Every offseason brings its own trials and tribulations for a college football program. Some programs may see players depart for the NFL. Some programs may have to go through coaching changes. A few programs may even have to deal with legal issues. At the University of Nebraska, it seems that we have been able to check all of those boxes recently. Although numbers have been down, we have seen players take their talents to the next level. Unfortunately, we have also had to witness players and coaches go through off-the-field troubles. When it comes to the Nebraska football coaching staff, well, consistency isn’t exactly a word that comes to mind. However, these types of issues have existed forever and every program has had to take it on the chin, adapt, adjust, and move on. In recent years, we have seen another major issue starting to grow and significantly change the entire landscape of college football. This “phenomenon” is known as the Transfer Portal.
According to the NCAA, the Transfer Portal was created as a compliance tool to systematically manage the transfer process from start to finish, add more transparency to the process among schools, and empower student-athletes to make known their desire to consider other programs. Seems reasonable enough right? At first glance, yes. It seems like a great idea to allow the student-athletes to have full control of their future and ultimately decide where they will attend school at the next level. A student-athlete may choose his/her school of choice, arrive at that school, and then experience some sort of adversity, prompting them to make other arrangements for the future. The adversity could include a coaching change, lack of playing time, or simply becoming homesick. When this type of situation occurs, the student-athlete can go to their compliance department and inform them of their intentions to enter their name into the portal and essentially become a “free agent”. At this point, coaches from around the country are able to recruit these athletes to their respective schools. The student-athlete then has the option to make a change and move on or they can choose to remain at their current school and remove their name from the portal. Many coaches have voiced their opinions on this process with some having embraced it and some being very strongly opposed to it. With anything new, that is expected.
So what exactly is the problem? Why is there so much debate on this topic?
It can be difficult to pinpoint one specific problem as it pertains to this new process. At a high level, the new transfer process can be somewhat flawed at times. The student-athlete should absolutely have the right to continue their academic and athletic career at the institution of their choice but at what point does it become too much? Some may argue that if the coaches of these universities are able to pack up and head for greener pastures at any time, why can’t the athletes do the same? Fair point. Some may also create the argument that some athletes don’t wish to compete and they are just looking for the easy path to a roster spot, immediate playing time, or even a starting role on that team. Also a fair point. So why do we restrict the athlete to stay put when the coaches don’t show the same loyalty in return? Why do we allow the athletes to jump ship when things don’t go as planned? It’s an extremely slippery slope and the Nebraska football program has had to endure these complicated times as much as any football program in the country. They have also landed a few incoming transfers that have made a huge impact in their time here.
As most programs have, Nebraska football has had transfers coming and going for decades. Scott Frost is an early example. When his days at Wood River High School were finished, he packed up and headed out west to Stanford University where he spent two seasons playing for the Cardinal before transferring to Nebraska and finishing his college career. Good move Mr. Frost.
Fast forward a few years and we arrive at another favorable transfer in Quarterback Zac Taylor. Taylor began his career at Wake Forest where he redshirted his first year and then saw very minimal playing time in his second year with the Demon Deacons. He made the decision to transfer to Butler Community College where he broke out for nearly 3,000 passing yards and earned second-team NJCAA All-American honors. After a successful stint in the Junior College ranks, Taylor landed at Nebraska where he led the Cornhuskers to a Big 12 Conference Championship game and was named the 2006 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.
Obviously, these are two examples of Nebraska being extremely fortunate with welcoming incoming transfers to Lincoln but at this point in time, the Transfer Portal had not been introduced and transferring rules were much more strict.
Now let’s jump ahead to where things started changing.
Bo Pelini had just been relieved of his duties in Lincoln and Mike Riley was now in charge of the Nebraska football program. Coach Riley was not a flashy hire by national standards. It is also well documented that he wasn’t necessarily a popular hire from the perspective of most Nebraska fans but what most people don’t realize is that he started doing something in Lincoln that we had maybe seen one other time in Nebraska coaching history. When it came to a recruiting strategy, Coach Riley was going after the big fish in the sea. He was recruiting 4- and 5-star talent to Lincoln and getting Nebraska’s brand out to the recruiting hotbeds in America with a specialized interest in the state of California. The “Calibraska Movement” was born with this new approach. Nebraska had created a pipeline at Calabasas High School that was sure to be a match made in heaven. Marquel Dismuke, Tristan Gebbia, and Keyshawn Johnson Jr. all made their way from Calabasas to Lincoln to transform the then stagnant Huskers into a sexy, new west coast-style Nebraska team. Darnay Holmes and Brendan “Bookie” Radley-Hiles were two others that nearly landed in Lincoln before de-committing or committing elsewhere prior to signing day. After plenty of attrition with this group, only Dismuke remains in Lincoln today. Tristan Gebbia transferred following the announcement of true freshman Adrian Martinez being named starting quarterback and Keyshawn Johnson Jr. left the program following the Spring Game, having never taken the field in the fall. Even before the Transfer Portal really took off, we were starting to see this new era of roster management making its way to the surface of college football and it was becoming more and more controversial by the day. The short-lived “Calibraska Movement” had come and gone just like that.
By the time 2019 rolled around, the Transfer Portal had really gained an identity and Nebraska felt the impact immediately. In addition to Tristan Gebbia, Nebraska saw 12 more departures including highly-touted players like Tyjon Lindsay, Avery Roberts, and Cam’ron Jones.
Take it on the chin, adjust, adapt, and move on right?
Well, the 2020 transfer cycle has not been kind to Nebraska either. The Cornhuskers currently have 14 players listed in this cycle with plenty of time to add more. Several of the 2020 players named on this list are the result of off-the-field issues that plagued their careers here but to say these numbers aren’t a bit troubling would be a huge understatement. What is even more troubling is that this new Transfer Portal doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, anytime soon. Every program is being affected by this epidemic and it seems that this is just the beginning.
In April, the NCAA will vote to make transferring even easier. If the vote passes, the student-athlete would be able to transfer one time without penalty and would have immediate eligibility no matter the destination.
Interesting times ahead.
GBR
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