Several college football coaches have raised concerns about the transfer portal.
And Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze pitched an idea that he thinks could help alleviate many coaches’ concerns. During a session with reporters at the SEC’s spring meetings, Freeze suggested that transfer players should sit out a year.
«I would love to see players not transferable and immediately eligible unless the coach leaves or gets fired or they graduate,» Freeze said Tuesday.
«I think that eliminates the manipulation. People are not going to come and take players if they have to sit down.»
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Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze during a press conference at the Woltosz Football Performance Center in Auburn, Alabama on April 3, 2023. (Jake Crandall/Red USA Today)
But Freeze was quick to admit that the old rule will likely remain a thing of the past.
«I don’t think that will happen again,» Freeze acknowledged. «So other than that, I don’t know how you stop some of the arguing.»
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Freeze suggested that players who transfer after graduation or after a team makes a head coaching change should not be subject to the opt-out rule.
With the NCAA unlikely to return to that old way of doing business, perhaps Mike Gundy’s proposal is a more feasible option.
Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze during the A-Day spring football game at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama on April 8, 2023. (Jake Crandall/Red USA Today)
In March, the Oklahoma State head coach suggested that high school recruits sign «contractual scholarships» whereby both the player and the school commit to each other for a certain period of time.
Head football coach Hugh Freeze of the Auburn Tigers during the second half of a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Neville Arena on January 7, 2023 in Auburn, Alabama. (Michael Chang/Getty Images)
The rise of the transfer portal, along with new name, image and likeness rules have given college athletes greater flexibility and earning potential.
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Auburn added 14 players from the transfer portal since Freeze became head coach, according to 247Sports.