We’re living in a new era of college football with NIL and the transfer portal changes and what that means is that these transfers now play a big part in roster construction either in terms of what you can add or what you can lose.
The transfer portal opened up last week and will stay open until Dec. 28, but there will also be a second window that opens in the spring from April 16 through April 25.
A change this year is that the length of time that the portal window is open has been reduced from 45 days to 30 days total.
Off the bat, the portal has hit local programs hard as there have already been a few key flights to the transfer portal.
One of the first to announce their departures was NC State sophomore wide receiver KC Concepcion.
Last year’s ACC Rookie of the Year had a tough go this year, seeing a decrease in nearly all of his stats from the previous season.
Concepcion ended the year with 18 less receptions, nearly 300 less yards and four less touchdowns through the air as he was interestingly schemed for a lot more jet sweeps and run options.
Luckily for the Wolfpack though, it seems that they’re going to be returning a lot of their other key offensive pieces as quarterback CJ Bailey, running back Hollywood Smothers and tight end Justin Joly have all committed for another season.
“There’s a lot of reasons behind some of these decisions and some of them will probably never be told, but I look at all these openings that you end up with, whether its a player leaving for the NFL early, graduating and running out of eligibility or a player deciding to go to another school, every one of these is an opportunity for a young man to join our team because someone else has left,” said NC State coach Dave Doeren.
Another tough blow in the state was the announcement from Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy that he would be entering the transfer portal and forgoing the Gator Bowl.
The sophomore quarterback, who transferred from Texas, racked up 2,933 yards and 26 passing touchdowns plus two touchdowns on the ground in 2024, helping lead Duke to a 9-3 record.
“I’ve got a ton of respect for Maalik Murphy,” said Duke coach Manny Diaz. “Our story as a program… it doesn’t happen to this degree without Maalik. He’s been everything we could have hoped for and more in his time with us. I’m excited for him and his future and I’m glad that we were a part of each other’s story.”
However, Diaz and the Blue Devils were quick to address that loss, landing a commitment from Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah just two days later.
Mensah, a rising sophomore, threw for 2,723 yards, 22 touchdowns and just six interceptions as he helped lead the Green Wave to a 9-4 record and an appearance in the Gasparilla Bowl.
Similar to Murphy, the California native is primarily a pocket passer, as he accumulated just 132 yards and one touchdown on the ground this year.
One of the most interesting situations to follow though will be that of the UNC Tar Heels.
When the portal opened, UNC was still without a head coach, so the program saw a bit of an exodus, however, the hiring of Bill Belichick has flipped a few of those players back in.
A trio of starters – linemen Austin Blaske and Aidan Banfield as well as linebacker Amare Campbell all withdrew their names from the portal following the hire.
The Tar Heels still have a few names in the portal such as defensive lineman Travis Shaw, offensive lineman Howard Sampson and kicker Noah Burnette, but with Belichick now the head of the program, UNC should see an influx of some top talent too.
“I think the recruiting process belongs to everyone in terms of making this an attractive destination for the athlete,” Belichick said in his introductory press conference. “But it’s also part of the head coaching job to ensure that the student-athletes, you’re giving them what they want and there’s not always a fit there sometimes. But this university has so much to offer and out football program has so much to offer so I think we’ll be able to attract good quality players.”
The portal isn’t just impacting the big three in-state programs either as Wake Forest, ECU, Appalachian State and Charlotte are all feeling the effects of tough seasons with the flight of more than a few players too.
It’s especially difficult for the latter three who all fired head coaches mid-season, but just as the portal taketh, new coaches will be able to utilize the portal to rebuild.
College football continues to evolve and we’ll just have to wait and see how programs change and adapt with it.
