SoCalPatrick
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OXFORD, Miss. ā Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin is done ignoring what the transfer portal has done to college football recruiting.
āI donāt think people really say it this way, but letās not make a mistake: We have free agency in college football,ā Kiffin said. āThe kids a lot of times go to where theyāre going to get paid the most. No one else is saying that, maybe. But the kids say āThis is what Iām getting here from NIL.ā ā Over the last three years, there have been three major changes to college football that have created the mess that is modern recruiting.
The transfer portal was established in 2018, allowing players to declare a transfer and begin communicating with prospective coaches while still on campus at their previous school. This year, the NCAA passed legislation that allows players to transfer penalty-free one time in their college careers, removing the obstacle of ineligibility from transfer choices. And also as of this year, players can now be paid for their names, images and likenesses, allowing third-party money to legally influence playersā choices as to where they want to play.
Combine those three changes and thereās a lot of good for players. Itās good players can make money off advertising and self-promotion. Itās good players can transfer freely if they believe there are better opportunities to be had elsewhere. Itās good thereās a regulated place coaches and players can legally communicate in the transfer market without risk of violating compliance rules.
You also create a bit of a disaster when it comes to roster management.
āRight now youāre practicing for bowl games,ā Kiffin said. āWe had a player not here (Monday) because heās still on his official visit to another place. Just really think about that. Itās very strange. I had a recruiting weekend this weekend where I had to fly out really quick to go see someone thatās at another school but is in the portal.ā
Kiffin goes back to the free agency metaphor, but adds one important caveat. In NFL free agency, players sign a contract to play for the franchise of their choice. The NCAA still has no contract for transfers. Transfers donāt sign a National Letter of Intent like incoming freshmen do.
And, perhaps more crucially, teams arenāt contractually obligated to keep their recruiting promises to players.
āAt least in the NFL thereās free agent contracts so they know what it is and they have to sign it, versus places saying, āHey, when you come here youāre going to get this much money,ā and then when they get there, do they really get it?ā Kiffin said. āItās a new world.ā
Kiffin said he and his staff try to stay out of conversations about what Ole Miss can offer from a name, image and likeness payment perspective. He said he can answer questions about how much current players earned this year and what opportunities are available, but he canāt direct any payment or any connection with potential financiers.
Letās not pretend every transfer is only in it for the paycheck, though. There are plenty of players in the transfer portal because the coach who recruited them was fired or left for another job. Or because they were surpassed on the depth chart and want an opportunity to contribute elsewhere. Or because they want to move closer to home. Or play in a different kind of scheme or at a different position.
āGetting out on the road, thereās a lot of frustration with junior college coaches and high school coaches because they feel like kids that were in the bottom level of getting offers and going places at the bottom of classes now arenāt,ā Kiffin said. āPeople are using them up on transfers. So now weāve got high school kids with nowhere to go when they had places.ā
Ole Miss only has 14 players committed for the Class of 2022 with just a day remaining before the early signing period begins. Last December, Ole Miss signed 23 players. And that came in a year where the Rebels couldnāt host visitors because of COVID-19 and had to recruit around those restrictions.
The transfer portal isnāt the only reason for this. Ole Miss had 20 seniors in 2021 who are eligible to return for a fifth season if they want because the NCAA afforded all players an extra year of eligibility after the rash of opt-outs in 2020 because of COVID-19. Combine that with the abnormally large class of 31 players the Rebels signed in 2019 and you have a team low on scholarships.
Unless, of course, more Ole Miss players start putting their names in the portal. A few Rebels have done so already, most notably senior linebacker MoMo Sanogo and sophomore tight end Damarcus Thomas.
But entering the portal is a risk if youāre leaving because youāve been passed over on the depth chart. Kiffin estimates there are āthousandsā of kids in the portal without a home who voluntary gave up scholarships for the promise of a fresh start that never came.
āThere are just a lot of things happening from what was initially a really good idea to help the kids,ā Kiffin said.
āI donāt think people really say it this way, but letās not make a mistake: We have free agency in college football,ā Kiffin said. āThe kids a lot of times go to where theyāre going to get paid the most. No one else is saying that, maybe. But the kids say āThis is what Iām getting here from NIL.ā ā Over the last three years, there have been three major changes to college football that have created the mess that is modern recruiting.
The transfer portal was established in 2018, allowing players to declare a transfer and begin communicating with prospective coaches while still on campus at their previous school. This year, the NCAA passed legislation that allows players to transfer penalty-free one time in their college careers, removing the obstacle of ineligibility from transfer choices. And also as of this year, players can now be paid for their names, images and likenesses, allowing third-party money to legally influence playersā choices as to where they want to play.
Combine those three changes and thereās a lot of good for players. Itās good players can make money off advertising and self-promotion. Itās good players can transfer freely if they believe there are better opportunities to be had elsewhere. Itās good thereās a regulated place coaches and players can legally communicate in the transfer market without risk of violating compliance rules.
You also create a bit of a disaster when it comes to roster management.
āRight now youāre practicing for bowl games,ā Kiffin said. āWe had a player not here (Monday) because heās still on his official visit to another place. Just really think about that. Itās very strange. I had a recruiting weekend this weekend where I had to fly out really quick to go see someone thatās at another school but is in the portal.ā
Kiffin goes back to the free agency metaphor, but adds one important caveat. In NFL free agency, players sign a contract to play for the franchise of their choice. The NCAA still has no contract for transfers. Transfers donāt sign a National Letter of Intent like incoming freshmen do.
And, perhaps more crucially, teams arenāt contractually obligated to keep their recruiting promises to players.
āAt least in the NFL thereās free agent contracts so they know what it is and they have to sign it, versus places saying, āHey, when you come here youāre going to get this much money,ā and then when they get there, do they really get it?ā Kiffin said. āItās a new world.ā
Kiffin said he and his staff try to stay out of conversations about what Ole Miss can offer from a name, image and likeness payment perspective. He said he can answer questions about how much current players earned this year and what opportunities are available, but he canāt direct any payment or any connection with potential financiers.
Letās not pretend every transfer is only in it for the paycheck, though. There are plenty of players in the transfer portal because the coach who recruited them was fired or left for another job. Or because they were surpassed on the depth chart and want an opportunity to contribute elsewhere. Or because they want to move closer to home. Or play in a different kind of scheme or at a different position.
āGetting out on the road, thereās a lot of frustration with junior college coaches and high school coaches because they feel like kids that were in the bottom level of getting offers and going places at the bottom of classes now arenāt,ā Kiffin said. āPeople are using them up on transfers. So now weāve got high school kids with nowhere to go when they had places.ā
Ole Miss only has 14 players committed for the Class of 2022 with just a day remaining before the early signing period begins. Last December, Ole Miss signed 23 players. And that came in a year where the Rebels couldnāt host visitors because of COVID-19 and had to recruit around those restrictions.
The transfer portal isnāt the only reason for this. Ole Miss had 20 seniors in 2021 who are eligible to return for a fifth season if they want because the NCAA afforded all players an extra year of eligibility after the rash of opt-outs in 2020 because of COVID-19. Combine that with the abnormally large class of 31 players the Rebels signed in 2019 and you have a team low on scholarships.
Unless, of course, more Ole Miss players start putting their names in the portal. A few Rebels have done so already, most notably senior linebacker MoMo Sanogo and sophomore tight end Damarcus Thomas.
But entering the portal is a risk if youāre leaving because youāve been passed over on the depth chart. Kiffin estimates there are āthousandsā of kids in the portal without a home who voluntary gave up scholarships for the promise of a fresh start that never came.
āThere are just a lot of things happening from what was initially a really good idea to help the kids,ā Kiffin said.
Kiffin rants about transfer portal
Nick SussMississippi Clarion Ledger USA TODAY Network OXFORD, Miss.
tuscaloosanews-al-app.newsmemory.com
