On April 16th, the spring transfer portal opens again for college football. Players have until April 25th to officially enter the transfer process. Yes, it seems like we just wrapped up an extremely busy winter portal season. We did. Mississippi State inked two dozen portal prospects at the end of the fall semester. Twenty three of those incoming Bulldogs enrolled for classes back in January. The lone exception was former Stanford offensive lineman, Trevor Mayberry.
Stanford’s academic calendar runs on the quarters system rather than semesters. Mayberry had to complete his final coursework to qualify as a grad transfer. He has done so. Mayberry informed Genespage.com yesterday that he plans to move to Starkville this weekend. The expectation was a Saturday arrival, but the current weather conditions may impede those plans.
Once Mayberry officially clocks in for Bulldog work, the portal class will be completely accounted for. At least, for now. The efforts to manage rosters and field a competitive football teams are never ending. What was not fully addressed back in December will be in the weeks ahead.
Some prospects have already announced their intentions to transfer. Scores more will do so once their spring practices end. Some of them are working through academic work to ensure they graduate, while others will find out post spring that their chances of playing are better found elsewhere. The spring transfer portal talent pool will be a mix of guys looking to improve their playing situation and some who simply want a place to play.
There has been quite the makeover of the Bulldog roster since Coach Jeff Lebby took the helm. An influx of talent was needed. Some difficult decisions had to be made and some hard conversations held. Simply put, not everyone Lebby inherited was talented enough to play significant snaps here and others simply did not fit the scheme. There are no hard feelings felt. It is simply the harsh reality of modern college athletics.
Of the 24 fall window transfers, four of them were offensive linemen. Lebby himself was a path paver, so he knows what he is looking for in the trenches. After just one season in Starkville, Lebby elected to move on from offensive line coach Cody Kennedy. Longtime friend and co-worker Phil Loadholt was hired to replace Kennedy. With a new OL coach comes a fresh set of evaluations. As a result, some previous Bulldog targets are no longer being actively pursued, while some new names have emerged in recent weeks with fresh offers from the State staff.
Despite a core group of returners, State needed to hit the portal hard for OLs. Now that Loadholt has had the chance to get to know some of the hand he has been dealt, fans should expect the Bulldogs to pursue multiple transfer portal prospect on the offensive line in the weeks ahead. Some early offers are already out there, but business will pick up in earnest once the spring transfer window opens.
A trio of portal defensive backs joined the Maroon and White fold back in January. The feeling back then was that the group might have been a name or two short, especially at corner. Spring practice opens this week, so the staff will have a first hand accounting of their progress in the secondary. That understood, State is expected to take another defensive back. If that ends up being a corner or a safety remains to be seen. It may end up being both. Only time will tell.
With spring practices, come spring visitors. Some prep, JuCo and portal prospects are expected to be in town to take in the sights and sounds of Mississippi State. The hope is that several of them like what they see and hear. The bulk of them will not sign anything until December and it may be two to three years before they take the field for any snaps of significance. On the portal side of things, those prospects are expected to make State better this fall in one way or another.
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