With the NCAA transfer portal main window now in the rearview mirror, I think it’s a great opportunity to take a minute and try to process just how crazy the transfer portal is.

In an article on Scholar Champion Athlete titled, “The Transfer Portal: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” David Robinson talks about how much of an impact the portal has. 

“Through early December there were already more than 1,300 FBS college football players in the portal, and all signs point to the number growing past the 3,000 line,” Robinson wrote.

That’s a crazy number to think about, as most players who enter the portal are either in there to go somewhere where they have an opportunity to play or make more money. There are some cases where players won’t even get picked up and are forced to return to their old school, too.

Lucas Austin, an offensive lineman for Virginia Tech University, entered the portal following his 2024 season at West Virginia University. Austin spoke on their experiences in the transfer portal. 

“The process was somewhat stressful because of all the unknowns involved in the portal,” Austin said. “The transfer portal was a blessing to me as I had a great opportunity to get onto the field and become a leader.”

The transfer portal is constantly growing, and while it can be good for some, it can be really bad for others. 

In the aforementioned article, Robinson explained the ugly truth behind the portal.

“Although athletes have an abundance of control to choose what they think will be best for their career, they have the freedom to choose incorrectly. New NCAA legislation allows college coaches to take back scholarships for any athlete who enters the portal going into the next semester. So entering the transfer portal is effectively walking out of a pre-existing scholarship in many cases.”

The portal can make or break you as an athlete. As the article mentioned, you could go into the portal, get the money you want and go to the team you want. But then, if you aren’t picked up, your career could be over and you could lose scholarships, which is really unfortunate to see.

Austin shared his thoughts on what the portal can do for players.

“I think players should have better education on the portal to inform them on their decisions,” Austin said. “Overall, the portal can be a positive if you enter for the right reasons.” 

Kyle Altuner, a teammate of Austin’s, also joined Virginia Tech through the portal after spending the 2024 season at WVU. Altuner talked about his view of the portal. 

“In all, I think the portal is very beneficial for many kids, but it’s considered by many as the wild west, where thousands of kids don’t find a place and can’t go to school for several months,” Altuner said. “If the player has a plan and people supporting him, then he will be just fine.”

I am not the biggest fan of the transfer portal. I know coaches like to say that the players are coming to compete, but in reality, when a player transfers, they intend to start, and that’s what we are seeing a lot of nowadays. 

I also think players mainly go into the portal because they want more NIL money, and they don’t really care if they play or not. The player who is already at a school could be the better player, but the transfer must play because they are getting paid more. 

Overall, I think the portal should be a thing, however players should transfer because they want to get more playing time and not because of the money.