Here's what Big 12 football coaches had to say about the transfer portal at media days
The transfer portal has become one of the most overly-discussed topics around college sports.
With the growth of name, image and likeness since it was allowed by the NCAA in the summer of 2021, players around the country have been able to cash in on their athletic prowess in a variety of ways. That, some feel, has also led to a boom in players transferring to other programs.
During the Big 12's annual football media days at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the conference's coaches answered a number of questions, including how they feel about the transfer portal.
Baylor head coach Dave Aranda said Wednesday that he was against bringing in transfers initially but has since changed his stance.
"I think one of the struggles for me," Aranda said, "has always been if you say yes to something, a player outside your team that's in the portal, you're saying no to a player on your team that maybe is struggling from an injury, that's maybe trying to get his class, his schoolwork in order, that's maybe trying to hone the techniques of his new position that he's playing or maybe he's trying to gain weight or any of those things.
"I think when you bring somebody in, you almost kind of stunt the growth of that person. I think for me to kind of come to grips with, 'Hey, this is what needs to happen for the betterment of the team' as opposed to just looking at what's best for that one particular player on your team."
Many of the Big 12 coaches said the key is finding players that fit their scheme or system, rather than bringing in the best guys just to have the best guys.
Kansas head coach Lance Leipold has also experienced a shift when it comes to the portal. Rather than his own mentality changing, Leipold has seen more players embracing the Jayhawks after their surprising 5-0 start that resulted in the team's first bowl game since 2008.
"I think our success and where we're going," Leipold said, "and our opportunities and a lot of these other things that are starting to all build on one another, we've been able to have conversations — doesn't mean we get everyone — on players that would've probably never taken the call before."
Coaches also have to make decisions on how many transfers to bring in.
Central Florida, one of the four new kids on the block in the Big 12 this year, has 18 transfer players on its 2023 roster. Coach Gus Malzahn said part of that large influx is to help the Knights stay competitive as they make the transition into a power-five conference.
"... Most of these guys weren't just starters on their previous teams, but quite a few of them were impact players," Malzahn said. "So that quality depth that you really need when you go take the next step to another conference, really feel good about that, specifically on the o-line and d-line, which you can't have enough quality depth as far as that's concerned."
Joey McGuire, on the other hand, has opted to go another route. Now in his second year as the Texas Tech head coach, McGuire noted Thursday he didn't bring in too many transfers because the recruiting focus is elsewhere.
"The transfer portal for us," McGuire said, "is more of a gap, filling gaps. We only took six guys this year because we want to build recruiting at the high school level."
Regardless of their thoughts on the portal, every coach in the country has utilized it to some capacity. For guys such as Aranda, they're starting to understand its usefulness not just for their teams, but for the players as well.
"The transfer portal has benefitted K-State," head coach Chris Klieman said, "and once again, if somebody has a better opportunity or wants to move back closer to home, I'm all for it. I think kids need the opportunity. You only get so many years to play this great game, so I'm fine with how the transfer portal is."
Jordan Guskey of the Topeka Capital-Journal contributed to this report from Arlington.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Here's what Big 12 football coaches had to say about the transfer portal at media days
