The Transfer Portal and You
Transfer Portal and Its Impact on High School Recruiting As you may have heard, National Signing Day hit Wednesday, and fewer athletes were signing with Division I college football programs. Part of that was due to the early signing day in December. However, much of this is because the transfer portal impacts how high school players are recruited.
Don’t like it? Wait a week in the ever-changing landscape of recruiting. “For high school kids, you’re battling now with a guy that's probably a two-year, three-year (college) player, and you have this 17- to 18-year-old that you’re trying to persuade a college to take, and it doesn't work like that,” Buchtel coach Bryan Williams said. “It's almost like the NFL. If you look at it, you have a rookie coming in you already have your veteran, and hopefully, this rookie pans out. If this rookie doesn't pan out, you’ve got a vet that can fill the void.”
Glenville coach Ted Ginn Sr. has sent more than 200 athletes to Division I programs on scholarships. He sees high school kids getting overlooked by programs wanting “ready-made players” and worrying about where loyalties lie. According to Sports Illustrated, 10% of all FBS and FCS players entered the transfer portal in 2020. That number grew to more than 12% for FCS and 16% for FBS players last season.
In the 2021-2022 cycle, it grew to more than 3,000 players. When the Dec. 5 to Jan. 18 transfer window opened this cycle, 1,875 players entered, according to On3.com. The second cycle hits May 1-15, which means last year’s number should be met or exceeded. “You have no more 'unto' players,” Ginn Sr. “What I mean by that is that you’re going to have more 'until' players — they’re going to be with you until you make them mad or they don't like what's happening. Nobody's going to be there and stay until the end. There’s no forever. We're messing the game up.” The Many Layers of the Transfer Portal Coaches on both levels have said the transfer portal is like free agency, while recruiting is your draft class. Archbishop Hoban coach Tim Tyrell called it the Wild West, and Hudson coach Jeff Gough used those exact words in a separate interview. “It feels like NCAA basketball, doesn't it?” Gough said. “There's going to be schools where you're recruiting kids coming in for a four-year deal, and they're not looking for NIL.
I'm not in that world because [national image and likeness] is paired with this. “It is just like the Wild West, which is great for those able to make any money off this. It just muddies the waters of what everybody's known. I think it becomes incredibly tough for the mid-majors. It's the same as if a kid has a great year for Kent State basketball. You can't fault the kid for trying to go get drafted into the NBA, and I think that some of these kids look at that like, 'I need to go find another chance, a bigger stage.'” Gough sees both sides. There are players locked in at bigger schools who never see the field but transfer out without the penalty of sitting out a year. Brecksville’s Sam Wiglusz is one of those success stories. He walked on at Ohio State but got lost on the depth chart and switched to Ohio University, where he led the Bobcats with 73 catches for 877 yards and 11 touchdowns to earn all-conference honors last season.
There’s also the case of coaches leaving, allowing players to leave their NIL after the season. There’s also the case of coaches leaving, allowing players to leave their NIL after the season. Kent State lost 17 players to the transfer portal in December, while the University of Akron lost 15. Among the notable transfers were Golden Flashes quarterback Collin Schlee (now at UCLA) and an all-league receiver Dante Cephas (now at Penn State). On the flip side, the Zips added former five-star running back Lorenzo Lingard to the roster from Florida. So far, Kent State has added eight players from the portal, while Akron has recouped three. When Akron goes out recruiting, it isn't worried about a high school athlete entering the portal down the line because the reality is there isn’t a way to plan for or even control it.
Zips coach Joe Moorhead said the No. 1 goal for his coaches is to evaluate fits for the program. “From a philosophical standpoint, we're never going to abandon recruiting high school student-athletes because I think it eliminates the foundational development of your program,” he said. “I think the past two seasons we have leaned a little more towards the portal out of necessity and choice. "Once again, the portal has provided an opportunity for college programs, particularly [Power Five], to add players to the roster who are talented and experienced, so I think we would be remiss not to explore those options certainly, but never at the expense of abandoning our high school recruiting.” The NCAA is trying to keep up with the issue and has eliminated the 25-man limit on recruiting classes. Schools can now add the players needed to replace those lost to graduation or transfers as long as the overall roster stays at 85.
Don’t like it? Wait a week in the ever-changing landscape of recruiting. “For high school kids, you’re battling now with a guy that's probably a two-year, three-year (college) player, and you have this 17- to 18-year-old that you’re trying to persuade a college to take, and it doesn't work like that,” Buchtel coach Bryan Williams said. “It's almost like the NFL. If you look at it, you have a rookie coming in you already have your veteran, and hopefully, this rookie pans out. If this rookie doesn't pan out, you’ve got a vet that can fill the void.”
Glenville coach Ted Ginn Sr. has sent more than 200 athletes to Division I programs on scholarships. He sees high school kids getting overlooked by programs wanting “ready-made players” and worrying about where loyalties lie. According to Sports Illustrated, 10% of all FBS and FCS players entered the transfer portal in 2020. That number grew to more than 12% for FCS and 16% for FBS players last season.
In the 2021-2022 cycle, it grew to more than 3,000 players. When the Dec. 5 to Jan. 18 transfer window opened this cycle, 1,875 players entered, according to On3.com. The second cycle hits May 1-15, which means last year’s number should be met or exceeded. “You have no more 'unto' players,” Ginn Sr. “What I mean by that is that you’re going to have more 'until' players — they’re going to be with you until you make them mad or they don't like what's happening. Nobody's going to be there and stay until the end. There’s no forever. We're messing the game up.” The Many Layers of the Transfer Portal Coaches on both levels have said the transfer portal is like free agency, while recruiting is your draft class. Archbishop Hoban coach Tim Tyrell called it the Wild West, and Hudson coach Jeff Gough used those exact words in a separate interview. “It feels like NCAA basketball, doesn't it?” Gough said. “There's going to be schools where you're recruiting kids coming in for a four-year deal, and they're not looking for NIL.
I'm not in that world because [national image and likeness] is paired with this. “It is just like the Wild West, which is great for those able to make any money off this. It just muddies the waters of what everybody's known. I think it becomes incredibly tough for the mid-majors. It's the same as if a kid has a great year for Kent State basketball. You can't fault the kid for trying to go get drafted into the NBA, and I think that some of these kids look at that like, 'I need to go find another chance, a bigger stage.'” Gough sees both sides. There are players locked in at bigger schools who never see the field but transfer out without the penalty of sitting out a year. Brecksville’s Sam Wiglusz is one of those success stories. He walked on at Ohio State but got lost on the depth chart and switched to Ohio University, where he led the Bobcats with 73 catches for 877 yards and 11 touchdowns to earn all-conference honors last season.
There’s also the case of coaches leaving, allowing players to leave their NIL after the season. There’s also the case of coaches leaving, allowing players to leave their NIL after the season. Kent State lost 17 players to the transfer portal in December, while the University of Akron lost 15. Among the notable transfers were Golden Flashes quarterback Collin Schlee (now at UCLA) and an all-league receiver Dante Cephas (now at Penn State). On the flip side, the Zips added former five-star running back Lorenzo Lingard to the roster from Florida. So far, Kent State has added eight players from the portal, while Akron has recouped three. When Akron goes out recruiting, it isn't worried about a high school athlete entering the portal down the line because the reality is there isn’t a way to plan for or even control it.
Zips coach Joe Moorhead said the No. 1 goal for his coaches is to evaluate fits for the program. “From a philosophical standpoint, we're never going to abandon recruiting high school student-athletes because I think it eliminates the foundational development of your program,” he said. “I think the past two seasons we have leaned a little more towards the portal out of necessity and choice. "Once again, the portal has provided an opportunity for college programs, particularly [Power Five], to add players to the roster who are talented and experienced, so I think we would be remiss not to explore those options certainly, but never at the expense of abandoning our high school recruiting.” The NCAA is trying to keep up with the issue and has eliminated the 25-man limit on recruiting classes. Schools can now add the players needed to replace those lost to graduation or transfers as long as the overall roster stays at 85.
