Explaining why the spring portal window will remain king for non-quarterbacks

Both cycles of the transfer portal have come and gone with the spring window closing at the end of April. It’s a schedule that On3’s Pete Nakos doesn’t expect to change as he fully anticipates for players to continue to capitalize on each opening of the portal.

Nakos spoke with On3’s Andy Staples about the opportunities in the portal on Tuesday. He explained how he thinks that college athletics will continue to have two windows, which is why he believes the spring opening will remain the one where athletes can really take advantage if they’re a needed commodity.

“I guess the other thing too, Andy, that really pops out about this? Was talking to someone about it yesterday. I know we’ve talked about it before but I want to bring it up again,” Nakos prefaced. “Like, I think until – we’re going to talk about this later. Until we get into, like, the next era of college sports, we’re definitely going to have a winter and spring window.”

“The spring window will continue to be this interesting time where maybe not the most talent jumps in but you also have some surprises who have realized that they can leverage their market value in the spring much better than they can in the winter when there’s a rush,” said Nakos.

3,510 players have entered the transfer portal over the course of the offseason. Most of those went in upon the end of the season back in December. However, after the spring where programs may have realized a position or two of need, more players jumped in to either find a new school or gain an advantage out on the market.

For example, offensive line is a spot that Staples said would be highly valuable in the spring. In his opinion, those linemen should wait while they can before their entrance in order to make the most of the demand.

“I would say, like, if you are an All-Conference, Group of Five lineman? You should not enter the transfer portal in the winter. Like, you should wait,” said Staples. “Not only should you not enter in the winter. You shouldn’t even enter at the beginning of the spring. You should wait until kind of the middle of the spring, then pop in, and then it’s just feeding frenzy. Like, you’re going to get overpaid.”

On the other hand, spots like quarterback have more supply yet not enough demand considering there’s only so many starting jobs. That’s why Nakos sees it as one where they should be getting in during the winter.

“We’re not advisors here but I do want to say. Like, if you’re a starting quarterback looking for a new home? Even if you’re a backup trying to find a starting job? You’ve got to go in in the winter,” Nakos opined. “There’s a lot of good backups in right now but odds are they’re all going to go land in other backup jobs because all those starting jobs are locked up.”

“Quarterback is a different animal,” Staples agreed.

The transfer portal can certainly get crazy, especially since it opens more than once an offseason. That’s all to the player’s benefit, though, with it looking to stay scheduled out that way moving forward.