I know we've been discussing WR recruiting and transferring, when not being interrupted by Mongo, who somehow got loose from his cage. But the principles around recruiting and the portal will hold true across all positions save QB in this cycle for Texas.
a) They'll stack as strong of a recruiting class as they can at each position group. They'll add as many guys at each spot as they think they can irrespective of the portal and current depth chart.
b) They'll work their asses off to retain not just standout personnel, but also those developing across the board. We're doing work to ensure a specific amount at a minimum across the roster, so developing back up guards and ILBs and TEs will have plenty of reasons to stay. Then major NIL work for impact players has been done and will continue to be put together to ensure Texas keeps the stars it's developing.
At non-super star positions where Texas has major talent, like Dicker at Kicker last year, Texas will have NIL help to push forward in a significant way to keep those guys from leaving to the NFL hoping to get drafted late or signed as an UDFA. The 3rd guard with a year left, the 6th WR who does well on special teams, the starting LB thinking about leaving early because he already has 3 kids. Shit like that. I don't know if that will matter in this particular cycle, but players are now learning that they can earn a good living by sticking it out. What Dicker did was idiocy. He left 6 figures on the table.
c) Then, they'll carve off the roster and ensure that players who aren't fits going forward will have enough time to enter the portal for greener pastures. There will, again, be some significant desired churn after this season. Not like last year, but certainly around double digits.
d) Finally, they'll be all over the portal if they can find one of two types of players:
1) players that are simply better than anything on the roster who can push the talent level up again, even if just a one year rental. Again, outside of QB, this is likely to be every position, including WR. They're not going to worry about depth behind Worthy if they can pick up a difference maker, All Conference type guy that is looking to join a program with more visibility.
2) players that have 2+ years of eligibility left who fit the culture profile, have shown they have the talent to start, and will come here to earn a starting position or first off the bench. They have guys scouting the non-blue blood programs on staff right now. People are watching footage of every game from this weekend and they're adding guys to list review in the event they opt-in to the portal.
Pre-portal scouting at the G5 and FCS levels is an area where the "haves" can have a giant competitive advantage to the "have nots" as things continue to evolve in this landscape. I expect Texas to keep adding help on this front. I expect Clemson to continue falling behind on this front, gloriously.
Regardless of where a player fits into these categories, the overall outlook is trending towards a very healthy "Up or Out" approach. Get enough "up" on the roster and no single player can ever hold you hostage outside of QB.