Searching for transfers in college football

Justin Crouse, director of player personnel for Memphis, makes his first check of the transfer portal around 8 a.m. each day, searching for new names in the NCAA’s database of football players looking for a new school.

He checks again at lunch and one more time — at least — before he calls it a day.

For years, Crouse’s primary duties for Memphis have been identifying and evaluating recruits in high school and junior college. That was pre-portal.

“I would say 40 percent of the time now is concentrating on guys that are leaving other places,” Crouse said.

The NCAA’s new transfer rules have changed the process by which athletes switch schools, loosening some restrictions and leading more players to explore options. Football coaches have responded by throwing more manpower toward monitoring that growing talent pool and scouting the portal.

“We get an alert every day that somebody gets added into the portal, but then we get a weekly breakdown of position, hometown,” Memphis coach Mike Norvell said. “And then trying to collect all the information, the video, to get a sense of who these kids have developed to be.”

The portal is the NCAA’s cryptic name for the database it maintains to track which athletes — in all sports — have notified their schools they wish to transfer. The big change from last year’s rules reform was athletes no longer needed to request permission to transfer. Schools and coaches can no longer stop a transfer and dictate where the athlete goes. The point of the portal was to create transparency and order.

Before rules reform, the transfer process could be clandestine. Because athletes needed permission from their current coach to be contacted by other schools, it encouraged third parties to get involved, an active grapevine filled with high school and 7-on-7 coaches, personal trainers, parents and friends of friends.

“Before it was by word of mouth,” Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck said. “Somebody gave you a call, ‘This guy might be transferring,’ and get going. Now, it’s every day we have people that are in our program checking the portal.”

The portal provides more exposure for the transferring player and, ostensibly, more opportunities. Instead of deals being struck under the table even before players officially were granted their release, now every school in the country has the chance to make a pitch.

“It takes away … the middleman in making the connection,” Norvell said.

Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins said: “I think it’s beneficial for the players.”

Portal patrol duties tend to fall to the player personnel department — or some equivalent.

Crouse said he prioritizes players from Memphis’ recruiting area and those who play positions of team need. All highly productive players and quarterbacks get a look, too. Crouse compiles background material and film, going back to high school, using services such as Hudl and Pro Football Focus. He then sends that information to the Memphis coaches sorting by position, recruiting area and previous relationships.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart compared working the portal to NFL teams having a portion of their scouting department dedicated to veteran free agents.

“We just happen to have a larger pool (of players), which is the portal,” Smart said. “We know most of the guys on the board because we knew them coming out of high school and so we had a background on that. We said, ‘yeah, we didn’t think that guy was very good there and that’s why he’s leaving. So we’ll pass. That guy is an intriguing guy because we don’t have that position or we just had a mass exodus of three guys leave some position, juniors came out early we weren’t expecting. Better go to the portal, find a good backup.'”

The portal has opened up the process, but ultimately relationships built during high school recruiting still play a major role.

Oregon coach Mario Cristobal said he wants his staff to keep track of players who really liked Oregon coming out of high school but chose to sign elsewhere.

“This is one we may want to keep on a hot file,” Cristobal said. “So if it does happen, then you have the option to act relatively quickly.”

Staffers are on the lookout not just for talent, but fit — on the field and off.

“He went to this college, but he’s from here. Yeah, that raises attention regardless of position,” Collins said. “He’s leaving because he wants to be closer to home. Well, if his home is Dallas then don’t worry, we’re good.”

Background checks might be the most important part of portal scouting. Why exactly is the player leaving?

“There’s always a story,” Norvell said.

It’s those stories that have made some coaches stick to an old-school approach to pursuing transfers.

Georgia State coach Shawn Elliott said if the Panthers bring in a transfer he prefers it to be a player with which the staff is already familiar.

“But you know we do look at (the portal), but like I said I don’t think you want to build your football program with a bunch of guys that have already quit somewhere,” Elliott said.

And that grapevine is still plenty active.

“I think everyone’s just kind of waiting for that bulletin to pop up,” Cristobal said. “But I think everyone speculates as well.”

10 bold predictions for college football season

Could we see a first time College Football Playoff participant this season? Will a non-quarterback be a serious threat in the Heisman Trophy race? Is there a chance Clemson or Alabama doesn't reach the national championship finale?

There's a lot of intrigue three months out from the start of the 2019 season, one that can't get here fast enough as we trudge through the summer months without it. Coming out of spring practice, there's a handful of teams we know will be ranked among the elites in August and a couple others with darkhorse buzz.

As for the stars expected to carry college football's momentum? The 2020 NFL Draft appears to be quarterback-rich and those guys are expected to carry their respective teams throughout the fall. But there's a few teams and individual standouts we're not talking enough about as well and perhaps this projection sheds some light on those.

Here are 10 bold predictions ahead of the 2019 college football season:

10. Highly-ranked flop? Notre Dame
Flop might be a bit harsh, but there's a chance Notre Dame — despite talent returning on both sides of the football — finishes with three regular-season losses, a number that will certainly keep the Irish well short of their expectations nationally as a preseason Top 10. Ian Book returns and should be one of the nation's top quarterbacks, but losing two captains up front — Alex Bars and Sam Mustipher — along with Dexter Williams and big-play wideout Miles Boykin means the Notre Dame offense will look a little different. Notre Dame won't be favored in road trips to Georgia or Michigan and there's several other games that could go either way on the schedule this fall, one that's tougher than last season's slate. Their efforts in getting back to the Playoff will be on life support after the September setback in Athens.

9. Nebraska reaches Big Ten title game
Perhaps the boldest prediction on the list, could the Huskers really turn the tables on a 4-8 season with a Big Ten Championship appearance? It would take a Herculean effort from sophomore quarterback Adrian Martinez, but more importantly, better-than-expected play out of a defense facing questions entering the season. But there's two factors that weigh heavily on Nebraska's chances — the Huskers don't play in the black-and-blue division and face one of those rare schedules conducive to success. Scott Frost's team won't play a single Top 25 opponent on the road and their two toughest games — Ohio State and Wisconsin — come in ideal spots. They'll play the Buckeyes with budding confidence at 4-0 and battle the Badgers following an open week in November. Northwestern won this division last season and I expect it to be wide open once again.

8. Tennessee wins 9 games
It'll take a bowl victory, but the Vols will finish 9-4 during Jeremy Pruitt's second season and all will be well in Knoxville. We'll know if a better-than-expected finish for Tennessee is feasible heading into the Georgia game on Oct. 5 after a bye post-Florida. There will be extreme optimism and buzz if Pruitt's team goes into Gainesville and beats the Gators in their SEC opener after three straight victories at home. The offense should be much-improved under Jim Chaney if there's solid play up front and Tennessee likes its starting 11 on defense. Depth could be an issue with any significant injuries, but I'll roll the dice here and says the Vols only lose to Florida, Georgia, Alabama and either Mississippi State or Mizzou during the regular season.

7. Alabama places two in Heisman Top 5
The last time one team has placed two players in the final five in Heisman voting came in 2008 when Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell and wideout Michael Crabtree were voted fourth and fifth, respectively. It has only happened four times since the turn of the century, but there's a good chance it comes back around this season with Tua Tagovailoa and Jerry Jeudy. These two have a chance to be the nation's top quarterback-wideout tandem in terms of production and that comes in spite of Alabama's talent-wealth at the receiver position. Jeudy won the Biletnikoff award last season and could add more hardware to his trophy case as a junior. Both of these talented players will be first-round picks in the 2020 NFL Draft should they choose to come out.

6. Sam Ehlinger is Heisman finalist
More on the Heisman conversation — here's a guy with Tim Tebow-like qualities, someone who makes the players around him want to use every last ounce of energy they have to win football games. Ehlinger is one of the few players nationally with it this season, an athlete with intangibles needed to be successful at the all-important position of leadership. The straw who stirs for the drink for the Longhorns, Ehlinger might be college football's most important player respective to his team's success. Should he take the next step as a passer this season, and I expect he will after last year's rise, this bulldozing signal caller could exceed 50 total touchdowns — especially if the Texas defense takes a slight step back with several new starters. Ehlinger's numbers will be too impressive to ignore for Heisman voters not to mention his play in spotlight games.

5. Florida beats Georgia
All that preseason chatter from the Gators has increased the intrigue a bit for this one in Jacksonville and I liked Florida to back it up against the unbeaten Bulldogs. How's that for a big-time SEC upset pick? Honestly, it won't be all that surprising if both teams are inside the Top 10 when this matchup comes around in November. The Gators' schedule isn't going to do them any favors, however. Florida will come into the Cocktail Party with at least one SEC loss (Auburn, LSU, South Carolina three straight weeks pre-Georgia) and then face enormous pressure at Mizzou on Nov. 16 after beating the Bulldogs with a potential chance to clinch the East. Somehow, Florida will finish 6-2 in SEC play and miss out on a trip to Atlanta despite beating the eventual division champs. Another 10-win season for Dan Mullen, perhaps 11 if the Gators show up to their postseason with focus (like they did last fall vs. Michigan).

4. Oregon wins the Pac-12
Returning a veteran quarterback as talented as Justin Herbert can not be understated. But even with that universally-understood as a strength, if you're betting on a Pac-12 champion, chances are you're placing your wager on Chris Petersen's Washington Huskies. There's a certain trust factor there coupled with the Ducks' treacherous road slate — Stanford, Washington, USC and Arizona State. One of college football's national sleeper teams in 2019, if Oregon can rely on its defense in late-game situations, a Pac-12 championship is not out of reach. Justin Herbert's return means the Ducks will be in the thick of the conference title race if they can navigate their way through a challenging schedule. Much like Washington this fall, one of the Pac-12's top teams in 2019 won't be without a blemish or two. That elite-level 2019 signing class will pay immediate dividends for Oregon, too.

3. Michigan beats Ohio State
It's bound to happen at some point for Jim Harbaugh, right? He gets the Buckeyes in Ann Arbor this season with senior quarterback Shea Patterson finally finding his comfort zone in an offensive scheme that'll compliment his skill set. And considering 2018's massacre and the year-long aftertaste it has left in the mouths of the Wolverines, there's extra motivation in this one for Michigan to snap the streak. There's three teams in my opinion who could win the Big Ten in 2019 and the Wolverines are one of them. Keep an eye on Michigan's defense this fall. Despite losing key contributors Rashan Gary, Devin Bush and Chase Winovich, Don Brown believes this could be the most athletic unit he has fielded at the program. There's the Ryan Day factor, too. Ohio State's first-year coach will be facing immense pressure to get back to the Big Ten title game in his first season and needing this one to do so.

2. Big Ten misses Playoff
Since Ohio State's national championship commenced the Playoff era to end the 2014 season, the Big Ten has scored zero points in two final four appearances and has not been represented since the Buckeyes' 31-0 loss to Clemson in the semifinals to end the 2016 campaign. That streak will continue as Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin and Nebraska beat up and each other this season in the upper tier. From the outside looking in, it's Michigan who appears to have the fewest questions but the schedule is challenging and a two-loss conference champion — whether that's the Wolverines or Buckeyes — won't be enough to impress the selection committee against the likes of Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and the Big 12 victor.

1. Clemson loses a regular-season game
One of five teams this season expected to be favored in every regular-season game (perhaps by double digits), the defending national champions should cruise to another Playoff berth without much adversity standing in their way. But no team nationally has a bigger target this fall and there's a possibility that the lack of competition on the schedule may backfire somewhere the Tigers least expect. With Clemson's over-under win total matching Alabama's at 11, beware. The Tigers needed a 13-play, 94-yard touchdown drive to earn the come-from-behind win last year vs. Syracuse at home and lost the previous time these two teams met at the Carrier Dome. That matchup comes on Sept. 14, after what could be a tough tilt vs. Texas A&M. And if the Tigers get past those two unscathed, there's two potential upsets in November away from home against rivals N.C. State and South Carolina.

5 Newcomers to Watch for the Gators

The Florida Gators have a ton of talent returning from a team that went 10-3 last year, capping things off with an impressive 41-15 victory over Michigan in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Now it seems the Gators will bring in a gifted class of newcomers to help replace some of the players they lost.

Florida head coach Dan Mullen will play the best players no matter if they're freshman or seniors. So here's a list of five new faces that need to be followed heading into the fall.

Arjei Henderson, WR

During the All-American Game in January, Henderson surprised many when he chose the Gators over Oregon and Oklahoma. He was the No. 126 prospect in the 2019 class per the 247Sports Composite Index. Expect Henderson, who was a four-star recruit, to get some reps on offense this fall.

Nay'Quan Wright, RB

As a freshman for Miami's Carol City High School, Wright ran for 983 yards and 11 touchdowns on 122 carries. He followed that up with an equally successful sophomore campaign (112 att., 810 yds., 8 TDs) and Wright figures to be a part of the Gators' stable of ball carriers for this fall.

Chris Steele, CB

A top-100 recruit per ESPN.com, Steele reached for the Florida hat at the All-American Bowl over Oregon, USC, Oklahoma, and South Carolina. An early enrollee, Steele will take part in spring practice in hopes of getting him ready to play this fall. Florida had a significant need for cornerback help so getting Steele's signature was a huge deal for the Gators. ​

Kaiir Elam, ATH

Elam was ranked 48th overall in the 2019 class by 247Sports and he was one of the highest-rated prospects who had not committed entering National Signing Day. If the name sounds familiar, it's because he is the nephew of former Gators star and first-round NFL draft pick Matt Elam. Kaiir Elam is listed as an athlete, but he will likely play defensive back.

Khris Bogle, DE

On National Signing Day, Florida flipped Bogle from Alabama, giving Dan Mullen and his coaching staff another nice W to enjoy on Feb. 6. The in-state product from Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, Bogle should slide right in and compete for playing time as an edge rusher. With Jachai Polite off to the NFL, Bogle will have a chance to be an impact player from Day 1.

New football rules make little impact in opening game

Can all statistics teachers please look away now, because we're about to attempt to draw meaningful conclusions from a sample size of one, and that's not something you're going to want to see? Thank you.

In the end, it was neither the game's ruination, nor the game's salvation. It was barely even a disruption.

On a miserable night in O'Moore Park, with driving rain and a biting cold wind into the bargain, the press box was a full house as the scribes and hacks came in their droves, hoping to see first-hand the dramatic changes that would be brought about by the new playing rules for Gaelic football.

Drawn up with a view to balancing the scale which has been heavily weighted in favour of possession football in recent years, whispers and mutterings from secret training sessions have swept the nation in recent weeks.

These murmurs told of teams completing three handpasses and then kicking backwards instantly, or even going to more extreme lengths, with headed passes and deliberate kicks to touch all supposedly featuring on the tactics boards of the various county teams.

That's the thing with coaches and managers these days. If you wrote a rule forbidding armed robbery, some know-it-all would be sure to find a way to strap a weapon to the chest of a man with no arms and claim that he was still following the rule.

If John Sugrue or Andy McEntee had any such tricks up their sleeve, they didn't reveal them last night.

In Sugrue's case, one suspects that he has looked into the whites of the eyes of the Standing Committee on Playing Rules, and decided that they are bluffing.

The Kerry native spoke after a game that featured precisely zero offensive marks, no contentious sideline kicks, very few short kickouts and enough space to make a kicking game relatively easy to execute, and he conceded that the new rules made very little impact on the game.

"You're looking at something that may not even necessarily be applicable by the end of January" he noted.

Suddenly, a flaw. A trial period only works if teams commit to the trial process, and Sugrue might not be the only manager who decides that he has more urgent priorities than trying to learn to work with new rules that may not even be in place for the start of the league.

Certainly the evidence on the field suggested that whatever work had been done by this Laois group, wasn't with these experimental rules in mind.

Andy McEntee on the other hand, spoke of how his Meath panel had worked to prepare for the new environment.

"It doesn't matter whether you agree with them or not, you have to abide by them. We bring it into every training session" he said of the rule changes after his side's win.

Aside from the fourteen-point gap on the scoreboard, that gap in preparation was evident in the first half. Three times Laois were penalised for a fourth consecutive handpass, while Meath rarely even put three together, and never four, for the full 35 minutes.

They used the foot pass well, but it was notable that they still did so with high-percentage kicks. They simply found more space, and kicked to free men – kicking into contests for possession close to goal was just as rare is it was in any intercounty football game played in 2018.

Moreover, the Royal County seemed to be conscious of this new paradigm on both sides of the ball, stepping off their men a fraction and offering up the short ball until the third handpass was played, and then attempting to pounce with sudden pressure to force an error - often with success.

Laois, in contrast, conceded space. Thus they conceded lateral kicks to the opposition and so rarely left Meath in a situation where boot-to-ball was the only option for the man in possession.

"Meath played with better structure, they had fellas in the right areas of the field at all times, they didn't have the packs of fellas defending and then packs attacking too much" said Sugrue.

The irony of this is that while Laois fell into the trap that the rule designers might have hoped – they used up their handpasses and often kicked long due to the lack of an alternative - Meath always left themselves with options.

Consequently, they rarely kicked long balls into the full forward line, instead spreading the play across the width of the field.

0-2 of the final Laois tally of 0-6 came from long, direct ball into the full forward line. Meath too got just two points from the same tactic, until Thomas O'Reilly's late goal when the result was already locked in, leaving them with a final yield of 1-2 from long kicking play out of their total of 3-11.

But because that option was on the table, Laois had to honour the threat, and so defenders like Ronan Ryan and Donal Keogan were able to get forward, attack holes in the defence, and deliver key scores in the first half.

There was mixed success for Gators transfers in 2018

There are always going to be those guys that don’t work out after recruiting them to a football program. Finding the best fit for both the program and the player can fail for many different reasons. When the prospect signs with your school, you want them to be that difference maker for your program.

When they transfer, most want them to do well, and that may depend on why they transferred. Here is a look at the players that Florida signed that played college football in 2018, but somewhere else. 

QB Will Grier (West Virginia)
Grier sat out the 2016 season at West Virginia after transferring from Florida. Grier was the starter all of 2017 and threw for 3,490 yards, 34 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Grier was the Big-12 Newcomer of the Year as voted on by the league coaches. In 2018, he started 11 games and finished with 3864 yards, 37 touchdowns and seven interceptions. At the end of the year he was a Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist, a Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Top 5, and a Maxwell Award finalist. Needless to say he is the most decorated player on this list and his stats are better than any quarterback Florida has had since Tim Tebow.

QB/ WR Treon Harris (Tennessee State)
Harris, who signed at Florida in the same class as Grier, moved on after a bout of trouble in Gainesville. After sitting out a year when transferring to Tennessee State, Harris played quarterback for his first year back on the field in 2017. That season he played in six games, starting the first five and went 58-of-106 for 729 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.  He was moved to receiver in this, his redshirt senior year, he finished with a solid 35 catches for 476 yards and five touchdowns in 2018.

QB Jake Allen (Dartmouth)
Allen transferred to Dartmouth in the offseason. As a redshirt freshman he saw action in two games, completing one pass for nine yards against Georgetown.

RB Jordan Cronkrite (USF)
After transferring before the 2017 season Cronkite had to sit out that year as a transfer. Cronkrite had 402 yards and four touchdowns in his first two years on campus at Florida. As a redshirt junior with the Bulls, Cronkrite ran for 1,095 yards and nine touchdowns averaging 6.33 yards per carry.

WR C.J. Worton (FIU)
After a couple of seasons of very little action (10 catches) for Worton at Florida, he transferred to FIU. As a redshirt junior, Worton led FIU in receiving hauling in 36 receptions for 620 yards and six touchdowns.

WR Kalif Jackson (Grambling State)
After graduating at the end of 2017, the seldom used Jackson transferred to Grambling. Still just a junior, Jackson saw the field in 10 games, but caught just three passes for 10 yards. He has another year to play.

TE Camrin Knight (Georgia State)
After transferring and sitting out the 2017 season ay GSU, Knight was eligible to play this season. He saw action in eight games this season catching three balls for 34 yards.

OT Andrew Mike (Rice)
Mike played in a lot of games at Florida, but most all of them on the kick protection. He did the same at Rice as a graduate transfer in his only season playing on special teams in six contests during the season.

DT Gerald Willis (Miami)
Willis transferred from Florida to Miami after the 2014 season after finding himself in different off-the-field issues on campus that weren’t law issues, but a detriment to the team. At Florida he had 14 tackles in nine games in 2014. After sitting out the 2015 season due to transfer, Willis played in nine games and had 16 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and two pass break ups for the Hurricanes in 2016. Willis cited personal issues and sat out the 2017 season before returning for a big 2018 year. He was really playing well early this past season and finished with a really strong with 59 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, four sacks, and two passes broken up. He was voted second team All-American by Sports Illustrated and second team All-ACC by the league’s coaches following the season.

DT Richerd Desir-Jones (Coffeyville CC)
Desir-Jones came to Florida as an offensive lineman in the 2015 class. After a couple of seasons he was moved to defensive tackle. He saw action in a couple of games in 2016. Desir-Jones transferred from Florida to Coffeyville after sitting out the 2017 season as part of the credit card scandal in Gainesville. In 2018, Desir-Jones had 16 tackles in nine games.

DE Jordan Smith (Butler CC)
Smith was another caught up in the credit card issue at Florida and left after the season. In this season with the Grizzlies, Smith had a pretty big year notching 68 tackles and 11 sacks as an edge rusher in 12 games. That is the kind of production that will get him noticed to move on to a bigger school, despite his off-the-field issues.