and there it is. Unfortunate to say the least.

I'm not going to pretend to be happy for him if I'm being perfectly honest. I'm a UC Davis fan first and foremost and I don't feel super inclined to root for guys who want out of the program for what they think are greener pastures.

Good news is all the tape will be relatively new with a new QB...assuming Plough and Co. tweak the offense for Clee. The Big Sky will have to defend something they haven't seen yet...and Clee gets to open his career in the Portland area next season. This is assuming he's starting Week 1 and earns the job. With Wrighster and Rasor in the Portal, seems that's the notion.

Damn

Can he scoot if needed?

You’re not a downer, it is what it is. The NCAA has created a shitshow and days like today are the byproduct. I agree and wouldn’t be surprised if there was a slight domino effect.

I’m still very interested to see what the market will be. And CP is close enough with Plough that if he doesn’t get the deal he’s looking for, he might be back. We’ll know more by January 16.

Next man/men up.

Cleeland will be the best overall athlete on the field in most cases this season. Just that he also needs to be the smartest...he is not as quick or as shifty as Pinnick, however...but he does carry 225 lbs. on a 6'-1" frame and has a cannon. Jesuit HS Highlights (Beaverton, OR): Link

Nice. I'd trust the coaches to help optimize for the "smartest" element.

this makes me less of a downer. Good luck to Caden though, so fun to watch this year

Question for CP now is --- who has been calling him and what is the right opportunity for his future?

I think he'd be a great fit at a program like Oklahoma, Illinois, Syracuse or even Cal.

This will create a domino effect. I’m hearing that we aren’t done. Could be one or two more heartbreakers in the next couple of days…

What I will say is, we were in this exact (or worst) situation last year. Cleeland’s arm may be up there with the best arm talent we’ve seen here and Plough is a QB guru. We will see..

Man, this is such a bummer and I hate what college football has become. Being part of a team used to mean something and now it's just every man for themselves to secure the biggest paycheck possible. Just sucks that the Aggie Pride mantra has an asterisk on it that money can be more important than that pride.

Doesn't have to be that way - but the money is crazy out there...so I get the big temptation. Wish UC Davis had guys donating in the millions of dollars annually, but we aren't that program - we actually give a f*** about our players as human beings, not just commodities.

The NIL representation for CP is called Red Envelope Athletes, founded by Tom Brady’s old agent, Donald Yee. They literally scout players to represent, give valuations, and work to convince them to enter to lotto. I imagine they also have the potential suitors lined up on the other side. Messed up business in a messed up landscape.

do yall see him as a p4 starter next year? Curious what money he was offered

No.

What I find odd is why even declare for entering the portal if you'd already been receiving calls for interest and offers? Are these kids trying to start bidding wars over themselves via the portal or do they really have deals lined up? If you had an offer you couldn't refuse on the table, why not just take it and avoid the portal altogether?

Even backup QBs in the P4 are earning around $450,000 / year in comp.
Staring P4 QBs are in the $1.5M to $3.5M range - that's a lot of money for a few years playing some college football games. That's life changing money if invested properly, so I get it.

College Football is turning into Moneyball?

They have to enter/declare for eligibility purposes. It’s a formality. Likely has a deal done, that tends to happen with QBs. Could be in a bidding war, could have no real interest yet. We shall see.

True as well - could be that Pinnick has been given verbal agreements to challenging for a starting QB role at various D1 schools not called Miami, Oregon, Ohio State or Alabama...and maybe his Agency told him to simply put his name out there and let teams watch his film and assess the talent vs. the money...given his reputation for being a great young man, the risk vs. reward is good for a big-time program to bring Pinnick in.

The catch 22 of the portal is that if you pony up enough money to retain and recruit new players, they end up taking the money and trying to leverage that into more money on their way out the door, therefore making those cutting the checks much less likely to do so as they see their hard earned dollars leave as fast as they come... We'll see how long this all lasts. Troy Aikman's story is a good example. If I'm a big donor, I'm much more cautious moving forward.

My guess is that either someone invests to develop OR we look for programs that are sinking ships (1-2 years from HC firing) and need to find a guy NOW, either P4 or G5. I really love the kid’s game, I just don’t see him as an answer at P4 for 2026, so the development scenario probably makes more sense.

Looking at examples like Trinidad Chambliss at Ole Miss - went from a DII Power Ferris State to the SEC and is now in the Final Four.

Incarnate Word QB Cam Ward - went to Washington State for 2 years then made Miami a contender overnight, then was the #1 Overall Draft Pick.

Both of these guys spent multiple seasons at other programs before joining the 'Big Time'. So the examples are there, I just don't see a ton of success year 1 after leaving FCS or any lower level of competition.

Also, to some extent you can talk about QB Shadeur Sanders as well -- though I think SS could've landed at most D1 programs if he didn't follow his Dad to Jackson State...then eventually to Colorado.

Two very good comps, both exceptional arm talents.

Ward was 6’2” 223 at Miami and Chambliss LISTS at 6’0” 200. I’d give him the 200….

Our guy is a long way from 200 and he’s not 6’0 yet
I don’t think. Needs another year in the weight room to get there because those QBs last night took a hammering!

Man, if it's just a money vs. risk thing, I mean, you take the money and develop in another program I guess -- or you could start Year 2 at Davis, not get paid as much...but you get to play, guaranteed, all year -- and vie for a Natty....and still have two years in a Portal window opportunity.

Note also the horror stories - QB Sluka went from Albany to UNLV under a promise for said contract --- never got paid a dime, and had to opt out of playing further for UNLV until either the contract terms were paid off or some other program picked him up...

Let them go. It’s a dog eat dog world. This is why we need to be in FBS. It adds to the school and draws more eyes on us.

Let’s not villainize the athletes. These programs are offering loads of money to kids. These kids are seeing peers at Davis and other schools not even be able to get hired at a job with a 45k salary when they graduate. They are taking the money, as are the coaches. Blame the system for the free-for-all that is happening but then again, this is what happens when you exploit student-athletes for 75+ years..

So for Pinnick, if he jumps, does he still play baseball in the spring? Or do these kids transfer immediately and not even finish out the school year?

asap. You don’t pay that type of money for a kid to miss spring ball. Especially a QB