How to Navigate the Chaotic Transfer Portal Recruiting Process

Since the beginning this recruitment process has grown in size and is threatening college football’s offseason. What is the right decision?

This portal is faster than the high school recruiting process for coaches looking to build their rosters. The portal has been used by teams such as USC under Lincoln Riley and LSU under Kirby Smart, as well as Florida under Shad Khan to make changes to their rosters in just one season.

Effects of the portal on early sign-up periods

December is the month that kicks off the college football offseason, and with it come a myriad of important dates to keep in the mind. The college football offseason is a difficult to complete. It also includes National Signing Day, opening the portal for transfer applications and also the Early Signing period. Bowl games are also in the mix.

The past months have seen a lot of overtime by recruiting staff to help their students make the transition to new schools as seamless and productive as it is. The staff monitors the social media platforms for prospective players and then does the legwork to determine if they are appropriate to be part of a particular program.

The number of FBS scholarship players who are enrolled on the portal in this offseason is already over 2000. A significant number of these transfers are expected to occur before Dec. 21’s early signing period and coaches must be ready for the turmoil.

The portal’s impact on recruiting high school students

In the past, the recruiting process for high school football was one of the most symbiotic relationships between athletes and teams. However, that’s not the case anymore in the college football world, thanks to a mix of one-time transfer regulations, and an additional year of eligibility due to the implementation of COVID-19 and also the portal.

It has resulted in an increase in the rate of transfer and a decrease in the opportunities for high-school prospects to receive scholarship offers. That’s a big problem for the coaches and staffs.

This is also problematic for children. Like, Mason Ahlemeyer of Skyline in Sacramento had just two seasons at a junior institution and could not get football scholarships.

However, there’s plenty of high school students who have received scholarship invitations. This isn’t happening as fast. It’s a sign that the football landscape in college is moving more towards professional leagues. And coaches and the kids who are keen to participate are well aware of this. This is something we can’t avoid.

The effects of this portal’s influence in college football

It’s difficult finding a spot to begin in the chaos of the college football transfer portal procedure. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer because some coaches truly believe that they’ve done their research and have a game plan to follow, whereas others are concerned about the chaos that is sweeping through their campus.

Some think their team has been ruined and that their players aren’t able to improve their performance if they quit. The coach is faced with a dilemma. Should they let their players to rest in the darkness and hope that they’ll improve?

or do they gently push them out the door?

It’s an important decision that each FBS program makes. It’s been more prevalent this year since many more have signed up to the portal.

Some players might get new homes at FCS or other schools in Group 5 in some instances. They may withdraw their portal entries in other instances and seek out more possibilities.

The effect of this portal impact on the NFL

The football season for colleges is chaos and coaches are required to put in a lot of effort to locate the perfect players for their teams. This portal is now the NCAA’s free agency for college athletes which gives them the ability to move around and find schools that match their requirements.

The portal is an NCAA-wide database which allows athletes to publicly declare their intention of moving to another school before they start communicating with other coaches. The site was created to make the process easier for both coaches and athletes.

Before the portal, athlete’s would have to ask their coach’s permission before they could communicate with other schools, or use the word of mouth method to determine the interest of coaches in the idea. The portalhowever allows staff and coaches to communicate with any compliance officer of a player should they desire to initiate discussions with them.