Transfer Portal Panic 🚨

12/15/2023

By: Jeff Yoder

The NCAA Transfer Portal Has Changed College Sports Forever

Typically, at this point in the college football season, everyone is only talking about bowl games and the playoffs. This season, the conversation is markedly different. Nobody can dispute the college football landscape is changing, both quickly and drastically. And while there’s much discussion on the upcoming conference changes, Florida State and Georgia being excluded from the playoffs, NIL rules, and more, the infamous “Transfer Portal” has stolen the show.

People have staunch opinions about the mysterious portal. Like almost everything happening in college football right now, opinions are polarizing: You either think it’s the best thing to happen to college football (freedom!), or it’s single-handedly ruining the sport (we lost another starter?!). So let’s look into it.

The Transfer Process

Once a player enters the Transfer Portal, other schools may reach out for recruiting purposes. The portal primarily serves players, allowing them to weigh their options and choose the best fit. There’s only one problem: These players already did that when they originally committed. A player can withdraw his or her name from the portal at any time. However, if players enter the Transfer Portal, their scholarships could be in jeopardy. The school the athlete currently plays for is not obligated to continue to honor his or her scholarship if they enter the portal and return, even if a player withdraws. For fall sports, like college football, student athletes get a 45-day window to enter the portal with immediate eligibility. The window begins the day after the playoff field is set, which is why the portal is going crazy right now.

Current Transfer Portal (Football Only)

FBS Total: 1,643 Players
Power 5: 780 Players
Scholarship Quarterbacks: 113

*Transfer Portal Opened December 4

Transfer Portal or Free Agency?

One of the biggest criticisms of the Transfer Portal is that it closely resembles NFL free agency. College football players used to ascend to the next stage up (from high school) with stars in their eyes for the game they loved. But since NIL rules changed, those stars have been replaced by dollar signs. When you give college athletes the opportunity to monetize their name, image and likeness, while giving them access to new teams (and markets) each year, what did we think would happen?

Notable QBs in the Portal

QB Kyle McCord (Ohio State) — TBD

QB Jeff Sims (Nebraska) — TBD

QB D.J. Uiagalelei (Oregon State) — TBD

QB Cameron Ward (Washington State) — TBD

QB Dante Moore (UCLA) — TBD

QB Will Howard (Kansas State) — TBD

QBs Already on to the Next Team

QB Dillon Gabriel (Oklahoma) — Oregon

QB Riley Leonard (Duke) — Notre Dame

QB Taylen Green (Boise State) — Arkansas

QB Tyler Van Dyke (Miami) — Wisconsin

Fun Fact: Five of the last seven Heisman Trophy winners were transfers. So there’s that.

Whether you love or hate it, the Transfer Portal is here to stay. We all have our opinions, and there’s good and bad. Though the portal isn’t perfect, it may finally allow new teams the opportunity to compete for the new 12-team playoff coming next year. Either way, it’s a glimpse into the future of college sports… And it’s unlike anything we’ve seen before.

FOX Sports: Transfer Portal Questions: Which Players, Teams Have Made the Best Moves So Far?

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images