The transfer portal is destroying college athletics. The old rules were bad, forcing a year sit out, but this solution went way too far. My recommended solution would include: 1. An established window, 2. One transfer without sitting out, 3. Second (and last transfer), sit out one year. This would force the kids to grow up and give the coaches time to develop the talent they recruited.
One can only wonder where this transfer portal will lead. I often thought that sitting out a year was pretty harsh but it seems the transfer portal has swung the pendulum way too far in the other direction. Perhaps sitting out a year would make the player and parents think hard about their original school. I like your compromise of maybe a 2 year window in the off-season would be a sensible idea.
With NIL and the transfer portal has made a new era in college sports. I can only think that the Bobby Knight's of the world would not last long and have no career at all... which would be a good thing.
I agree that the transfer portal has gotten out of control. An initial commitment to a team is, at this point, almost meaningless. Limiting the time frame to the portal is one good idea. Another good idea would be to go back to the way it was before when an athlete forfeited a year of eligibility to transfer except in the case of a 5th year senior. Transferring needs to go back to being a seriously considered decision and not just a knee jerk reaction when any little thing isn't going the way an athlete expected. 900 players in the portal before the season has even ended is just, plain insane.
There’s a tension between the right of players to determine their future and the overall impact that the portal has on the collegiate womb from which they will one day emerge. It makes sense that there might be an adjustment somewhere in the formula to better balance player self determination and team integrity.
There are 2 sides to the transfer portal sword, and Graves acknowledges the downsides to the team and program. But does he reward the players who do show "resealiancy" and "accountability" by staying devoted to the team, or is he signing players from the transfer portal that will get playing time over them? It seems the players aren't the only ones who have corrupted the process. Just look at the Ducks football program, transfer quarterbacks starting over recruited players.
The portal is okay but needs some boundaries. If you are a high school kid looking to get recruited by D1 forget it unless you are 5 Star and make a difference today. You will have to start in the lower depths of college football and good luck if you can afford it.
As a college coach why would I go looking at 18 year olds when I can go get a 22 year old that has made the adjustment to college life. If you go looking you will see a drastic drop in schools handing out full rides to high schoolers.
If I was a college coach I would go looking for the 22 year old.
I would argue that there are at least 3 reasons for the large Transfer Portal exodus from Graves' program:
1. Look at the number of rating stars by the names of the players he has been recruiting as of late: lots of 5-star & high 4-star. Highly-rated players arrive with the baggage of high expectations: playing time, the importance of their role in the team's game planning, their tolerance to accept criticism [i.e., being "coached up"] & how it's done [publicly or privately], their need for routine praise/positive reinforcement & how it's done [privately or publicly], etc. The difference between the mentally-tough, relentlessly-driven, personally-accountable 5-star [Sebrina Ionescu and the like] and the "entitled, but not-yet-earned-it" 5-star is probably going to manifest itself in the belief that the failure to achieve is sourced outside the player [i.e., the program she's playing at] and not inside the player. It is logical to infer that the latter would seek a new program to find the ingredients for her definition of success. I think Altman is also presentlt experiencing some of this on the men's side.
2. It appears to me that Kelly Graves' personality is that of a no B.S., tell-you-how-it-is hard-ass. While this probably suits him well in living room interviews to get the 5-stars to come to the U of O, the reality of this approach when the ruuber-meets-the-road is that it probably "grates on" the psyches of some of his players [particularly those who might not be as mentally tough as an Ionescu]. As a consequence, I can see some players wanting to head towards programs where they think there might be more "kid gloves" rather than "tough love" waiting for them.
3. I think the present "bump" in portal transfers is at least partially result of Graves being publicly OVERLY-HONEST with his assessments of this year's team. After the Belmont loss, he criticized the the team as having "acted and played entitled", that "this group hasn't won anything" [and itemized the accomplishments that it hadn't won], and emphasized the inconsistencies of this year's team by saying "... we’ve got to either just get in the gym and be better with what we have or GO GET SOME OTHERS [my emphasis added]..." While all of these comments might be true, I could see that the fact that they were publicly proffered might irritate [and possibly alienate] some of Graves' players. Particularly those who were injured and felt that they gave their all to their team this year [and Graves' public assessment was their reward].
Life is about adapting to changing realities and circumstances. The quicker you adapt, seemingly the easier life can be. Scott Rueck has to contend with the same Tranfer Portal that Kelly Graves does. But I belive Rueck has only one player from this year's OSU team in the portal. I don't remember Rueck hammering his disappointments with his team as publicly as Graves did. Is there a correlation here? Who knows. But I am certain that Coach Graves will analyze what has happened this cycle and hasten some adaptations, as he now has to "go get some others" to replace the group who will be leaving...
Apr 2, 2022·edited Apr 2, 2022Liked by John Canzano
@starrfarms I am wondering if bringing in guard Endyia Rogers and starting her ahead of others did not create some morale issues. Graves complained that they never seemed to gel. I had expected this year's team to be better than the year before. Even Te-Hina Paopao did not seem to perform as well as in her first year.
They call Jay Butterfield a 3rd year freshman because of the pandemic year. He's tall with a strong arm and I've seen teams need three quality starting QB's but with the transfer portal how long can a 3rd year freshman wait. I hope all 3 QB's stay this year because I think all 3 QB's will get playing time but some players will hit the transfer portal after spring football
I agree with this 100% with the statements below. Catching 3 passes at Oregon my first two years made me better and force me to work harder. Todays scholarship athlete would transfer. Patiently waiting and continuing to work on my game at Oregon is what prepared me for a 9 year NFL career.
“Think it’s enabling the teaching of some piss-poor life lessons. The portal has become an extension of the club-sports scene, where parents move their child out of one club and jump to another because their kid didn’t get playing time or got some constructive criticism.
At least it is only a one-time thing (at least where a kid can transfer and play without sitting out a year). But I like your 2 month window. Even taking it down to one month might be good. If a kid and her folks do not know during the year that they need to move, then stay or move and sit.
In effect, coaches have about a month after the end of a season to be offered and move to a different school. Coaches' movements were one of the big reasons for the rule, it should be similar.
Agreed the portal is good - but needs fixing as you suggest, JC. I hate the notion of havibg two capable QB's being a luxury. Remember Tom Brady went to Michigan but was never named starter.
When schools change players every year, I don't feel attached. Too many changes. Then I won't root for my team. Pro sports have gone in that direction which turns me off completely.
The transfer portal is destroying college athletics. The old rules were bad, forcing a year sit out, but this solution went way too far. My recommended solution would include: 1. An established window, 2. One transfer without sitting out, 3. Second (and last transfer), sit out one year. This would force the kids to grow up and give the coaches time to develop the talent they recruited.
Nice article John.
One can only wonder where this transfer portal will lead. I often thought that sitting out a year was pretty harsh but it seems the transfer portal has swung the pendulum way too far in the other direction. Perhaps sitting out a year would make the player and parents think hard about their original school. I like your compromise of maybe a 2 year window in the off-season would be a sensible idea.
With NIL and the transfer portal has made a new era in college sports. I can only think that the Bobby Knight's of the world would not last long and have no career at all... which would be a good thing.
In my opinion the transfer portal should be used once. If you want out out of a school after that you should lose a year of eligibility.
I agree that the transfer portal has gotten out of control. An initial commitment to a team is, at this point, almost meaningless. Limiting the time frame to the portal is one good idea. Another good idea would be to go back to the way it was before when an athlete forfeited a year of eligibility to transfer except in the case of a 5th year senior. Transferring needs to go back to being a seriously considered decision and not just a knee jerk reaction when any little thing isn't going the way an athlete expected. 900 players in the portal before the season has even ended is just, plain insane.
There’s a tension between the right of players to determine their future and the overall impact that the portal has on the collegiate womb from which they will one day emerge. It makes sense that there might be an adjustment somewhere in the formula to better balance player self determination and team integrity.
There are 2 sides to the transfer portal sword, and Graves acknowledges the downsides to the team and program. But does he reward the players who do show "resealiancy" and "accountability" by staying devoted to the team, or is he signing players from the transfer portal that will get playing time over them? It seems the players aren't the only ones who have corrupted the process. Just look at the Ducks football program, transfer quarterbacks starting over recruited players.
Thanks John. I don't feel we know the facts until the players speak. Graves admitted to deception.
Lost a highly recruited freshman along with the 3 sophomores. Seems she would have advanced on the depth chart after 3 departures but she left anyway.
The portal is okay but needs some boundaries. If you are a high school kid looking to get recruited by D1 forget it unless you are 5 Star and make a difference today. You will have to start in the lower depths of college football and good luck if you can afford it.
As a college coach why would I go looking at 18 year olds when I can go get a 22 year old that has made the adjustment to college life. If you go looking you will see a drastic drop in schools handing out full rides to high schoolers.
If I was a college coach I would go looking for the 22 year old.
I would argue that there are at least 3 reasons for the large Transfer Portal exodus from Graves' program:
1. Look at the number of rating stars by the names of the players he has been recruiting as of late: lots of 5-star & high 4-star. Highly-rated players arrive with the baggage of high expectations: playing time, the importance of their role in the team's game planning, their tolerance to accept criticism [i.e., being "coached up"] & how it's done [publicly or privately], their need for routine praise/positive reinforcement & how it's done [privately or publicly], etc. The difference between the mentally-tough, relentlessly-driven, personally-accountable 5-star [Sebrina Ionescu and the like] and the "entitled, but not-yet-earned-it" 5-star is probably going to manifest itself in the belief that the failure to achieve is sourced outside the player [i.e., the program she's playing at] and not inside the player. It is logical to infer that the latter would seek a new program to find the ingredients for her definition of success. I think Altman is also presentlt experiencing some of this on the men's side.
2. It appears to me that Kelly Graves' personality is that of a no B.S., tell-you-how-it-is hard-ass. While this probably suits him well in living room interviews to get the 5-stars to come to the U of O, the reality of this approach when the ruuber-meets-the-road is that it probably "grates on" the psyches of some of his players [particularly those who might not be as mentally tough as an Ionescu]. As a consequence, I can see some players wanting to head towards programs where they think there might be more "kid gloves" rather than "tough love" waiting for them.
3. I think the present "bump" in portal transfers is at least partially result of Graves being publicly OVERLY-HONEST with his assessments of this year's team. After the Belmont loss, he criticized the the team as having "acted and played entitled", that "this group hasn't won anything" [and itemized the accomplishments that it hadn't won], and emphasized the inconsistencies of this year's team by saying "... we’ve got to either just get in the gym and be better with what we have or GO GET SOME OTHERS [my emphasis added]..." While all of these comments might be true, I could see that the fact that they were publicly proffered might irritate [and possibly alienate] some of Graves' players. Particularly those who were injured and felt that they gave their all to their team this year [and Graves' public assessment was their reward].
Life is about adapting to changing realities and circumstances. The quicker you adapt, seemingly the easier life can be. Scott Rueck has to contend with the same Tranfer Portal that Kelly Graves does. But I belive Rueck has only one player from this year's OSU team in the portal. I don't remember Rueck hammering his disappointments with his team as publicly as Graves did. Is there a correlation here? Who knows. But I am certain that Coach Graves will analyze what has happened this cycle and hasten some adaptations, as he now has to "go get some others" to replace the group who will be leaving...
@starrfarms I am wondering if bringing in guard Endyia Rogers and starting her ahead of others did not create some morale issues. Graves complained that they never seemed to gel. I had expected this year's team to be better than the year before. Even Te-Hina Paopao did not seem to perform as well as in her first year.
They call Jay Butterfield a 3rd year freshman because of the pandemic year. He's tall with a strong arm and I've seen teams need three quality starting QB's but with the transfer portal how long can a 3rd year freshman wait. I hope all 3 QB's stay this year because I think all 3 QB's will get playing time but some players will hit the transfer portal after spring football
I would absolutely hate coaching in today's portal culture. It has stripped clean a coach's best tool of discipline: the bench!
I agree with this 100% with the statements below. Catching 3 passes at Oregon my first two years made me better and force me to work harder. Todays scholarship athlete would transfer. Patiently waiting and continuing to work on my game at Oregon is what prepared me for a 9 year NFL career.
“Think it’s enabling the teaching of some piss-poor life lessons. The portal has become an extension of the club-sports scene, where parents move their child out of one club and jump to another because their kid didn’t get playing time or got some constructive criticism.
Gone is resilience.
Absent is accountability.”
At least it is only a one-time thing (at least where a kid can transfer and play without sitting out a year). But I like your 2 month window. Even taking it down to one month might be good. If a kid and her folks do not know during the year that they need to move, then stay or move and sit.
In effect, coaches have about a month after the end of a season to be offered and move to a different school. Coaches' movements were one of the big reasons for the rule, it should be similar.
Agreed the portal is good - but needs fixing as you suggest, JC. I hate the notion of havibg two capable QB's being a luxury. Remember Tom Brady went to Michigan but was never named starter.
When schools change players every year, I don't feel attached. Too many changes. Then I won't root for my team. Pro sports have gone in that direction which turns me off completely.