Jaxon Player comments on Decision to Transfer

TU1NNJ

All-American
Sep 23, 2004
8,172
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So my interpretation: I want to play professionally, the NFL isn’t calling so I’ll take another professional route (NIL through boosters which has nothing to do with my name, image or likeness they are just paying me to go to their school). Even if I hurt the school that gave me a chance four years ago it is okay because it’s all about business and me. I lived up to my word and stayed four years. I don’t have to sit out because it is free agency baby and coaches do it too so it is alright. I am a Golden Hurricane for life just not next year.

My guess is still Baylor or TCU because of the close to home statement.
 

lawpoke87

Heisman
Dec 17, 2002
166,377
20,416
82
So my interpretation: I want to play professionally, the NFL isn’t calling so I’ll take another professional route (NIL through boosters which has nothing to do with my name, image or likeness they are just paying me to go to their school). Even if I hurt the school that gave me a chance four years ago it is okay because it’s all about business and me. I lived up to my word and stayed four years. I don’t have to sit out because it is free agency baby and coaches do it too so it is alright. I am a Golden Hurricane for life just not next year.

My guess is still Baylor or TCU because of the close to home statement.
As long as the colleges are giving one year ships and may rescind said ship every year I have a hard time faulting the kids now that the playing field has been somewhat leveled. Contractually bind the colleges to four year non-rescindable ships and my thoughts might shift.
 
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nevadanatural

All-American
Dec 3, 2003
13,340
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I saw nothing in that article that I would consider a “gut punch”, in fact I thought he was very thankful and respectful to TU. I would have liked for him to return next season but if he thinks playing a year in the B-12 or SEC can improve his future then more power to him. If all of our guys stayed 4 years we should be thankful. How about OU, they started last year with a sophomore heisman hopeful at QB and ended with a freshman phenom who looked like the future of the program and they both hit the portal.
 

drboobay

All-American
Dec 4, 2003
14,605
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I am not outraged by his choice but really he is irrelevant to me now. I would rather he go to Arkansas so that we hear about him the least because I don't care to be reminded of his move.
 

Lumpuckeroo

Senior
Oct 5, 2015
842
637
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This transfer stuff is making me not care about college athletics any more.
So true ! If you are good enough to play in the NFL it doesn’t matter if you play at little old
Tulsa or if you show up at TCU or Baylor. IT’S WHAT YOU MAKE OF YOURSELF THROUGH PASSION AND EFFORT.
We all witnessed what Zaven accomplished and we knew he was better than anyone at OU or OSU, BUT he

didn’t jump ship for better exposure .
 

mcane

All-Conference
Dec 3, 2003
8,460
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Leave politics out or it
Do you seriously think the “left” has influence in the deep red SEC or in the NCAA?
Take your politics to the other board I never read

hate the Guerin article
An unnecessary slam against TU
But he’s from OKC, is an OU homer and regards TU football as division 2
What a waste of print
 

drboobay

All-American
Dec 4, 2003
14,605
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Leave politics out or it
Do you seriously think the “left” has influence in the deep red SEC or in the NCAA?
Take your politics to the other board I never read

hate the Guerin article
An unnecessary slam against TU
But he’s from OKC, is an OU homer and regards TU football as division 2
What a waste of print
That's what I mean. Best that Player leaves the state so we can avoid this repeated press garbage.
 

noble cane

All-Conference
Feb 25, 2002
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"To make a player sit out a year or fans being mad at players for wanting to transfer... It all boils down to it’s a business.”

The essence of the decision..

We have been pushed to this point since OU and the others formed the CFA and went to court to demand greater access to TV and its money...

ESPN and the rest of the sports media has access to all that satellite time and a need for content (there is only so much "Magic: The Gathering" you can show.).. so sh!tloads of money is spent on college sports. Big schools have big alumni bases and perrenial powers have bandwagon fans....

I hate to see him go.. but until the NCAA totally fractures into the NFL D- League and everyone else... this is what is going to happen..
 
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noble cane

All-Conference
Feb 25, 2002
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So true ! If you are good enough to play in the NFL it doesn’t matter if you play at little old
Tulsa or if you show up at TCU or Baylor. IT’S WHAT YOU MAKE OF YOURSELF THROUGH PASSION AND EFFORT.
We all witnessed what Zaven accomplished and we knew he was better than anyone at OU or OSU, BUT he

didn’t jump ship for better exposure .
Zaven also didnt hang around for a non covid sanctioned season... he benefited immensely from the hardships placed on other programs...

Had he stayed an extra year, i believe that his draft status would have reflected his talent shortcomings..
 

chito_and_leon

All-Conference
Dec 5, 2003
6,511
2,765
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"To make a player sit out a year or fans being mad at players for wanting to transfer... It all boils down to it’s a business.”

The essence of the decision..

We have been pushed to this point since OU and the others formed the CFA and went to court to demand greater access to TV and its money...

ESPN and the rest of the sports media has access to all that satellite time and a need for content (there is only so much "Magic: The Gathering" you can show.).. so sh!tloads of money is spent on college sports. Big schools have big alumni bases and perrenial powers have bandwagon fans....

I hate to see him go.. but until the NCAA totally fractures into the NFL D- League and everyone else... this is what is going to happen..
1000% right. Athletes have one life and very short careers, I can't blame them for making the best of it.

Everybody said free agency would ruin pro leagues and they're making more money than ever. Of course, they have salary caps and luxury taxes to create competitive balance. I'm sure we'll get something like that in college, too, once the pro college teams separate from the amateur college teams.
 

PNTrough

All-Conference
Oct 30, 2015
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I saw nothing in that article that I would consider a “gut punch”, in fact I thought he was very thankful and respectful to TU. I would have liked for him to return next season but if he thinks playing a year in the B-12 or SEC can improve his future then more power to him. If all of our guys stayed 4 years we should be thankful. How about OU, they started last year with a sophomore heisman hopeful at QB and ended with a freshman phenom who looked like the future of the program and they both hit the portal.
I found his responses to be measured and mature, as I believe you did too as well. Indeed he may have paid someone to prepare him for the interview. If he did not, he has a future beyond football in a few different industries.
 
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PNTrough

All-Conference
Oct 30, 2015
800
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I saw nothing in that article that I would consider a “gut punch”, in fact I thought he was very thankful and respectful to TU. I would have liked for him to return next season but if he thinks playing a year in the B-12 or SEC can improve his future then more power to him. If all of our guys stayed 4 years we should be thankful. How about OU, they started last year with a sophomore heisman hopeful at QB and ended with a freshman phenom who looked like the future of the program and they both hit the portal.
LOL at OU. They are just like 1994 OU, where they thought they could keep doing what they were doing in 1987 and keep winning by doing a few window dressing changes while the game radically changed around them. The program is a shambles and the internal and external message is everything will be OK because there's only one Oklahoma and as long as we do things like Bob did them, everything will be OK. LOL, umm ... no.
 

Tuloma

Redshirt
Jun 30, 2004
872
24
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Leave politics out or it
Do you seriously think the “left” has influence in the deep red SEC or in the NCAA?
Take your politics to the other board I never read

hate the Guerin article
An unnecessary slam against TU
But he’s from OKC, is an OU homer and regards TU football as division 2
What a waste of printicles.

I believe Guerin lives in Tulsa and attended Booker T Washington high school.
 
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quincy101

All-Conference
Nov 3, 2007
1,961
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Transfers come & they go-the nature of the beast. We've done OK with the incoming, so far. A kid named Tai Newhouse, a freshman recruit, looks like a keeper at D-tackle but will certainly need some time to approach J. Player level-if ever.
 

rusty-c

All-Conference
Dec 28, 2009
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I can’t imagine any other TU legends ever making these type of comments. Charles Clay, GJ Kinne, and Paul Smith would never have said anything like this.
It's a different landscape today than it was when those guys were killing it. Given the opportunity to play a fifth season on a different stage that could allow Jaxson the opportunity to earn an opportunity in the NFL and the financial rewards of said contract then I can't blame him and am delighted that we got 4 years out of him. With NIL and the portal that may not be the norm moving forward.
 
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chito_and_leon

All-Conference
Dec 5, 2003
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It's a different landscape today than it was when those guys were killing it. Given the opportunity to play a fifth season on a different stage that could allow Jaxson the opportunity to earn an opportunity in the NFL and the financial rewards of said contract then I can't blame him and am delighted that we got 4 years out of him. With NIL and the portal that may not be the norm moving forward.
+1. Players stay or go for a number of reasons, some of which we can control and some of which we cannot. I guess the first question is, have we done everything on the factors that we do control to be as attractive as possible for athletes? If we're not putting in the investment to be a the most attractive place we can be for players, then it doesn't seem to me that we have much to complain about.
 

TU Sepp

All-Conference
Feb 8, 2004
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Player has a 50/50 chance to be playing on Sundays after college.

If he goes to a Big 12 / SEC school and grabs a few hundred thousand NIL dollars, he will have a great start for life after college.
 

TulsaFan2000

Junior
Jan 6, 2019
516
339
38
Player has a 50/50 chance to be playing on Sundays after college.

If he goes to a Big 12 / SEC school and grabs a few hundred thousand NIL dollars, he will have a great start for life after college.
So we’re just going to sit here and admit that other schools are better fits for our players? What happened to having pride in our school and competing with our in-state rivals? We shouldn’t have this inferiority complex where we view OU and OSU better than us because they’re not.
 
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URedskin54

All-American
Jun 13, 2005
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It’s not about “better fit.” If someone tells me they’ll give me a few hundred thousand that I can invest and bank on if the NFL doesn’t work out I’m taking it no question. You would be dumb not to take that.
 
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astonmartin708_rivals

All-American
Apr 17, 2012
19,249
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It’s not about “better fit.” If someone tells me they’ll give me a few hundred thousand that I can invest and bank on if the NFL doesn’t work out I’m taking it no question. You would be dumb not to take that.
No offense to Player… but he’s not worth a few hundred thousand dollars for one season of play. I honestly can’t think of many players we’ve ever had who were worthy of that.

I think some guys like Adrian Peterson, Reggie Bush, Johnny Manziel… sure… they were worth quite a bit had they been allowed to profit. I just hope all the boosters at these schools enjoy waisting their money. No DL is going to bring you 100K increased publicity unless you’re the school itself.
 

tudawg

Sophomore
Dec 7, 2003
576
142
23
Maybe Player just wants to play on a defense that has 4 down linemen instead of 3 where he is double teamed on every play. Don't know too many offensive linemen that can handle him one on one.
 

rusty-c

All-Conference
Dec 28, 2009
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Maybe Player just wants to play on a defense that has 4 down linemen instead of 3 where he is double teamed on every play. Don't know too many offensive linemen that can handle him one on one.
If that is his rational and what he feels gives him the best chance of making it to the NFL then I can't argue with that, but teams will still figure out how to game lan to double team.
 

TU_BLA

Heisman
Mar 8, 2012
29,576
13,860
113
If that is his rational and what he feels gives him the best chance of making it to the NFL then I can't argue with that, but teams will still figure out how to game lan to double team.
It's actually going to be worse in a 4 man DL for Jaxon. He'll have guards chipping down on him from the side and then bounced by the center and if he breaks through on a passing down, he'll get hit by the back too. The chips from the side are the troublesome ones for DL who are trying to move laterally to get to a RB.
 

TulsaGrad07

Senior
Sep 26, 2015
968
668
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Player was fun to watch for as long as we had him. He always played with full intensity, never took a game / snap off. He didn't bash Tulsa, he said he enjoyed his time here and will always consider himself a Golden Hurricane. I would think our defensive strategy has to change from a 3 man front to a 4 man front without him. Wonder it we'll see a switch, or keep that formation going forward with some new guys up front.
 
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TulsaGrad07

Senior
Sep 26, 2015
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So we’re just going to sit here and admit that other schools are better fits for our players? What happened to having pride in our school and competing with our in-state rivals? We shouldn’t have this inferiority complex where we view OU and OSU better than us because they’re not.
I think we have to admit that OU / OSU have more money in their pockets than we do. If the NIL version of college football comes down to incentivizing players through money and contracts, we'll always be on the losing end of that battle with pretty much every school in the country given we have the smallest student body / alumni footprint of any FBS university.
 

Gmoney4WW

Heisman
Jul 4, 2007
42,446
15,446
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Player was fun to watch for as long as we had him. He always played with full intensity, never took a game / snap off. He didn't bash Tulsa, he said he enjoyed his time here and will always consider himself a Golden Hurricane. I would think our defensive strategy has to change from a 3 man front to a 4 man front without him. Wonder it we'll see a switch, or keep that formation going forward with some new guys up front.
I doubt they change from 3 to 4. The personnel we can recruit to the dl and linebackers dictates it as being a better system for our program.
 

TU Sepp

All-Conference
Feb 8, 2004
22,043
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Todays players don't play for a school, they play for a coach.

Now with the NIL money, you can add dollars to the list.

School loyality is a way of the past.
 
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URedskin54

All-American
Jun 13, 2005
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No offense to Player… but he’s not worth a few hundred thousand dollars for one season of play. I honestly can’t think of many players we’ve ever had who were worthy of that.

I think some guys like Adrian Peterson, Reggie Bush, Johnny Manziel… sure… they were worth quite a bit had they been allowed to profit. I just hope all the boosters at these schools enjoy waisting their money. No DL is going to bring you 100K increased publicity unless you’re the school itself.

I was referring to the hypothetical above my post rather than anything specific, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a guy like Player got low 6 figures. Schools are throwing around money right now that is only very loosely related to NIL, if at all.
 

astonmartin708_rivals

All-American
Apr 17, 2012
19,249
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I was referring to the hypothetical above my post rather than anything specific, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a guy like Player got low 6 figures. Schools are throwing around money right now that is only very loosely related to NIL, if at all.
I hope they all go bankrupt. Or their alumni do. Idiots.
 

cbonham

Sophomore
Apr 22, 2004
2,630
193
0
My two big problems with decisions like this:

1. If the player makes the NFL, the team he played for in that one season gets credit (not the team that had the foresight to recruit him and the coaching staff to develop him). Small schools like TU get a ton of needed street cred when guys like Robinson, Gipson, and Collins get drafted. We lose that thanks to the portal. Ironically, when guys like Player, Evans and Allie Green leave, they're doing so in the face of that recent draft success.

2. This is basically an extension of my first point, but the portal essentially turns small schools into a minor league or JUCO program where you'll almost have to assume you're just developing players for larger schools to lure away with dreams of more national exposure and higher draft positions. TU's coaches get punished for doing a great job with talent scouting and player development.

cb
 

drboobay

All-American
Dec 4, 2003
14,605
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My two big problems with decisions like this:

1. If the player makes the NFL, the team he played for in that one season gets credit (not the team that had the foresight to recruit him and the coaching staff to develop him). Small schools like TU get a ton of needed street cred when guys like Robinson, Gipson, and Collins get drafted. We lose that thanks to the portal. Ironically, when guys like Player, Evans and Allie Green leave, they're doing so in the face of that recent draft success.

2. This is basically an extension of my first point, but the portal essentially turns small schools into a minor league or JUCO program where you'll almost have to assume you're just developing players for larger schools to lure away with dreams of more national exposure and higher draft positions. TU's coaches get punished for doing a great job with talent scouting and player development.

cb
Well said. I have been thinking about this exact point.
 
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Larry Lewis_

All-Conference
Jun 19, 2005
1,587
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Well said. I have been thinking about this exact point.
It will be interesting to see if the "shut down corners" get drafted, how they do, etc. My Mizzou friend was not impressed by them. Both of them would have at least gotten camp invites because of their height and speed.if they had stayed at TU.

Player and those like him run a risk of getting hurt and downgrading his status. I think at least he would have gotten signed to a rookie free agent contract because people can see he can play.

TU should seriously think about never redshirting players any more. Redshirting only gives players more of a chance to transfer later.

Also, if there had been no Covid, Player would have finished his career at TU. He didn't redshirt. Same with Elijah Joiner. Same with Green.