Let’s get this said right off the bat. First, collegiate players should be allowed to transfer if that’s what they wish.
Second, the transfer portal system is flawed. Both statements can be true and it’s why college football has reached a point that will be very difficult to adjust to. The Elias Ricks transfer to Alabama and the Max Johnson transfer to Texas A&M are the most accurate examples of why a dangerous precedent is starting to form.
The way the transfer rules are currently set up is players can enter the portal and be granted a one-year waiver to leave for another program. Depending on the time of year the sports falls under, the athlete must notify the school he's leaving by a set time.
Players can now leave for another program, even in the same conference, and be immediately eligible that next season.
In previous years, players were allowed to transfer but were forced to sit out a season. Former LSU defensive tackle Breiden Fehoko, who arrived in 2017, was forced to miss the season and became eligible for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
Ricks reportedly flirted with the idea of entering the transfer portal after his freshman season before ultimately electing to return to Baton Rouge. The sophomore cornerback talked about his decision to transfer to Alabama and why the timing was right for him.
“I was going to wait until next week but I talked to Nick Saban this morning and decided to get it done. I can’t wait to be coached by him, compete for a National Championship and stay in the SEC and test myself against the best of the best,” Ricks told 247Sports.
Ricks had every right to want to look elsewhere once LSU announced it would be parting ways with Ed Orgeron as coach. Orgeron was the guy Ricks believed in when he committed, signed and played for the program over the last two years.
Johnson's case was not too dissimilar as a new coaching regime along with the young quarterbacks at the position likely made him figure he was the odd man out. That combined with his brother, Jake Johnson, a star 2022 recruit needing to make a decision contributed to Johnson entering the portal.
But LSU is losing an All-American talent in Ricks and its starting quarterback in Johnson and will now will have to face both next season in a very competitive SEC West. This is the exact type of situation that many around the country fear will set a bad precedent if not corrected. So what's the answer?
There really aren't many good ones out there which is why in this piece from Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger back in April made the point that the sport is likely changing forever. No longer can programs think about building for the future, but rather the immediacy of the next year.
Another added wrinkle into the transfer portal is how NIL (name, image, likeness) will ultimately attract transfers and high school recruits to big name programs where the money is so great. Just look at what Texas announced a few weeks ago with its Horns With Hearts program a little over a month ago.
The program is backed by a non-profit organization that will provide every Longhorns offensive lineman on scholarship with a $50,000 stipend for their participation in charity work. Of course LSU is one of those big name programs that hopes to attract high school athletes and transfers with potential endorsement deals as well and with no federal legislation, it really looks to be a "highest bidder" type deal for a lot of these college athletes.
LSU will have to really lean into the NIL experience if it doesn't want to risk future stars being poached for big deals by other programs.
This is just the point we've reached in college athletics as the transfer portal becomes more and more prominent by the year. While other big programs are starting to really benefit from NIL's impact, it's also time for LSU to start taking advantage as well.
Because it looks like it's all here for the long haul.
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