OPINION: The transfer portal has decreased the value of following high school recruiting

“I am committing to spend the next three to four years at the University of….”

Those words used to hit like music to the ears of college football fans, who love to follow college football recruiting. Those fans would follow closely as their favorite college football team showed interest in a prospect, be excited when the prospect received an offer from said school and would be through the roof when those words were said and the name of their favorite school followed.

The strength of those words has been fading away for years now, and this portal cycle may have officially rendered them powerless.

“I am committing to spend my freshman year at the University of… unless the coach retires or gets a new job. I will then be taking my talents to the transfer portal before I play in a game.”

Those should be the words said in commitment posts from this point on, and the players and prospects are not entirely at fault for why this is so. It is simply where we are in the new world of college football. The transfer portal and NIL have combined to create a more even playing field, as predicted by Nick Saban, who believed it would lead to an NFL free agency model. However, it is free agency, but it is on steroids.

At least the NFL has binding contracts and restrictions in contracts. There are none in college football. So, where is the value in following college football recruiting as a college football fan? Just to see your team sign 20 guys and have 12 to 15 of them in the portal before their junior season.

Some Alabama football fans would often wave off verbal commitments in the past when we publish articles on them and say, “Tell me when he has signed.” I was not always a fan of those words because de-commitments for Alabama happen of course, but they do not happen as often as some may feel they do, especially for Alabama. However, those words now may have stronger legs to stand on. Let’s not just wait until they have signed; let’s wait until after they have completed a season.

Either way, college football recruiting should now be followed in a different manner. Fans should expect players to stay at their favorite program for just a year and wait to see what happens after that. Roster turnover as a whole will now be looked at on a year to year basis and high school recruiting has fallen victim to the trend.