Kirby Smart takes a firm stand regarding transfer portal windows
By: Anthony Dasher - UGA Sports
MIRAMAR ISLAND, Fla. – For Kirby Smart, the biggest question facing college football has nothing to do with NIL, a nine-game schedule, or the pending House Settlement.
It’s what to do with the current situation regarding the NCAA Transfer Portal windows.
Currently, there are two windows, both of which Smart says create hardships on the rosters due to the timing of when they take place.
Student-athletes now have two windows to decide whether or not to change schools – 20 days in December, followed by 10 days in late April.
Also, the early recruit signing period overlaps the December portal window. For Georgia and other programs still competing, that’s a lot to have on the plate.
“But when I brought that up as a complaint or a problem, it was told to me there's no crying from the yacht,” said Smart, who would like to see a January window instead.
Smart, one of several coaches who spoke to the media Tuesday at the SEC Spring Meetings, is not the only one who feels this way.
Texas A&M head coach Tim Elko expressed similar concerns.
“To me, the biggest decision that has to be made in college football right now, by far, to me, by far, is when is the portal window and is there one or two?” Smart said. "There is a strong contingent. We had an AFCA meeting. We had a meeting in which we unanimously decided that there really needed to be one portal window, and it needs to happen sometime in January. There is an outcry. There are schools, different conferences, that feel like it should not fall during the playing season. I would love that. I would love to be able to play the season without it.”
That’s not the only reason.
According to Smart, he and most coaches would love to know by the end of January who would be on their team and who wouldn’t.
“I think it's really important in football to have your team, your team, at whatever date in January — whatever we decide that is — and then you work those guys out, you train those guys, you lift, you prepare, you do meetings. You do all this preparation, and then that's your team, right? Like, that's your team,” Smart said. “I'm great with the money they make. I'm great with them being able to go on the portal. If you ask kids when they would like to be able to go on the portal, they're going to say in January, so they can go get started where? At their new place.”
Unfortunately, Smart knows not everybody feels this way.
“There’s a large contingency that's growing now, trying to push an April portal, maybe May, that wants to practice in June and have some practices in June,” said Smart.
Per Smart, that would be a disaster.
“I want you all to think about June for us. We have 10 days of high school camp in June. We believe in using those. Across the Southeast, we use ten days. Some schools use 10; some don't use any,” Smart said. “We also have official visits every weekend, so now we're going to practice our team in that same window? Something's going to suffer.”
A January window, he claims, would solve those problems.
"Needless to say, I'm a proponent for a January - wherever it fits - window. People are saying, 'Well, we can't get our kids in academically. Well, they're getting mid-year high school players in, in that same academic window.’ It's happening everywhere,” Smart said. “I'm a big believer in that, and I think that's the decision that has to be made, at least from a standpoint of the SEC and the bigger picture of the country. Where is the portal window, and is there two or is there one?"
By: Anthony Dasher - UGA Sports
MIRAMAR ISLAND, Fla. – For Kirby Smart, the biggest question facing college football has nothing to do with NIL, a nine-game schedule, or the pending House Settlement.
It’s what to do with the current situation regarding the NCAA Transfer Portal windows.
Currently, there are two windows, both of which Smart says create hardships on the rosters due to the timing of when they take place.
Student-athletes now have two windows to decide whether or not to change schools – 20 days in December, followed by 10 days in late April.
Also, the early recruit signing period overlaps the December portal window. For Georgia and other programs still competing, that’s a lot to have on the plate.
“But when I brought that up as a complaint or a problem, it was told to me there's no crying from the yacht,” said Smart, who would like to see a January window instead.
Smart, one of several coaches who spoke to the media Tuesday at the SEC Spring Meetings, is not the only one who feels this way.
Texas A&M head coach Tim Elko expressed similar concerns.
“To me, the biggest decision that has to be made in college football right now, by far, to me, by far, is when is the portal window and is there one or two?” Smart said. "There is a strong contingent. We had an AFCA meeting. We had a meeting in which we unanimously decided that there really needed to be one portal window, and it needs to happen sometime in January. There is an outcry. There are schools, different conferences, that feel like it should not fall during the playing season. I would love that. I would love to be able to play the season without it.”
That’s not the only reason.
According to Smart, he and most coaches would love to know by the end of January who would be on their team and who wouldn’t.
“I think it's really important in football to have your team, your team, at whatever date in January — whatever we decide that is — and then you work those guys out, you train those guys, you lift, you prepare, you do meetings. You do all this preparation, and then that's your team, right? Like, that's your team,” Smart said. “I'm great with the money they make. I'm great with them being able to go on the portal. If you ask kids when they would like to be able to go on the portal, they're going to say in January, so they can go get started where? At their new place.”
Unfortunately, Smart knows not everybody feels this way.
“There’s a large contingency that's growing now, trying to push an April portal, maybe May, that wants to practice in June and have some practices in June,” said Smart.
Per Smart, that would be a disaster.
“I want you all to think about June for us. We have 10 days of high school camp in June. We believe in using those. Across the Southeast, we use ten days. Some schools use 10; some don't use any,” Smart said. “We also have official visits every weekend, so now we're going to practice our team in that same window? Something's going to suffer.”
A January window, he claims, would solve those problems.
"Needless to say, I'm a proponent for a January - wherever it fits - window. People are saying, 'Well, we can't get our kids in academically. Well, they're getting mid-year high school players in, in that same academic window.’ It's happening everywhere,” Smart said. “I'm a big believer in that, and I think that's the decision that has to be made, at least from a standpoint of the SEC and the bigger picture of the country. Where is the portal window, and is there two or is there one?"
