Power Five teams scouting Group of Five teams for future roster additions during the season? It is happening, says Utah State coach Blake Anderson
It was a simple question, posed on social media (X, the site formerly called Twitter) by long-time and now retired Salt Lake Tribune sports writer Steve Luhm.
“Do P4 schools have a coach (or coaches) scout G5 games (in person or off TV) so they can identify, contact and recruit players they like out of the portal?”
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Luhm’s question wasn’t directed at Utah State coach Blake Anderson. It was actually in response to a conversation about whether Anderson’s job should be in jeopardy after 1-3 starts in back-to-back seasons.
But Anderson took note of the question and issued a simple response.
“Yes ... they do,” Anderson wrote, including an angry-faced emoji in the post for good measure.
Anderson’s statement wasn’t the first time a head coach of a Group of Five program has denounced the actions of Power Five programs in the era of the transfer portal and name, image and likeness.
Last December, UTSA coach Jeff Traylor also took to social media to bemoan the actions of Power Five programs.
“Dear @NCAAFootball,” Traylor wrote. “How does @UTSAFTBL report Power 5 Schools who are trying to poach our young talent? How much evidence do we really need to make this not be a part of our game?”
This past June, UAB coach Trent Dilfer took an even stronger stance, saying on the “Ricky and Bubba Show,” “By the way, come try to take my guys. I dare you Power Fives. I’ve got a pretty big platform that I can step on. And if I find you in my kid’s DMs, if I find you talking to high school coaches about my kids, if you’re in my roster I’m gonna call ...
“And I’m gonna say it by name to the biggest voices in television today, and it’s gonna make ‘College GameDay’ and it’s gonna make ‘SportsCenter’ … because, by the way, those guys running ‘SportsCenter’ are still my friends. So, go ahead, I dare you to jump into my roster.”
Utah State lost 30-plus players during the offseason, many of whom departed via the transfer portal to Power Five programs.
Some have gone on to become major contributors for their new programs, including defensive end Daniel Grzesiak — one of Cincinnati’s highest-rated defensive linemen this season, per Pro Football Focus — and offensive lineman Weylin Lapuaho, who is BYU’s second-highest rated offensive lineman.
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Utah State brought in 40 new scholarship players as a result of its transfer portal losses, and the process of remaking the team on the fly has brought with it many challenges (i.e. a 1-3 start, with losses to Iowa, Air Force and James Madison).
“Growing up a team with this many new bodies is going to take much longer than any of us want, especially me and I know for the fans as well,” Anderson said. “But this is bigger than one game. It is bigger than one season. We’ve got to get this thing solid for the future. And that starts today. It started when we brought all these dudes in here.”
Anderson conceded Wednesday during his weekly appearance on the Utah State football coaches show, that players who are currently being developed by the Aggies could very well leave during the next offseason, though.
“There’ll be some guys that are playing a lot that’ll, you know, people will try to poach them,” he said. “We’ll see. It’s just the nature of it (college football).”
Anderson went further, though, noting that the current landscape of sport, specifically in regard to recruiting, NIL and the transfer portal, is “craziness.”
“I mean, there are (things happening) behind the scenes,” Anderson said. “There’s portal agents, there are seven-on-seven coaches who go into a school, know the coach, and he’s got a kid who’s performing well that he thinks is marketable. Maybe it’s as simple as them going ‘Hey, man, he’s gonna be with you guys.’ I mean, it’s just going on all the time. It’s craziness.”
The Aggies, Anderson said, have been doing work themselves on the recruiting trail — he made sure to note that that work is being done within the confines of NCAA rules and regulations — with multiple high school commitments, the latest being Corner Canyon wide receiver Tate Kjar.
Come December, USU will then turn its eyes toward the junior college ranks, Anderson said, with an ever-present eye on the transfer portal as well.
“It just really never stops,” Anderson said. “It is year-round and there’s no way to know how attrition will hit our roster.”
