A lawless season of college football took another chaotic turn with Monday’s announcement that freshman quarterback Caleb Williams, a five-star prospect and all-conference selection this past fall, will enter the NCAA’s transfer portal. Williams’ stunning departure from Oklahoma continued the NCAA’s high-stakes game of musical chairs with players leaving en masse for better opportunities (meaning NIL money) elsewhere. Spencer Rattler, who lost his starting gig to Williams midway through last season, probably wishes he had stayed rather than transfer to South Carolina, a decision made back when it appeared Williams would enter 2022 as the Sooners’ QB1.
With players now allowed to transfer without sitting out a year, college football has experienced unprecedented turnover with over 3,000 players entering the NCAA’s transfer portal since November, according to Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger. That includes a record 1,618 defections last month. Though only 35 percent of those came from FBS schools, we’ve seen plenty of big names on the move including former Auburn quarterback Bo Nix (now of Oregon), USC’s Kedon Slovis (he’ll replace NFL-bound Kenny Pickett in Pittsburgh next season) and Max Johnson, who is headed to Texas A&M following a frustrating two-year stretch in Baton Rouge.
Between the NIL explosion, relaxed transfer rules and a mass exodus of high-profile coaches jockeying for position amid the gold rush that is college football television rights, the NCAA landscape is changing before our eyes with Williams and others wielding their power like never before. This break from tradition will be an adjustment for some, including purists like ESPN color commentator Kirk Herbstreit, who went viral over the weekend with his criticism of players like Pickett and expected first-round pick Kayvon Thibodeaux for opting out of bowl games to protect their draft stock. But, try as we might to hide it behind the guise of outdated concepts like loyalty and school pride, college football has, and always will be, about the money.
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