The Portal.
by TWO (2020-01-28 13:30:58)

I was listening to ESPNU on the way in this am, and they were talking about the Portal. They said it is really only working for QB's. That there are 1100 players in the portal if you include the walk-ons in the Portal (which seems odd to me), but less than 100 of them have found a new school.

That number could go up once coaches finish up their 2020 class and staff changes are stabilized. But still a lot of kids are likely to not be on their old team in 2020 and not have a new team in 2020 either.

Unless you are a grad transfer though, or a kid with a slam dunk case for a waiver. You are really competing for a spot on the 2021 team after sitting out the year.

Seems like a good idea in theory. Give the kid who wants to leave an above board way to do it and let coaches/teams know they are available. But it seems like most of these kids are overly optimistic about their talent level.


The cake is a lie. *
by ndanajones  (2020-01-28 23:47:11)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post


hahahah *
by boethius  (2020-02-03 09:56:53)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post


Educate me because I don’t know
by DakotaDomer  (2020-01-28 21:25:41)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

When the kids enter the portal do they surrender their scholarship at their original school? Or is it up to the school on whether or not to extend it again?

Is there a possibility some of these kids will have no scholarship offers as well as no way to finish their degrees?


An anecdote from a friend whose son coaches at TTech
by Raoul  (2020-01-29 23:39:55)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

He came in with the Utah State crew that was hired in total last year. Some kids on the roster were excited and others more unsure. They sat down and talked to everyone. A few entered the portal even though the coaches didn't want them to leave. So the coaches moved on and began pursuing replacements in the form of HS recruits, Jucos and transfers. He specifically mentioned one kid having second thoughts maybe 6 weeks later. The coaches had moved on and filled the slot.

It is a two-way street. If a player enters the portal, you need to get out there looking as a coach. And there can be no guarantee of not losing your slot. Every player should be cognizant of that.

If I were a player, I'd think about the downside scenarios. What if I can't find a good fit? What if I go somewhere and then get beat out? Like Wimbush.





It's up to the school.
by No Right Turn on Red  (2020-01-29 10:26:57)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

If a player quits the team, a school can cancel his scholarship immediately. However, when a player asks to be put in the portal, the school can't cancel his scholarship until the end of the semester. The difference being one can still be on a team while in the portal. You'll see a lot of players entering the portal right after the spring semester starts for this reason; they know they'll have their scholarship for the rest of the year. If they enter the portal in the fall, there's no guarantee there will be a scholarship for them in the spring.

As to whether or not they'll have a scholarship the next academic year if they come back, that kind of depends on the sport and the situation. Basketball and football probably has less wiggle room, whereas a sport like track or softball might bring someone back.

A lot of players in the portal are there because they don't have a scholarship waiting for them at their old school. Either they were nonscholarship to begin with or their coach told them they weren't going to have their scholarship renewed at the end of the year already.


Appears to be up to the school (link)
by HScorpio  (2020-01-28 21:47:43)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

Here's an interesting article that covers the realities of the transfer portal.

Essentially, a school can only take 25 "initial counters" per year, up to 85 total scholarships. New recruits, juco transfers, and players from the transfer portal count against that 25/85. So unless one is a top-tier player, there may be a bit of a waiting game as all the things detailed in the original post shake out - coaches, commits, other higher priority transfers.

The article brings up the situation of a player entering the transfer portal, finding no takers, but then their original school needs to cut down to their 85 limit. An "easy" way to do that is to not extend another year of a scholarship offer to the player in the portal.


24 UConn players have now entered the transfer portal.
by G.K.Chesterton  (2020-01-28 14:33:29)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

That is not a typo.


Perhaps some FCS programs are excited about that *
by Raoul  (2020-01-29 23:41:35)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post


Oklahoma State has 18 players..
by TWO  (2020-01-28 14:39:47)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

and I believe Stanford is up to 14 players.


I thought Stanford was due to some academic/ grad school
by GolfJunkie17  (2020-01-29 19:42:24)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

issue? Didn't I read that Shaw is actually encouraging some players to transfer, because it'll serve them better in life after football?


Yes *
by jt  (2020-01-30 22:07:09)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post


kids are overly optimistic about their talent level
by ND_Navy  (2020-01-28 14:08:08)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

Say it isn't so!


Parents even more so *
by nd67  (2020-01-29 18:38:31)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post