Every student athlete that has ever transferred from one school to another will probably disagree with me…but this is my opinion. The transfer portal is not good for college football. It has turned into free agency of college football.
Signing day is a big deal for high school students in today’s era, but it isn’t a commitment for the student to that school. There is no allegience to the one school on signing day. The student goes to one school hoping to get playing time, and when that doesn’t happen, or they have to wait their turn, they then transfer. We as fans don’t see all the reasons because it is done behind closed doors.
The two students that come to my mind are Justin Fields and 2024 incoming class Dylan Raiola, both 5-star quarterbacks coming out of high school. Fields, who was the #1- prospect in 2018, played behind then starter Jake Fromm, who just took the Georgia Bulldogs to the National Championship where they lost to Alabama Crimson Tide. Not sure why Fields thought he was going to take the QB1 away from Fromm for the 2019 season after Fromm took Georgia to the National Championship game just the year before. But when he found out that wasn’t going to be the case, he jetted off to Ohio State, not having any real ties to the Buckeye state, just knew he would be the starter and have plenty of playing time. Fields was even so upset after one game at Georgia that he was seen shooting a bird to the student body.āJust uncalled for and not very mature in my opinion. In this situation, Fields wanted playing time, and when he didn’t get it, he left the team. Not really committed to his home state team.
Now lets look at QB Raiola, who has been committed to the Bulldogs for the last seven months until this week where he flipped to Nebraska. He was going to get plenty of looks to be the starter after current starter Carson Beck, so that wasn’t the issue. The issue is the University of Nebraska is in the Raiola’s blood, as father Dominic, was a standout for Nebraska that led to a 14-year career with the Detroit Lions as their Center. Raiola should get plenty of playing time for the Huskers. I’m ok with this as long as it is done during a certain time around signing day, and before the next season is to begin where that will be the player’s first year.
The rule is they can only transfer once, and it has to be when the season is over for that school. I believe there needs to be a timeframe after signing day that the player can flip, and flip once, then that’s it. So basically getting rid of the transfer portal. But I understand what the NCAA is trying to do, they are giving these young kids the opportunity to play so they can further their career and get noticed for the NFL. But my argument is, I like commitment, and if you say you are going to play for a certain university, then do it.
With all this being said, the transfer portal, established in 2018 is here, and here to stay. It’s only going to get sophisticated as time goes on. And as long as it’s there, these student athletes are going to use it. But are they really students anymore?
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