Too many decisions

This time of year gets interesting for a number of reasons, one of them being the transfer portal. For football you may see some guy that played in another part of the country and now during spring practice may be the next QB or offensive lineman at your favorite college. But the guy that was your starting QB is now at a rival college using the same transfer mechanism.

The transfer portal has been a boon for some schools while others think of themselves as a farm club training players to find stardom somewhere else. It is too bad that there aren’t ways that the school that spent time recruiting and coaching this athlete would be compensated for that investment. But this isn’t the pro sports arena so the transfer portal is basically free agency for college athletes.

I did a little research on the transfer portal and it is interesting to say the least but a bit confusing as well so I won’t try to give you my take on the subject. If you really want to know there is plenty of information out there. I’m sure there will now be two coaches hired to research player availability and film on the players to see if they are worth going after.

There are coaches that work hard to bolster their rosters to find the kid that can help a team reach a bowl game or make the playoffs. The thing that has always bothered me is that the athlete was recruited by one school and they made the choice to attend that school to play a sport only to say sorry I think I want to try my luck at this other place that likes me now.

I can understand if there is a coaching change or if playing time has been limited during the season or if the school isn’t a very good fit. And those things happen. I know of several transfers that just want to win but for some reason things haven’t worked out at that school.

There are also a few players that weren’t recruited to play Division 1 sports but after a couple of years those same kids grow up and developed and now have an impressive game. There is no doubt the transfer portal has paid huge dividends to them.

I think of guys like former Zag Oumar Ballo who transferred to Arizona when Tommy Lloyd was hired as the Wildcat head coach. Ballo would have been fourth on the depth chart at Gonzaga but he played a key role for Arizona and that is a win for Ballo and Tommy Lloyd. That is a success story that Mark Few can enjoy as well. Sometimes it’s the right fit and for Ballo it was a breakout year for him.

There is another transfer option for players these days and that is the graduate transfer. This is when a player graduates from one college and then transfers to another school with either a year or two of eligibility left. The most famous grad transfer that most people would know is when Russell Wilson transferred from North Carolina State and became a Wisconsin Badger. This was an easy option for Wilson since the coach had already determined that Wilson wouldn’t be the starter for the next season. It worked out well for Wilson and the Badgers as Wisconsin would go to the Rose Bowl game that year.

Eastern fans will never forget when QB Vernon Adams left Cheney for the University of Nike, I mean Oregon instead of throwing footballs to Cooper Kupp. Adams thought that a year at Oregon would elevate him to the NFL. He had a great year in Eugene and led the Ducks to a bowl game. But when Adams was injured during the game, the Ducks would squander a lead and ended up losing. Adams has been playing in the Canadian Football League ever since.

For Cougar fans it was the fairy tale story of Gardner Minshew II who went from East Carolina to Pullman and flourished in Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense. Minshew would lead the Cougs to an 11-2 record and a victory in the Alamo Bowl. Coug fans fell in love with the kid from Mississippi and they honored him each game by wearing fake Minshew mustaches. Minshew is now in the NFL.

The transfer rules have changed over the years and for some teams and players it is a great option and has helped some teams go from bottom feeder to the playoffs. There are a lot of decisions to be made and hopefully for all of those involved it is the right one.