Superstar might be a tad strong, but yes, he played very well and our season would not have been what it was without him. Sure, I could have, and did, digest much of his story so that I could root for him just like I do any ND player, but I'd rather get behind a Minchey, or a Buchner, and watch them grow within the ND brand. I am not an ND alum, I chose ND as a fan because of what they represent (student-athlete) with class. It feels very NFL-ish, and I much prefer Cfball over NFL. If I'm beach (our USC guy) and USC went to the playoffs this year and won, it just wouldn't feel the same as winning with players I watched for years with a few underclassman sprinkled in. The victory would taste less sweet. ND will never be USC in the portal, I understand that, but we are slowly gonna inch our way there because supposedly we have to to remain relevant. My fear is we never go all in like USC and repeat the last 25yrs, close - but no cigar, and at what cost?
I am happy for the players for NIL. I am happy the players have more transfer options, coaches certainly do. I just dont want a bunch of journeymen juco dudes. I liked Justin Yoon (for example) and enjoyed watching his career - who is our punter and kicker again this year?
Ben Skowronek on the Rams is always mentioned as an ND guy, he ain't, he's Northwestern. He was a Flex-Seal guy. Let's just build the boat right with no holes to patch.