to Seth Emerson of The Athletic, on the current state of college athletics (mainly unrestricted transfers):
And with everything that has a benefit, there’s a cost. It’s been a lot of great stuff for the players getting paid, which is long overdue, but I don’t know that in the best interest of 17- to 21-year-olds it’s in the best interest long-term to always know: “I can leave at any point. Mentally, I can check out into the next window at any point, no matter how many times I’ve gone. I don’t have to stay. I don’t have to practice through adversity if I don’t like what the coach said to me or where I am on a depth chart. You know, I can always just keep leaving and keep leaving.”
I’ve seen where that has not benefited a lot of these kids because they don’t stay through. When things don’t go exactly their way, they, in the middle of the season already, mentally go, “I’ll just go in the portal the next window or in spring ball. You know, I don’t really like this. I didn’t get enough balls today in practice. I’m gonna go in the next portal window.” I don’t think that’s good. So there’s been some, in my opinion, some negative come out of this, for the player.
I don’t worry much about it because we don’t have any control in it. They tell us what the rules are, and the system they give us, we just try to maximize it. And I know it sounds strange: “Wait, he’s complaining about the system that the NCAA has in place for the portal, but yet it benefits us.” That’s how bad I’m telling you this is. The current system probably benefits us as much as any school in America. And I’m telling you it’s a horrible system, so what does that tell you?
And I’m saying that for the betterment of college football and the betterment long-term of players, because those structures and those things that need to be in place probably don’t benefit Ole Miss (compared) to the current system. If you track it, I think everybody would say, if you look at every window that’s happened, we have much better players come in than go out. So really, I should be sitting here saying don’t change anything. But it’s really not good. Maybe when I was younger I wouldn’t say a word, because I’d be like, “This is great, selfishly, for where I’m at.” But it’s not at all for the big picture of college football or the student-athletes.
And with everything that has a benefit, there’s a cost. It’s been a lot of great stuff for the players getting paid, which is long overdue, but I don’t know that in the best interest of 17- to 21-year-olds it’s in the best interest long-term to always know: “I can leave at any point. Mentally, I can check out into the next window at any point, no matter how many times I’ve gone. I don’t have to stay. I don’t have to practice through adversity if I don’t like what the coach said to me or where I am on a depth chart. You know, I can always just keep leaving and keep leaving.”
I’ve seen where that has not benefited a lot of these kids because they don’t stay through. When things don’t go exactly their way, they, in the middle of the season already, mentally go, “I’ll just go in the portal the next window or in spring ball. You know, I don’t really like this. I didn’t get enough balls today in practice. I’m gonna go in the next portal window.” I don’t think that’s good. So there’s been some, in my opinion, some negative come out of this, for the player.
I don’t worry much about it because we don’t have any control in it. They tell us what the rules are, and the system they give us, we just try to maximize it. And I know it sounds strange: “Wait, he’s complaining about the system that the NCAA has in place for the portal, but yet it benefits us.” That’s how bad I’m telling you this is. The current system probably benefits us as much as any school in America. And I’m telling you it’s a horrible system, so what does that tell you?
And I’m saying that for the betterment of college football and the betterment long-term of players, because those structures and those things that need to be in place probably don’t benefit Ole Miss (compared) to the current system. If you track it, I think everybody would say, if you look at every window that’s happened, we have much better players come in than go out. So really, I should be sitting here saying don’t change anything. But it’s really not good. Maybe when I was younger I wouldn’t say a word, because I’d be like, “This is great, selfishly, for where I’m at.” But it’s not at all for the big picture of college football or the student-athletes.
