Multi-time transfers are now immediately eligible in college football, and while the system can assist the Ole Miss Rebels, their head coach acknowledges the risks that this slippery slope can pose to the sport as a whole.
Lane Kiffin was asked on Tuesday if he expected the NCAA’s new regulation will make the spring transfer portal cycle more active, and he didn’t hold back.
“I do, obviously because they can transfer multiple times,” Kiffin said. “Here again, just a really stupid system, but hey, good for the players — maybe. It’s good for them financially. I don’t know that it’s really good for them that they can leave any time when something goes wrong, they’re just going to run, no matter what.
“But I think what you’re going to see is people that [say], ‘I’m going to go somewhere in January, get their money, have never played a down as a transfer and go right back in after spring ball into the portal and go somewhere else and get their money.’ You can say, yeah, ‘good for the players,’ but is it? It’s good financially for them, but is that really good for college football?”
That isn’t to suggest he and the Rebels won’t or haven’t used this system. Ole Miss’ transfer portal haul this winter was regarded as one of the greatest in the country, so while this system is in place, Kiffin intends to use it to the best of his roster’s ability.
He doesn’t blame the athletes for wanting to take advantage of it, even if it’s only for their personal financial gain. Still, he feels that the current trajectory isn’t sustainable, and that even a tiny step in the correct direction will help reduce some of the instability.
“You can’t really blame them,” Kiffin said. “You’ve created a system that you can just keep getting money basically at the end of every semester somewhere else and switching spots as many times as you want. That’s not good, and I think you are going to see that.
“You better make something where you have to sign for a year so all these portal players that after last season go in, at least they sign for one year, not one semester without playing in the offseason.”
Kiffin was then asked a more football-focused question regarding his offensive line, but before he dove into that answer, he gave his final thoughts on the current state of the transfer portal and how it’s simply “not good.”
“It’s really a (expletive) system. It is,” Kiffin said. “We’re going to utilize it just like the player. I’m not mad at the player. They’re going to utilize the system, we’re going to utilize it and make the best roster that we can. But it’s not good.”
“It really is a (crap) system. “It is,” Kiffin replied. “We’re going to use it just like the player. I’m not upset at the player. They will use the system, as will we, to create the best roster possible. But it is not good.”
Former transfers are among the players anticipated to make the most of their Ole Miss debuts in 2024. Quarterback Jaxson Dart, wide receiver Tre Harris, defensive tackle Walter Nolen, edge rusher Princely Umanmielen, and a slew of other players risked the transfer portal to join Oxford in the hopes of making a College Football Playoff push this season.
Again, just because you benefit from it doesn’t mean the system is
