October 15, 2018 was the day the landscape of college football changed forever. The NCAA opened the floodgates when transferring to another school became a rather basic right of passage. Before that game changing day, football players were “punished” if they wanted to take their talents elsewhere.
The transfer portal gives legitimacy and license to jumping ship. On the surface, it might seem rather harmless. If one’s unhappy, then dip your toes in the waters of the portal and see what opportunities exist. But there’s the rub. Know the definition of opportunity? “A set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something.” The operative word is “possible.” It doesn’t say “guaranteed.”
Research for my book, Raising Giants, led to these statistics. 31,000 players entered the portal in 2023. Less than half found a new home. The 17,000 who weren’t picked up by another team had to continue looking, transfer to a non-NCAA school or leave the sport completely. I’d suggest to those the grass had died.
Then there are the examples of those who transfer and discover that life might have been better at their old haunt. Take for instance Nico Iamaleava. As a high school junior he committed to Tennessee with much fanfare. It was considered a real recruiting coup by Volunteer’s head coach Josh Heupel.
Iamaleava was given the keys to the kingdom in his freshman season at Tennessee. And to his credit, he was a major contributor to the team’s success as the Volunteers finished their regular season with a 10-2 record and a seed in the year end 12-team playoffs. But that may prove to be the pinnacle of his college career.
For reasons that I’ll share in another blog, Iamaleava moved on from Tennessee through the transfer portal, ultimately landing in Westwood, CA as a member of the UCLA Bruins. The Bruin faithful were ecstatic. They entered the 2025 season believing their fates had turned after years of disappointing performances.
As I write this blog, UCLA is one game away from their final contest of the season. And like many previous campaigns, they once again will NOT participate in a bowl game. Is this Nico’s fault? Not in my book. He certainly has shown signs of brilliance when on the field. He’s a stud. But remember, football is a team game, not an individual sport. One reason given for Nico’s departure from Tennessee was that he wasn’t surrounded by the best talent.
Did he or those around him studying the lay of the land bother to evaluate the Bruin roster? Not to be mean spirited, however the UCLA roster from a talent perspective is a far cry from what the Volunteers trotted onto the field when he donned the Orange and White. In my view, he was destined to have a subpar season in Westwood given their roster construct . . . regardless of how he personally performed.
Several expressions/ proverbs came to mind as I wrote this blog. “Buyer beware.” “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.” “Do your homework.” And the most appropriate, “The grass isn’t always greener.”