GAINESVILLE, Fla.— The NCAA Transfer Portal is now officially closed. Okay, kind of.
The winter window to enter the portal, which debuted on December 9 and ran through December 28, expired on Sunday, forcing players to wait until the spring portal window opens on April 16.
There are various workarounds, however, for teams wishing to expand their roster or players looking for new homes.
The portal’s closure has no effect on gamers who have already entered the portal. Those who have completed the necessary documentation but have not signed it are still eligible for recruitment. Additionally, players who will compete in bowl games after December 28 will have a five-day opportunity to enter once their bowl game concludes.
Not to mention, athletes who see their head coaches sacked or depart for another university will have an automatic 30-day window to enter their names into the portal.
As a result, the Florida Gators may not be finished adding to their roster through the gateway.
Since the portal’s launch, the Gators have lost ## total players, ## of whom are on scholarship. The new NCAA roster restrictions, which limit rosters to a hard cap of 105 players, combined with the SEC’s further limit of 85 scholarships per school, means Florida would have to lose more than it gained, particularly from its walk-on program.
“I mean, you know, nothing surprises me anymore,” Florida’s head coach Billy Napier stated on December 16. “I believe we have completed the majority of player retention. There are a few things that need to be settled, but until they show up for class in January, I don’t suppose it’s a done deal, right?
“In a perfect world, you’d have some type of paperwork you could sign that would sort of lock them in, but we don’t have that, so we’ve got some work to do. We’d like to add a few more players to our roster, particularly at certain positions.”
Since Napier’s statement, Florida has added three players from the portal, filling needs at receiver (J. Michael Sturdivant from UCLA), backup quarterback (Deshawn Purdie from Charlotte), and edge rusher (Kofi Asare from UMASS).
On December 13, the Gators added former Michigan punter Tommy Doman to their specialists’ roster.
However, Florida still has needs that it has failed to address.
Notably, leaving seniors leave the Gators’ right tackle and nose tackle positions available owing to a lack of a true veteran, though there is youthful talent ready to take over. Additionally, a boundary corner and veteran safety are viewed as potential needs owing to Florida losing many veterans at each position and having a long history of injuries.
Florida has since made an offer to Washington State corner Stephen Hall in a bid to fill one of the requirements, and they may extend other offers depending on who joins after their respective bowl games.
Non-playoff bowl games conclude after the Bahamas Bowl on January 4, while the College Football Playoff culminates with the national championship on January 20.
Gators Illustrated tracks Florida’s portal moves and roster numbers here.
About The Author
