Official RUTS NFL/Transfer Decisions

Today was the deadline for underclassmen to declare for the upcoming NFL Draft and for transfers to make a final decision on staying at their current school. After each player's press conference, it's mostly great news for each of the RUTS Dynasty teams.
(Remember, talking players into returning takes away from off-season week 1 recruiting time!)

Here is the list, then we'll conclude with some analysis on each team's players and the impact they can make in Season 3.

Clemson
M. Cloy (Center) - RS Soph. - NFL Draft - STAYING AT CLEMSON
B. Maxwell (CB) - JR. - NFL Draft- STAYING AT CLEMSON
M. Gilcrhist (CB) - JR. - NFL Draft- STAYING AT CLEMSON
C. Harris (TE) - Fresh. - Transfer to FAU- STAYING AT CLEMSON
T. McFadden (SS) - Fresh. - Transfer to Memphis - TRANSFERRING TO MEMPHIS
M. Chavis (DT) - Fresh. - Transfer to Memphis- STAYING AT CLEMSON


Florida
J. Barrie (Center) - Jr. - NFL Draft - STAYING AT FLORIDA
J. Haden (CB) - Jr. - NFL Draft - STAYING AT FLORIDA


Florida State
C. Ponder (QB) - Jr. - NFL Draft - STAYING AT FSU
B. Paul (RB) - RS Soph. - Transfer to Duke - STAYING AT FSU


LSU
T. Toliver (WR) - RS Soph. - NFL Draft - STAYING AT LSU
J. Eugene (CB) - Jr. - NFL Draft- STAYING AT LSU
C. Hawkins (CB) - Jr. - NFL Draft- STAYING AT LSU
K. Sheppard (OLB) - Jr. - NFL Draft- STAYING AT LSU
A. Montoya (K) - Fr. - Transfer to Arkansas- STAYING AT LSU
B. Outlaw (RB) - Fr. - Transfer to Arkansas- STAYING AT LSU
N. Fifita (MLB) - Fr. - Transfer to FAU- STAYING AT LSU


Miami
A. Bailey (DE) - Jr. - NFL Draft - STAYING AT MIAMI
G. Cooper (RB) - Jr. - NFL Draft- STAYING AT MIAMI
D. Van Dyke (CB) - Jr. - NFL Draft- STAYING AT MIAMI
B. Brown (RB) - Fr. - Transfer to Miss. State - TRANSFERRING TO MISS. STATE
R. Armstrong (OLB) - Fr. - Transfer to LSU- STAYING AT MIAMI
T. Streeter (WR) - Soph. - Transfer to Miss. State- STAYING AT MIAMI


Nebraska
R. Hill (TE) - RS Soph. - Transfer to Boise State - STAYING AT NEBRASKA


Texas
V. McGee (RB) - Jr. - NFL Draft - DECLARED FOR NFL DRAFT
S. Harris (QB) - Jr. NFL Draft - STAYING AT TEXAS
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All in all, it was outstanding news for the 7 RUTS Dynasty teams today. Only 1 team had a player declare for the NFL Draft (Texas) and two teams (Clemson and Miami) have players transferring.

Here we'll anayze each team's outlook after today's decisions.

Back to back national champion Clemson received great news that three of its season 2 All-Americans will be back to make a run at a 3-Peat next season. Having Gilcrist and Maxwell back as lock-down corners will be huge, but can they replace Heisman winner C.J. Spiller in the backfield. When Season 1 Heisman winner James Davis graduated, Spiller was waiting in the wings, but the Tigers have no such back waiting for season 3 and will look to an experienced but talented stable of backs to carry the load in the Tiger's balanced attack. Clemson lost one player, CB T. McFadden, to Memphis. But, Coach utvol27 insinuated that McFadden had become a "cancer" to his team, adding that he (McFadden) would "fit in nicely at Memphis."

The Florida Gators were delighted to get word that All-America, team leader and starting Center J. Barrie will return to Gainesville for season 3, along with speedy shut down cornerback Joe Haden. With yet another dynammic recruiting class coming in, you have to wonder, will the Gators ever drop off, or just continue to reload?

The most surprising announcement came from Florida State signal caller Christian Ponder, who was the top rated QB on NFL Draft boards. Ponder, who is sure to be the Heisman favorite entering season 3, opted to return to FSU for his senior season. Ponder had been projected to be the top pick in the upcoming draft, but Ponder's best friend's sister's uncle's 2nd-cousin's roommate told RUTS reporters "ain't no way Christian was going to play ball in Detroit! It's cold up there and they suck!" Nevertheless, Ponder's return will sure to create a stir in the ACC race.

LSU Tigers Head Coach UTVol54 breathed a huge sigh of relief, then lead the attending coaching staff, teammates, and Baton Rouge media in a stirring rendition of Naughty By Nature's "Hip Hop Hooray" after 7 Tigers players stood together at the podium and announced they would return to Baton Rouge next season. Defensive players Jai Eugene, Chris Hawkins, Kelvin Sheppard, and Nick Fifita stated the chance to play for incoming defensive coordinator John Chavis was too much to pass up. Starting Freshmen, Kicker Aaron Montoya and RB/WR Bo Outlaw, were mysteriously contemplating transferring to SEC rival Arkansas, but decided to stay Tigers at the last minute. Coach UTVol wondered aloud if there were some sketchy recruiting tactics going on in Fayetteville saying that "the Hogs will pay for messing with my team!" Perhaps the biggest victory on this day for the Tigers was the news that star WR Terrance Toliver, only a red-shirt sophomore, would be back in purple and gold next season catching passes from QB Jarrett Lee. Lee, a RS soph as well and 2nd team All-American, had surprisingly not even considered turning pro.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers, new to RUTS in season 3, received word that TE R. Hill has decided to remain in Lincoln. Hill, a backup on the depth chart was considering a transfer to Boise State. Although coming off a few down years by Cornhusker standards, new head coach ccut has vowed to return The Big Red to its glory days. Look for Nebraska to make a lot of noise in the Big XII in season 3 and be a darkhorse to win the conference outright.

Texas Longhorns new head coach zeejaydee received good and bad news. Star running back Vondrell McGee couldn't turn down the chance to play on Sundays next season and declared himself eligible for the NFL draft. On the bright side, playmaking QB Sherrod Harris has decided to return to school for his senior season. Harris will join an unbelievable recruiting class and a laundry list of returning talent to challenege Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech for supremacy in the Big XII next season.
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RUTS Dynasty Top 10 Pre-Season Heisman Watch
1. Christian Ponder, QB, FSU
2. Graig Cooper, RB, Miami
3. Jarrett Lee, QB, LSU
4. Bert Reed, WR, FSU
5. Terrance Toliver, WR, LSU
6. Willie Korn, QB, Clemson
7. Chris Rainey, RB, Florida
8. Sherrod Harris, QB, Texas
9. Kody Spano, QB, Nebraska (no relation to Jessie Spano of Saved By The Bell fame)
10. Clemson's Starting RB, whoever it may be! History is on his side!

Also...please note for this coming up off-season's recruiting...I did some searching online and found out the reason why some freshmen (who play a lot for our teams) want to transfer after their 1st season. If you make a promise to a recruit that he will get "Significant Playing Time" in his 1st year, it translates to meaning that that player WILL START for your team all season. Thus, even if they play a lot for you and have great stats, they will be unhappy and consider it a "broken promise" if they don't start. Even though I can talk them into staying, it's still worth considering to NOT PROMISE SIGNIFICANT PLAYING TIME TO YOUR RECRUITS unless you know for certain they will be a starter. See Clemson's, LSU's, Miami's list below as an example.