As we enter the final week of the college football regular season, it means the transfer portal is set to reopen soon.
This year, the portal will reopen on Dec. 4 — the first business day following conference championship weekend.
For some coaches, the portal represents a chance to improve their rosters with instant-impact players, instead of having to wait to develop young players in the recruiting process.
However, for other coaches, it means they are losing some of their best players to bigger programs.
Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Elko became the latest head coach to discuss the portal on Monday when he said, via WRAL-TV’s Brian Murphy, “We’re probably about 13 days away from complete anarchy and the Wild West. … It’s literally open free agency for all of college football. … I don’t know that anyone is immune to what is going on in the transfer portal. It just is what it is. And you’ve got to put together a strategy to retain your players, and NIL is a big part of it.”
Duke's Mike Elko on transfer portal: "We’re probably probably about 13 days away from complete anarchy and the Wild West. … It's literally open free agency for all of college football. … I don’t know that anyone is immune to what is going on in the transfer portal. It just is…
— Brian Murphy (@murphsturph) November 20, 2023
NIL has constantly been a talking point for coaches regarding transfers, as smaller schools and programs simply don’t have the resources to keep up with the collectives that some of the blue bloods can put together.
It’s worth noting that Duke’s transfers may not even be Elko’s issue for much longer, as the former Texas A&M defensive coordinator has been linked to the Aggies’ open job ever since Jimbo Fisher’s firing two weeks ago.
