Greg McElroy describes spring portal window as underwhelming

Following the madness of the winter transfer portal window that followed the latest college football season, many had high hopes for the spring portal window. Expecting a ton of player movement between programs that did not quite happen during the designated 15-day window.

ESPN’s Matt Barrie joined Greg McElroy on Always College Football, where McElroy gave his reactions to the spring transfer portal window after it closed up at the end of April.

“I feel like if I could describe it, it’d be underwhelming,” McElroy admitted. “You hear it’s going to be the biggest portal day of all time April 16th the day it opens, it’s going to be the biggest ever, get ready and then there really weren’t that many massive names.

“I mean Jaden Rashada probably as big a name as there was that was on the move there in the spring portal window. Damien Martinez went to Miami, I mean there were a few.”

A handful of big-name players and former highly touted high school prospects reopened their recruitment during the spring, but not to the magnitude of the winter transfer window or what was expected by some. Which could be a result of various factors.

Whether it was favorable NIL negotiations or spring football practices giving some players increased clarity about their college football future, there’s no doubt that more players decided to stay put than anticipated. With McElroy not ruling out the possibility of potentially false information being spread surrounding transfer portal movement this offseason as well.

“It really didn’t deliver the way that a lot of people kind of sold it as getting ready to deliver, and I don’t think it’s their fault. I think they got misinformation and maybe there were guys that were on the verge of going in that decided not to at the end of the day,” McElroy explained.

The growth and prominence of the transfer portal are still fairly new, with the spring transfer portal still very much representing uncharted waters for players and coaches in this new era of college football.

During and following spring practices rosters, depth charts, and even coaching staffs are closer to being set in stone compared to the very end of the college football season. Which can allow for more transparency between coaches and players regarding the spring transfer portal widow versus the winter window and less player movement as a result.

It will be fascinating to see how the spring transfer portal window looks next season and beyond as the NIL and recruiting world continues to evolve. But at the end of the day, less player movement in the spring is not necessarily a bad thing overall in college football landscape.