The transfer portal has wildly changed the landscape of college sports, specifically football. With player movement as free-flowing as ever, programs have to scramble sometimes to replace those lost to the portal, but in that same breath, programs can fill depleted rosters through the portal — i.e., LSU this past season.
College football has never been more difficult for coaches, especially considering NIL has heavily impacted recruiting. Obtaining and retaining players has never been more challenging, but even the programs with the most resources to recruit are struggling this transfer cycle. Texas A&M, Florida, and Arkansas have the most players transferring out of the program so far:
https://twitter.com/On3sports/status/1610358057850081282?s=20&t=oPAtjt_0cWAlICpkqukqNA
The first two aren’t surprising at all. The Aggies had by far the most disappointing season in college football last year. Texas A&M has been recruiting well under Jimbo Fisher then they brought in the best class of all time. With preseason championship expectations, the Aggies fell out of bowl eligibility. As an LSU fan, I love the turmoil. And it’s getting even sweeter with all of these four- and five-star recruits going to other programs.
The Gators are a little less surprising, though. Billy Napier was never who I wanted in Baton Rouge during the last hiring cycle, but I also thought he’d be a decent hire. In Gainsville, expectations are sky-high, and the Gators came up incredibly short this season. Obviously, the players feel the program isn’t going in the right direction.
Following a 9-4 season in 2021, Arkansas finished one game over .500 in 2022, and players are transferring out of the program at an alarming rate. I love Sam Pittman and KJ Jefferson, but they fell short of expectations this past season. I hope the Razorbacks figure it out, even as an LSU fan.
A couple of other interesting notes: Jackson State being on this list shouldn’t surprise anyone. Deion Sanders leaving will severely affect the program in more ways than just recruiting, and the same goes for Arizona State parting ways with Herm Edwards. With their new respective head coaches, Miami and Oregon are going through roster turnover, so this isn’t out of the ordinary.
We’ll see how these teams handle the losses to the portal; one would think the programs with the most resources will be able to soften these blows.
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Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire
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