Drip, drip, drip.
Names are always filling up the NCAA transfer portal. And, someone is always monitoring the vast database.
Is this a player we want?
Schools have personnel dedicated to monitoring the portal. The moment a player’s name appears, the evaluation process begins across football offices from coast-to-coast.
“We're probably like a lot of schools,” said an SEC head coach. “We've got two guys that handle all recruiting for us, high school, portal, everything. They kind of monitor it and track guys that go in and we evaluate anybody that's in there just like any high school prospect and then go from there.”
Portal activity has slowed for now, as rosters are mostly set. Players had to be in the portal by May 1 to be eligible to play this fall without obtaining a waiver. Grad transfers are always immediately eligible.
The 2021 rule change to allow one-time immediate eligibility for each transfer amped up portal activity.
There’s a lot to evaluate. As of June 6, there were 2,976 FBS players in the portal. The FCS portal entries numbered 2,106. Many are walk-ons who probably require a cursory look—at most--from portal watchers. But, many other players pique interest enough to merit an evaluation.
“Our director of player personnel, that's his job,” said a Big 12 offensive coordinator. “So, he monitors the portal on a daily basis. Between the guys working in the office and the student workers, they'll look at the guy and make an initial decision.
"Is this guy a good enough player to go to the position coach? And if there's any thought at all that he is, that guy goes to the position coach, then the position coach can look at him and ultimately figure out if that's the guy that you really want to get involved with.”
Schools have a vast well of video they can access. Looking for cut-ups of, say, the Wyoming tight ends? Any FBS school can pull them up … just like that.
“We can get film of any college in the country right on our system,” said the Big 12 coordinator. “We've got everybody, we've got everybody's games, and then PFF (Pro Football Focus) puts the jersey numbers in. So, you just run a search on the jersey number and it gives you all the plays the guy played.”
Some good ol’ fashion detective work also takes place by simply picking up the phone and inquiring about the merits of a player.
“If a guy hits the portal, you typically check him out real quick,” said a Big Ten offensive coordinator. “And maybe you look at his size and look to see if he fits your school at all. Or, we might say, ‘You know, he's a pretty good player, 1,000-yard receiver, let's watch the tape.’
“And then from that, you start calling around to see, does this guy got grades, are there issues? As soon as someone hits the portal, they're getting evaluated. Maybe it’s quick ... kid’s got problems or the kid can play. You do some background checks and see if he's good enough as a person and has grades. Then decide if you want to chase him a little bit. And then you start chasing and you'll find out sometimes, 'Hey, the kid already knows where he wants to go.' So, there's no chance.”
It’s thought most players know their destination before they enter the portal—or they should, else they could get lost in a sea of names and never find a home.
"It frustrates you because kids give you different reasons for leaving," said a MAC offensive coordinator. "Some of them probably tell you the truth and some don't. You see a lot of kids moving up. Division 2s going up, Group of Fives going up. They know they can do it. So they say, 'Well, why don't I try to see? I'll put my name in and see who offers me.' And then I think a lot of kids have the original impression: 'Well, if I don't get a better offer, I can always come back.' But most schools don't want them back."
But knowing your destination prior to entering the portal could mean tampering has occurred—which is against NCAA rules.
“What are they (NCAA) going to do about it?” said a Power Five head coach.
The portal giveth ... and it taketh away, creating a scenario that often has the big FBS schools poaching top talent from Group of Five and FCS schools.
"It's challenging, but at the same time, it works both sides," said a C-USA head coach. "Lose one, you gain one, right? We may get a great player, we may get one better out of the portal that you lost. It's geared toward the student-athlete, which I think is great."
Added another C-USA head coach: "It bothers you in a sense that you put in all this work, effort in developing them and then they say they want to leave. It hurts your team. As a coach, you're not planning on this sophomore starter leaving or this junior starter leaving. Now, your numbers are out of whack at a position because guys leave. So, that bothers me probably more as much as anything just because it disrupts your roster."
MORE: Big Ten coach: NIL, transfer portal have been 'disaster' for college sports | What's future of Big Ten schedules, divisions? | Big Ten meetings: Collectives, scheduling, divisions, TV and more | Big Ten coach on COVID extra year of eligibility: 'A knee jerk reaction' | Coaches look to abate portal chaos. One solution: transfer windows | JC recruits no longer favored option for quick roster fixes | Houston Nutt-inspired recruiting limit rule dead. And that makes him laugh | Bigger coaching staffs likely coming which means one thing: Rich get richer | Transfer portal eating away at scholarships for high school players
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