Since 2018, The NCAA Transfer Portal has benefited thousands of college athletes all over the country. Being super accessible to all, athletes are able to find schools they think might fit their desires better, all by the click of a button.
Opening January 2nd, over 4,500 Dl-Dlll college football athletes have entered, which is about 31.5% of all players.
By the time it closes on the 16th, more are expected to take that jump. Big time schools like OSU and Clemson have suffered sizable losses.
After a 10 year drought, in 2024, the Ohio State Buckeyes won the chip again. Having such a successful run in the playoffs, comes with certain side effects. Losing 14 players to the NFL Draft, as well as offensive and defensive coordinators, shockingly enough, there was still hope in a 2-peat. Of course Ryan Day had a plan, and for the most part it was executed very well.
Bringing in Matt Patricia on defense, promoting Brian Hartline to offensive coordinator all while still having Caleb Downs, Jeremiah Smith, Arvel Reese, and a strong o-line, the air surrounding the buckeyes turned from nervousness to excitement.
Unfortunately, losing to Indiana in the BIG 10 Championship, Miami in the Cotton Bowl, Hartline leaving for USF, this is the most adversity the Buckeyes have faced in a while. With all this being said, the portal ends in 5 days, and the Buckeyes have lost 28 players, 28. The program is losing more than they are gaining and Day appears to be struggling filling those gaps.
Clemson’s Struggles
Before 2025, Clemson was an absolute powerhouse, and winning for them was never the problem until this year. Going into this season they had tons of hype surrounding their NFL style defense, and their qb Cade Klubnik who turned out to be pretty ineffective. The word on the street was, Clemson had a decent chance of winning the National Championship, and putting themselves on the map once again.
Ending with a 7-6 record, instead of winning the chip, they lost a decent amount of depth. Khalil Barnes,Champ Thomspon, Rob Billings, Shelton Lewis, and Wade Woodaz, have all acted as bombs making the rebuilding process for the Tigers even harder than it was to begin with. Clemson is facing their adversity in a much better way. Dabo is actively recruiting in the portal in hopes of rebuilding, especially on defense.
All this to say, with NIL being more prevalent than ever, the transfer portal will never get easier. Teams could start losing over 30 players consistently. The game will never get boring. No team in the league has it easy, but with the ugly pressure on them, we will see how the Buckeyes and Tigers end come Spring.
The 2026 season will be one for the ages.
