As we continue to build up the walk-on program, our numbers of players transferring out should increase. If we want to carry 50+ walk-ons as part of our program, there should be churn there because ideally it's a mutual arrangement where guys who clearly aren't going to pan out will transfer out to another school at a more appropriate level of competition for his abilities. We would like to see FCS and D2 schools in the region look to build relationships with us so that we can tell the kids that are willing to walk on: "We'll do all that we can to build up your body and train you, but if it doesn't work out, we want to help you find a good fit." In addition to extra bodies for scout team duties, if we can get a few guys from each class who eventually contribute at the varsity level with an occasional diamond in the rough, we're benefitting as a program. We also need to have everybody else getting as good as they can as fast as they can, and then moving on to better fits if they're not going to contribute on the field. If we have a roster with 20+ senior walkon players, either all of the scholarship guys left, or something else isn't working correctly. By somewhere around year three, both the individual player and the coaching staff should be able to see if there is a clear path forward to seeing the field, and what they could potentially look like. The walk-on numbers by year-class should resemble a pyramid with roughly 2x as many freshmen as 3rd year players, and 2x as many 3rd year players as 5th year players.
None of this is to say that we haven't had a problem with losing scholarship players, especially first-year recruits, because we have. That needs to be fixed. What I am saying is that with such a large roster, even when the scholarship transfer numbers are fixed. our numbers for players transferring out should still be about 40% greater than other B1G teams, on average, if we're carrying about 40% more guys.