Colorado Buffaloes: Mayhem in Boulder with the Transfer Portal

Is the season already looking dim for the Colorado Buffaloes football squad? Needless to say the transfer portal has not helped Colorado Football or it’s fans hopes. By allowing student athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness it has been easier for some teams to set themselves apart from others.

At some point the NCAA will have to step up with guidelines. Because in all honesty it has become chaos already. It is already being used for recruiting purposes so the schools with more money are going to snatch up every big player they want to but offering them higher incentives that an athletes current school can’t do. In a short time this has already become too much like professional sports, which I believe takes the beauty out of College Football. As many love NCAA Football because it is different from the NFL. I am all for paying our athletes what they deserve, but the transfer portal seems to be hurting the smaller programs and bumping up the bigger ones.

Teams can sign seven transfers in addition to the 25 new scholarship players per year that will make up for transfers leaving their program.

The latest big Buff to enter the portal was wide receiver Brenden Rice. One of the best targets on offense Colorado had. He went on to say on Twitter he had 30 offers. We hope whoever gets him will utilize him more. We know he can be a star just like his father was.

Colorado star cornerback Christian Gonzalez also entered the transfer portal. A player who was an all-conference honorable mention in his second season with the Buffs. He was one of the Buffs best player on defense behind Carson Wells and Mekhi Blackmon. Losing this type of leadership and experience could be detrimental for next season. Or having fresh legs and fresh blood could be just what they need. Head Dorrell has hired a number of new faces to his coaching staff. A change in offense has been heavily needed and met by Dorrell.

When it comes to the transfer portal I have good takeaways and bad takeaways. For players who have great potential but are sidelined for other players and don’t get their shot I love the transfer portal. It allows their talents to shine somewhere where it will be much more appreciated. Because there are so many teams out there that can benefit and fill holes, and become a stronger team for it.

It is fully a players decision to make. If they decide to take this route we should support them. We are all entitled to be the best version of ourselves and sometimes that takes us to a place that we never planned on. Then you have phenomenal players in mediocre programs who could shine even brighter on a bigger stage and really up their draft value and rankings. But I also fear some of these kids might get their egos stroked a little too much and are going to be less successful when they go to a larger program, which won’t be great for their career. There are risks either way you go.

Colorado’s athletic director Rick George had some comments of his own regarding the NIL:

"”With NIL, there’s some things out there that I’m disappointed in, that some schools are doing, because I think some of it falls under inducements. If you look at the by law 13/2 in the NCAA, we’re still members of the NCAA, there’s things that you can and cannot do with inducements, whether it’s the transfer portal or recruiting. I just think that we have to, either the NCAA or as conferences collectively, we have to have more guidelines and more governance. There are people that go into the portal to see what opportunities they are going to have in the NIL space. Again, as I look at this, I think it falls under inducements and that’s not acceptable as a member of the NCAA at this point."

The Buffaloes have now watched 14 players enter the transfer portal. Some big names which is worrying to the fans and the hope they had for the future. Other teams around the FBS have been seeing the same things and at the same numbers.

George and  Head Coach Dorrell have mentioned a shortened time to enter the transfer portal. He thinks that is something they need to revisit.

With college footballs transfer portal, do you think it’s becoming too much like free agency? Is it getting out of hand? Will we ever have loyalty in sports again or has it gotten to be too much of what one can do for themselves?