I know that the current rules of the CFB Transfer Portal is a topic of contention with each side having valid arguments. The simple fact of the matter is that the rules need to be amended, and perhaps just reverted to their previous state, requiring a player to sit for a year. I don't say this because I think the Transfer Portal is an issue for my team. Alabama, but because the TP will eventually completely destroy a program. With transfer rules that essentially amount to complete free agency, players not under any contractual obligation, (after receiving what amounts to 10's or thousands of dollars a year in school tuition, meals, tutoring, nutritionist care, doctor care, books, monthly stipend etc.,) and nearly unregulated NIL deals that allow players to receive large paydays, (the amounts of which we rarely know,) from boosters, eventually a school will be left unable to recover from a mass exodus.
I decided to post this after seeing an article that says there are 26 Arkansas players in the Transfer Portal. That is more than most program's yearly incoming recruiting class. Arkansas came in to the 2022 season with a roster that was already razor(back) thin. There incoming recruiting class currently has 19 players signed and 5 incoming transfers. I have a feeling there will be a lot of freshman getting reps in at Arkansas next year. 26 is a lot of players to lose to the portal, and I haven't even checked who they are losing to graduation and the NFL. At the very least, Arky will have some struggles again next year and maybe even a slight downturn, but they'll still have a program.
What happens when one of these schools with a storied football program has a bad year, a scandal, a coaching change or maybe all of the above, and a mass exodus occurs? How many outgoing transfers can a program realistically absorb while still remaining a viable program that can contend in their respective conference? I have a feeling if the rules don't change we will eventually see this happen to at least one program. Arkansas is losing 26 players to the portal alone, not including grads and any players bound for the NFL, what if next year a team loses 40? Can you replace 40 scholarship players and still have a team able to compete to your programs standard? The answer to that question is probably no and definitely not, "the transfer portal," because there is no inverse rule that requires players to transfer in to a program and no guarantee that a coaching staff could accomplish that feat. As I sit here thinking about it, I can't even imagine how much extra work and pressure that puts on a coaching and recruiting staff who just got done spending months away from their family while coaching and running all over the country to sign new players. And, what about all of the time and money spent by these coaches and programs to get players to sign only so see what amounts to their incoming recruiting class just walk after the season with no promises of replacement? That would really hamper my desire to be a CFB coach and I think we'll see quite a few quality coaches eventually exit for the NFL. Ultimately, the Transfer Portal rules have become unfair to the athletic programs that make them possible in the first place.
What I'm saying is this, it may not happen this year or next, but in due time, if the rules aren't adjusted, the Transfer Portal will deal a death blow to a college program and we'll all be worse off for it.
I decided to post this after seeing an article that says there are 26 Arkansas players in the Transfer Portal. That is more than most program's yearly incoming recruiting class. Arkansas came in to the 2022 season with a roster that was already razor(back) thin. There incoming recruiting class currently has 19 players signed and 5 incoming transfers. I have a feeling there will be a lot of freshman getting reps in at Arkansas next year. 26 is a lot of players to lose to the portal, and I haven't even checked who they are losing to graduation and the NFL. At the very least, Arky will have some struggles again next year and maybe even a slight downturn, but they'll still have a program.
What happens when one of these schools with a storied football program has a bad year, a scandal, a coaching change or maybe all of the above, and a mass exodus occurs? How many outgoing transfers can a program realistically absorb while still remaining a viable program that can contend in their respective conference? I have a feeling if the rules don't change we will eventually see this happen to at least one program. Arkansas is losing 26 players to the portal alone, not including grads and any players bound for the NFL, what if next year a team loses 40? Can you replace 40 scholarship players and still have a team able to compete to your programs standard? The answer to that question is probably no and definitely not, "the transfer portal," because there is no inverse rule that requires players to transfer in to a program and no guarantee that a coaching staff could accomplish that feat. As I sit here thinking about it, I can't even imagine how much extra work and pressure that puts on a coaching and recruiting staff who just got done spending months away from their family while coaching and running all over the country to sign new players. And, what about all of the time and money spent by these coaches and programs to get players to sign only so see what amounts to their incoming recruiting class just walk after the season with no promises of replacement? That would really hamper my desire to be a CFB coach and I think we'll see quite a few quality coaches eventually exit for the NFL. Ultimately, the Transfer Portal rules have become unfair to the athletic programs that make them possible in the first place.
What I'm saying is this, it may not happen this year or next, but in due time, if the rules aren't adjusted, the Transfer Portal will deal a death blow to a college program and we'll all be worse off for it.
