The college football season officially got underway over Labor Day weekend. As the new season begins and lofty expectations await nearly every program, fans become familiar with their team for the first time. In the day and age of NIL and the transfer portal, players change teams every year, making it hard for reporters and fans alike to keep track of who is where. Some teams have adapted and embraced this new era, while others are still a few steps behind. This article will touch on the transfer portal and how it is being used differently across the country. Teams that have fully embraced the transfer portal include Ole Miss, Colorado and Oregon. Interestingly enough, Clemson is a team that has fallen behind the competition in this regard.
Ole Miss
Lane Kiffin’s team comes into the season with lofty expectations of making the playoffs and competing for the SEC championship. A big reason they have these expectations is because they have the number one ranked class in the transfer portal. The rebels are led by QB Jaxson Dart, who transferred from USC last offseason. On defense, they added defensive lineman Walter Nolen from SEC foe Texas A&M and Princely Umanmielen from Florida. Experts believe those two players are future NFL first-round draft picks. The rebels lost running back Quinshon Judkins to Ohio State but added weapons such as Juice Wells from South Carolina and Micah Davis from Utah State. These portal ads were fueled by Ole Miss’s Grove Nil collective.
Colorado
Deion Sanders has built quite a reputation in what is just his second year at FBS. In 2023, he brought 53 transfers into the program and, this year, he brought in 42 transfers. They currently ranked eighth in transfer portal rankings. Some big-name players they brought in include running back Dallas Hayden from Ohio State, defensive lineman Samuel Okunlola from Pittsburgh and LaJohntay Wester, who was Florida Atlantic’s top receiver a season ago. They also brought former UConn center Yakiri Walker to help bolster their offensive line. The Buffaloes attacked their needs in the offseason and hope it pays off as they compete for a playoff spot and Big 12 title.
Oregon
Dan Lanning’s Ducks are set to be one of the best teams in the nation as they leave the Pac-12 to join the Big 10. A massive reason is their influx of transfers coming in. Dylan Gabriel joins the squad after spending time at Oklahoma and UCF. Gabriel is currently one of the front runners for the Heisman and is a plug-in replacement after Bo Nix’s departure. Gabriel does not lack weapons either, as Oregon also landed Evan Stewart, a former five-star receiver who transferred after two seasons from Texas A&M. On the defensive side of the ball, Oregon bolstered their defensive line with the addition of Jamaree Caldwell from Houston. Lanning kept busy bringing in former rival Jabbar Muhammad from Washington to their secondary. Oregon has the resources to bring in these caliber players, as Nike founder Phil Knight is a lead contributor to their NIL fund.
Clemson
Unlike the three teams listed above, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney does not use the transfer portal. Since the portal opened in 2018, Clemson has only brought in three guys—none of whom have started. Critics of Swinney say this is the leading cause of the program’s downfall in the last few years. Paul Finebaum, one of ESPN’s lead college football analysts, called Swinney “stubborn and stupid” for avoiding the portal. Despite the criticism, Swinney seems reluctant to change, noting that he likes the culture he continues to build at Clemson and the lack of players leaving the program. Some critics have gone as far as to say that Swinney should lose his job due to the lack of adapting to the new game. However, with two national championships under his belt, it seems like Swinney does not have to worry about that. As far as NIL, Swinney has been critical of that too, saying it is making college sports too much like professional sports.
This season will be interesting to watch as we see how much use, and lack of use, the transfer portal has on teams.