FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — While Arkansas and Tennessee dealt with the fallout from getting involved with the Iamaleava family, Ohio State and a handful of other recent playoff teams were bending the ear of the NCAA.
After a few months to reflect, former Texas A&M and current Buckeyes athletics director Ross Bjork let it be known he wants the transfer portal moved to May and adjustments made to the playoff calendar.
While the playoff calendar isn’t a concern for Arkansas fans because that feels like an unreachable pipe dream, moving the portal window from the recommended January window agreed upon by football coaches to May is a rather bold move by Bjork.
After all, the vote by the coaches was unanimous, so it seemed the acceptance of the recommendation by the NCAA was a simple case of formality. However, this could throw a wrench into things.
Let’s take a look at how spring might have looked had the single transfer window been in May rather than having the initial December window this season.
Here are the players who would have been added to the Hogs’ spring practices and who would have missed it.
Added:
Amaury Wiggins, C
Luke Hasz, TE
Malachi Singleton, QB
Isaiah Sategna, WR
Patrick Kutas, OL
Josh Braun, OL
Nico Davillier, DL
Carson Dean. LB
Alex Sanford, LB
TJ Metcalf, DB
Tevis Metcalf, DB
Kaden Henley, LB
Brad Spence, LB
Addison Nichols, OL
Dylan Hasz, DB
Rashod Dubinion, RB
Dazmin James, WR
Jaylon Braxton, DB
Missing:
Shaq McCroy, OL
Kani Walker, DB
Raylen Sharpe, WR
Kam Shanks, WR
Jaden Platt, TE
Ken Talley, DE
Corey Robinson, OL
Caden Kitler, OL
David Oke, DT
Mike Washington, RB
Quintavius Scandrett, DB
Justus Boone, DE
Jordan Young, DB
Kavion Broussard, OL
Omega Blake, WR
Courtney Crutchfield, WR
Marcus Dumervil, OL
Ismael Cisse, WR
Caleb Wooden, DB
Rohan Jones, TE
AJ Green, RB
It’s awful rich for Ohio State to ignore the wishes of the coaches and go into business for itself. After all, such a model would be a huge advantage for the Buckeyes.
They don’t experience the portal the way 98% of college football does. The portal is merely a tool to go steal the best player from a potential playoff contender like they did with running back Quinshon Judkins from Ole Miss and add him to the fold.
Look at what Arkansas would have had to deal with if the portal didn’t open until May. There are disgruntled players on the list who needed to go, Taylen Green would have had almost no one left to throw to and those who would have been left were leaving soon.
He also would have had to practice behind an offensive line that had already proven it wasn’t built for the rigors of the SEC. The only potential positive from this would have been that perhaps the extra time may have been enough to keep Luke Hasz around for one more season.
Under the proposed system, Arkansas gets to bring in and work with a much better offensive line. Green gets to establish receivers who are actually going to be on the field and the defense gets plenty of time to figure things out and adjust the scheme as needed.
Yes, there still would have been snaps wasted on a back-up quarterback just to see him transfer, but had Arkansas not had time to rebuild and adjust, this would have been a disaster. As it is, having moved on quickly from those who don’t want to be at Arkansas while developing those who do has put the Razorbacks in a position to have another winning season.
If that happens, it will be the first time since Houston Nutt and Bobby Petrino combined to do it beginning with the 2008 season. However, because of the reality Arkansas faces each season as long as the current NIL model remains in place, which is a reality similar to a lot of other college teams, a May portal will decimate the program.
The play will be terrible because of a lack of time to prepare, adjust and build chemistry. Stable programs like Ohio State would pull even further away from most of college football.
It would be at least another two decades before Arkansas would have a shot at winning records in four of five seasons. To coin a wrestling term, it’s not what’s best for business.
So now that Bjork has said his piece, it’s time to put him back in his box at Ohio State. The coaches, the ones who have to deal with all this mess, have unanimously spoken already.
They are the ones who should be heard.
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