Well there has been some discussion about the transfer portal in a couple other threads, I figured it was time to stop hijacking those and figured it would be interesting to make a thread about the portal as this may be the single biggest change we have seen in CFB DURING OUR LIFETIMES. Seriously. Think about the implications- no more waiting if you transfer!
Already- the portal is slam full of great players already- this is basically an entirely new recruiting base except these guys are all abyear or more removed from HS, being developed by colkege coaches for that time and many have been contributors already at the college level if not starters or even some who have been stars at their current schools!
^247 has a good resource for this (sorry GCC staff, if there is a rivals one I have not found it?) and there are numerous pages you can follow on twitter that keep you updated... A lot of what these kids look for is a home where they have an existing relationship with a coach/coaches. We have a new HC who has been recruiting all over the country the past 20 years and has connections with countless players and advisors for these kids... Many transfers are moving to get more playing time (we can OBVIOUSLY offer that at many positions) and/or more exposure- again, we have that! Every game is televised- most nationally! Some want to upgrade to a better conference to face better competition- doesn’t get better than the SEC! We are not currently a title contender so the “Just Fields/Jaylen Hurts” types of guys may not want to come here but if we can reinforce our DL, WR core and secondary with a few transfers... This team could literally go from awful to pretty solid in one offseason! Sure we could lose some guys too, but this cycle I think the vast majority of guys who want to leave have already left! Beamer has talked to all of our key players and says the feedback from them and their families has been tremendously positive...
Maybe we won’t get a single one, who knows- but this IS CFB now! This is the only way we will rise back to relevance in less than 3 or so years.. Beamer has talked at length about his connections and his focus on the portal and I feel where many of our previous coaches seemed to not pursue transfers, he sounds like he is keyed into it, and why would he not be excited about it!?! When he got to Oklahoma in 2018, Baker Mayfield (a TRANSFER) had just won the heisman there! Then, in 2018, their QB Kyler Murray- ALSO A TRANSFER- won the Heisman, and last year, Jaylen Hurts- YEP ANOTHER TRANSFER- lit the world on fire at Ou and was a Heisman finalist if I recall... He has seen first hand the process OU used to “recruit” those transfers (never recall any issues with them being accused of improper interference?) and he has seen how it turned out to produce some of the greatest players in OU history.
Again- this is a tremendous opportunity and needs to be embraced! It will be a new situation to some extent for many coaches who did not actively pursue transfers much previously- but apparently our coach has been on a team the past three years that is quite familiar with the process.. We may be able to really fill some gaps left by a weak recruiting class that he just simply got here too late to do much about... We need to do what we can to improve this class between now and the next signing period but I firmly believe that the best opportunity lies in the portal.
Already- the portal is slam full of great players already- this is basically an entirely new recruiting base except these guys are all abyear or more removed from HS, being developed by colkege coaches for that time and many have been contributors already at the college level if not starters or even some who have been stars at their current schools!
2021 College Football Transfer Portal
2021 Players in the NCAA College Football Transfer Portal
247sports.com
^247 has a good resource for this (sorry GCC staff, if there is a rivals one I have not found it?) and there are numerous pages you can follow on twitter that keep you updated... A lot of what these kids look for is a home where they have an existing relationship with a coach/coaches. We have a new HC who has been recruiting all over the country the past 20 years and has connections with countless players and advisors for these kids... Many transfers are moving to get more playing time (we can OBVIOUSLY offer that at many positions) and/or more exposure- again, we have that! Every game is televised- most nationally! Some want to upgrade to a better conference to face better competition- doesn’t get better than the SEC! We are not currently a title contender so the “Just Fields/Jaylen Hurts” types of guys may not want to come here but if we can reinforce our DL, WR core and secondary with a few transfers... This team could literally go from awful to pretty solid in one offseason! Sure we could lose some guys too, but this cycle I think the vast majority of guys who want to leave have already left! Beamer has talked to all of our key players and says the feedback from them and their families has been tremendously positive...
Maybe we won’t get a single one, who knows- but this IS CFB now! This is the only way we will rise back to relevance in less than 3 or so years.. Beamer has talked at length about his connections and his focus on the portal and I feel where many of our previous coaches seemed to not pursue transfers, he sounds like he is keyed into it, and why would he not be excited about it!?! When he got to Oklahoma in 2018, Baker Mayfield (a TRANSFER) had just won the heisman there! Then, in 2018, their QB Kyler Murray- ALSO A TRANSFER- won the Heisman, and last year, Jaylen Hurts- YEP ANOTHER TRANSFER- lit the world on fire at Ou and was a Heisman finalist if I recall... He has seen first hand the process OU used to “recruit” those transfers (never recall any issues with them being accused of improper interference?) and he has seen how it turned out to produce some of the greatest players in OU history.
Again- this is a tremendous opportunity and needs to be embraced! It will be a new situation to some extent for many coaches who did not actively pursue transfers much previously- but apparently our coach has been on a team the past three years that is quite familiar with the process.. We may be able to really fill some gaps left by a weak recruiting class that he just simply got here too late to do much about... We need to do what we can to improve this class between now and the next signing period but I firmly believe that the best opportunity lies in the portal.
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