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The transfer portal hasn’t been around long enough for anybody to figure out exactly how to manage it. So, the guessing game continues from one unpredictable college football season to the next.
You know this much, though: Unless a school has a vibrant NIL program, it can’t expect to flourish in the portal.
Prominent players don’t hop from one program to the next in search of self-improvement as a student-athlete. Oops. Excuse the outdated reference. “Student-athlete” is about as current as “win one for the Gipper.”
When was the last time you heard that a star player had been ruled academically ineligible in college football? It probably was about the same time you heard a star player had flunked a drug test.
Eligibility issues no longer seem to pop up in this play-for-pay era, which – speaking purely as a spectator – is fine with me. Now, when a player misses a game for any reason other than injury, it’s probably because he got shortchanged on his NIL deal.
One more thing: Have you noticed how players transfer from one school to the next without losing any academic credits along the way? Whatever happened to “progress toward a degree?”
Excuse the detour. Now, let’s get back to the more pressing matter of roster rebuilds – Tennessee’s in particular.
The Vols are certainly better off from portal acquisitions than if they had relied solely on their 2025 recruiting class to upgrade their roster. They have added two offensive guards with starting experience and a proven running back.
Wendell Moe, who started 27 games at Arizona, and Sam Pendleton, who started the first half of the season at Notre Dame, likely will be UT’s starting guards. Duke transfer Star Thomas, who rushed for 871 yards at Duke, will strengthen the running game.
But the Vols still need help at wide receiver and in the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/josh-heupel-tennessee-only-hope-100623102.html
Author : Knox News | The Knoxville News-Sentinel
Publish date : 2025-01-28 10:06:00
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