. um you know, can they can they find some difference makers there? They they brought in Jaylen Knighton from SMU, who’s a good running back. They were able to bring some good guys with them from Jacksonville State. They got Jamory Robinson from UTSA, who is the the American Conference defensive player of the year last year. So, I think that’s one of, you know, some of these teams that are just in these kind of massive rebuilds like we saw from Colorado a couple years ago. Um you’re you’re very curious to see, you know, can they find enough guys, can they get enough competitive depth that uh they could be totally different like we saw from from Indiana last year? Yeah, I think West Virginia is is super intriguing and don’t know what to expect at all, but definitely uh they’re more interested and obviously if I had expanded that question and said overall Texas Tech would be the first team off the top of your lips, right? [Music] [Music] [Music] Yeah. And I think I think that’s probably like end of the day they’ll probably finish at the number one portal portal class. I mean, LSU has done an amazing job of of getting difference makers, but I I just think what Texas Tech has uh has done, what they’ve been willing to do um in this offseason is is pretty remarkable. And I, you know, I think you I I I know that like probably around the state, there’s a lot of just sort of like eye rolling of like, oh, I think they can just sort of like buy their way to the top. Like, we’ll see about that. But the the players that James Blanchard has brought in this off season, these are these are NFL players. like this is not just like, oh, these guys that are overhyped because they’re in the portal and they’re getting all these offers. Um, you know, the these are guys with with NFL futures. And so, um, you know, to add what they’ve added on the defensive line, I think they feel like they’ve got one of the best defensive lines in the country now, especially after they added David Bailey from Stanford this spring. Um, really fortified the offensive line. I like the playmakers they added. Um, you know, it’s how that’s another one where you’re just like, okay, you got new coordinators, you got a ton of new players. Um, you need Baron Morton to stay healthy. like a lot of stuff’s got to come together here. Um but yeah, certainly in terms of flipping their fortunes from from an eight- win season, uh Texas Tech’s done an unbelievable job. Yeah, they need to win the games that that that they that kind of tripped them up. And Spike Dikes used to do that back in the day. He might beat Texas one week and then lose to North Texas the next. So, they got to win those that uh have been a problem for them and it’s not easy. Does Micah, this is kind of a a tongue and cheek. Yeah. Does Micah Hudson count as a five-star transfer in? Yeah, it depends on what website you’re looking at. It’s a good No, it’s a good question because honestly, I think that’s a thing that like the industry is like still trying to figure out how are we supposed to handle this stuff. Like Jonte Cook went from Texas to Washington, got dismissed to Washington, just committed to Syracuse yesterday. Like is he a fivestar still or how are we supposed to look at him? I I think that uh certainly I think for Micah Hudson it’s a smart decision to come back because I think if you you know if if you have uh a short run at Texas Tech, a very short run at&m and then things don’t work out at that next school like man for for being a guy who was ranked right up there with Jeremiah Smith and Ryan Williams all those guys like I you know you’re you’re in a really tough spot if you’re if your next move is not a good move. So um I I think it’s a good decision on his part, a mature decision. Um, I I don’t think Micah Hudson’s going to come in and have a thousand yard season this year. I I I don’t know how big of an impact he’s going to make. I think he’s really got to put in the work to uh to to, you know, earn the trust of his coaches and teammates again and earn a role in this offense. And obviously, uh, they’ve recruited at an extremely high level this offseason to to add more receivers and playmakers. So, um, how how this all works works out for him, you know, we shall see. But, um, I I I think it’s going to be a process here of him uh, you know, working his way back onto the field. So, if you again, the Micah Hudson, I’ve been thinking about that. Nico Yamalava obviously was a five-star player now at UCLA. How many of the transfers and there may be more than I realize were actually five-star players coming out of high school? Do you know? It’s a good It’s a good question. Now that the dust is like settled, that that would be a good thing to go count up. I mean, you do see u a pretty pretty like decent number of them. I think uh obviously the quarterback position you’re just going to constantly see movement um with those guys and and there’s just very few ex at this point in in this sport there’s just very few examples of like the Trevor Lawrence like five-star three and done like go out and and do everything you want to do in three years and and go pro and and you know be a first round pick and all that like we just don’t you know as we saw with Quinn your last week we just don’t see those those stories happen that often nowadays with all the stuff that um has changed in the sport and the way that the money influences it and the co years and all this kind of stuff. So, um I think you’ll you’ll you’ll continue to see a lot of fivestar quarterbacks make moves. Um and then, you know, I think the the five stars that hit the portal, you know, I think more more often than not, those are going to be the guys where things haven’t worked out, where they’ve had injuries, where they’ve had issues, where they’re just not things haven’t gone the way that they anticipated. Um but but that doesn’t mean that like, you know, that that doesn’t mean coaches are any less interested. I think there’s still, you know, you want to look at the tape and all that kind of stuff, but then you still kind of default to like, okay, well, everybody thought he was good two years ago, so we probably should take a chance on him. Max, uh, when you saw the headline or kind of the conversation going around the last couple of days revolving around Texas and the reported amount of money they’re spending, I know there’s been some debate on how accurate the number is and a little bit of push back from Texas. Um, and there’s also just that that weird um stretch that we’re still in where people are getting used to being able to talk freely and openly about money and not feel like the NCAA is going to come calling, right? Um, but did you bulk at that number or did you go like, “Okay, I could totally see that 3540 million for a for a roster.” I I I think in this example, in this specific example of Texas, I I don’t think it’s 35 to 40 million. I know Chip Brown has reported it’s closer to 25 to 30. Honestly, I think that probably makes more sense. Um, you know, one thing there’s a lot of this stuff that’s just new, so I understand people are still kind of catching up to it. One thing you got to remember, these schools are not devoting $20 million of revenue sharing to their football program. They’re they’re going to devote like 75% of that or so. Um, you know, Texas will will will probably, you know, I think they they’ll from rev share they’ll get probably like 13 and a half million for their roster this year and the rest of that comes from the collective just like we’ve seen with Texas Tech. But, you know, if Texas people push back and say Texas Tech has spent more, I I think that’s 100% right. And I think part of that is like look, talent retention is very expensive. Um, you know, when you have Colin Simmons and and Ryan Wingo and like the Anthony Hill and the studs that they have, um, those guys, you know, are worth a lot. they’d be worth way more in the open market. Um, you know, one thing that Texas sources have always said is that Quinn Years and Arch Manning are not taking collective money because they they get so much outside money from actual like real NIL real brand deals and all that kind of stuff. So, you know, it’s not like Arch Manning is eating up four million of your cap there either. Um, so I I think it’s like and then you look at Texas portal class. Um, you know, like Texas battled with Texas Tech, uh, for for Lee Hunter, who is a guy that’s, you know, gonna make definitely over two million this year. Like that guy’ probably be in Texas if Texas had $40 million, you know. So, I I think part you look at their portal class, they found some good fit, but they haven’t brought in a bunch of superstars this offseason. So, I think probably 25 to 30 is probably about right, just what I see on paper. Um, and and certainly we’re going to see a bunch of teams that are in that range. And uh you know, I think if you’re going to spend at that level, then obviously people are going to have playoff expectations and and they’re going to expect Texas to uh be in the hunt for a national title again. So if they ever wrap up and sign and move forward with the house settlement and that $20.5 million revenue sharing, and a lot of that goes to football, Max, I’ve kind of heard conflicting reports. We had a great attorney on, he was fantastic yesterday, uh, Mulaney. And we’ve I’ve talked to, uh, those at GXG elite here, and of course there’s the the Texas Tech contingent with Cody Campbell being most of the uh, attention, but the millionaires and billionaires they have. Yeah. Uh, how much will NIL collectives impact post house settlement and how many of them might just dissipate and morph into the school itself? Uh yeah, it’s it’s a really good question and I think that the answer is a little bit like the perspective and the answer is a little bit different everywhere you go. Um you know I have talked to some GMs who who think that you know their collective will probably kind of fold up and and go internal and you know I think some of the places where maybe it has been a little bit of a struggle to raise a ton of money from the collective side like you’re kind of comfortable with that kind of moving in-house. Um, but I but I I think that we are also like there’s a little bit of like a bubble that’s going to come in December here that I think you kind of like the schools like Texas Tech or Texas that um you know that that are are spending at a high level like I think you’re you’re still going to count on the collectives to step in here and step up because you have to understand the the what these players are getting paid for 2025 uh far obviously far exceeds 13 million at any of these schools, right? And so you’re not going to go to your players at the end of the season and say, “All right, hey, great great job this year. Obviously, we’re going to need you to take a pay cut next year.” Like, you know, the players and their agents are not going to be cool with that at all. So, you’re going to need to find a way to at least maintain this level of spending um or or come close to it. And so, you know, we’ll like obviously we’ll see if like the the you know, is this cap like upheld? people just go, you know, spend far beyond it and there’s no enforcement. Like, we’ll see how how people circumvent that stuff. But I do think there’s still an important role here probably for collectives because there’s just a lot more money uh that’s going to go into this roster next year. You know, when I when I say 20.5 million, guys, that’s for the whole school year. That’s not just for the football season, right? So, like, you know, how how school that money is is you got to be very careful and you’re going to need more of it obviously for 2026. Yeah, it’s it uh it I I can’t wait for it to be signed. So then we know what else we There’s still going to be lawsuits. There’s still going to be people challenging the portal. Do you think we’ll ever get to a time though where they limit the number of times you can transfer and or as you saw players who signed NIL agreements no matter the sport and then turned around and signed with somebody else. Can they ever curtail that or is that going to always be a legal issue? I I think if they become employees and and they are signing multi-year agreements, then then that’s probably how you uh you curb the transfers a little bit. It’s just that guys are having those those buyout provisions and it is costly and there there is a hurdle to uh just jumping from school to school. Um you know, obviously you’ve got the Arkansas case right now where they’re going after two of their players that transferred including Nico’s brother. um you know, will they and and in Arkansas’s case, they aren’t just seeking the the money they’ve already paid Madden. They’re they’re they’re seeking more than that. They’re seeking a a percentage of what they were going to pay him this year. So, um you know, if that if that stuff is successful, and I don’t know that it will be, but um it might just be arbitrated and they they compromise. But I I I think that’s probably going to be like the roadblock to transferring in the future that that these schools are trying to set up is just, hey, if you want to transfer, you can transfer. we’re not going to limit what schools you can go to, but you’re have to pay us money. Um, and I think that that’s that’s not a thing that everybody’s going to be willing to do. Um, nor are the schools that you’re going to be willing to pay those off for you. So, how that stuff plays out here over the next few months, I think, is really interesting. Um, because certainly the NCLA is not able to enforce any of its rules around transfers at this point. So really it’s just going to have to come down to contracts and can you uh create a system um whether or not they’re employees uh that is binding and you have to stay in school. Max, uh last thing for you because you keep up with the portal and it is such a huge part of college athletics today. Do you go to a certain site and follow it like we used to follow for example just high school rankings from various sites? Do you go to an NCAA portal site? Do you have the alerts? How does that work? Or is sometimes that information fed to you before it even reaches truly the portal? Yeah, it’s a it’s a blend of a lot of stuff. Um, you know, certainly nowadays it’s it’s a lot of communication with agents about uh guys who are going to go in the portal and where they’re going to visit and when they’re committing all that kind of stuff. U you know, certainly the folks at at 247 and on three do a great job of of covering this as well and and of tracking who’s going where. So, there’s a piece of that and um you know, certainly you try to monitor the portal and and who’s going in and where they’re signing, all that kind of stuff. It’s it’s kind of a blend of all those things and uh it’s uh it’s pretty timeconuming at this time of year. Uh but I I I enjoy it. I I I’m I’m sure there are fans that are quite frustrated by it and you know, you want to feel like when it when like you want to feel like high school recruiting matters and that you’re going to get a guy in your program who’s going to be there for four or five years and develop and obviously the model is like totally changed. Um, I understand the frustration of it, but uh I I think that just the way that roster management um and player acquisition, all that is changing right now, um it it’s changing on a daily basis and it’s been uh pretty fascinating to cover. Thank you for get getting on early with us, Max. Appreciate it. Uh have a great weekend. Uh and thank you so much for your time. Max Olsson, ESPN.
