Does the transfer portal actually work in college football?

The utilization of the college football transfer portal is a high-risk, high reward philosophy that has its benefits and its shortcomings.

Since the implementation of the transfer portal in October 2018, it has taken college football by storm. The transfer portal allows prospective student-athletes to enter their name into a database, which alerts other colleges that the individual is available to accept a scholarship or be recruited by another institution.

The paperwork process that is required when a student-athlete enters the transfer portal can be completed within a manner of a few business days, rivaling the time it takes for your online package with 2-day shipping to appear at your doorstep. On that note, whatever you are ordering will probably break or be underwhelming, causing you to order the same thing again but with a different company (sad, but true).

The transfer portal has accumulated thousands of student-athletes on the yearly basis, making it a one-stop shop for college football programs looking to acquire new talent on their roster.

There has always been the occurrence of transfers in college football, but they were previously regulated for student-athletes who were graduate transfers (enabling the ability to transfer freely after the completion of their undergraduate degree) and hardship waivers (required clearance from the NCAA to transfer freely while maintaining immediate eligibility).

As highly publicized as the transfer market is, there is still a cloud of uncertainty if this system actually works. We will look at the different factors that encompass the transfer portal and determine if the utilization of this recruiting model yields positive or negative results.

Equipped with this information you can then investigate the college football program you support and decide if the transfer portal has contributed to its success or has been a waste of time.