Oregon quarterback Bo Nix (10) throws a pass against Cal during the first quarter of their game at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
A wild fall of Pac-12 football, which featured three coaching changes, six ranked teams and a barrage of pulsating matchups, now gives way to complete and utter chaos.
The NCAA transfer portal opened today for players wishing to explore options elsewhere and teams looking to bolster their rosters.
“I have talked to at least three different Pac-12 schools, and they said they are giddy for Monday,” 247Sports national recruiting editor Brandon Huffman explained late last week.
“As one of them said, ‘That’s when the real recruiting begins.'”
A year ago, the Pac-12 emerged from transfer portal madness as a net winner, landing a slew of elite quarterbacks and skill-position players who fueled the impressive on-field display.
Can the conference keep the top young talents from leaving?
Will it lure another round of difference-makers?
To a certain extent, the portal provides the Pac-12 with a collective mulligan — the chance to corral elite players from the West Coast who signed with other conferences in high school.
One such case is Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, the former five-star prospect from Southern California prep powerhouse St. John Bosco.
After a disappointing season with the Tigers, Uiagalelei entered the portal Monday morning. Could he be tempted back to the West Coast? One of his hometown teams, UCLA, assuredly will be interested.
Meanwhile, a load of Pac-12 players is already in the portal, including Arizona receiver Dorian Singer, ASU offensive lineman LaDarius Henderson, Washington State receiver De’Zhaun Stribling and Oregon State quarterback Chance Nolan.
(A few could end up elsewhere in the conference. Cal linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo, who had 91 tackles this season, has already committed to UCLA, according to the 247 Sports transfer database.)
Playing time is one of two motivators behind transfer decisions. The other is name, image and likeness (NIL), with athletes seeking lucrative endorsement opportunities from the highest bidder.
Some NIL deals are above board; many are effectively pay-for-play violations of NCAA rules that the NCAA, in all its glory, is helpless to stop.
Last year, approximately 2,000 scholarship players across the country moved through the portal.
To this point, no Pac-12 program has lost as many players to the portal as Stanford, which is searching for a head coach after David Shaw announced his departure.
However, expect a mass exodus from Colorado after new coach Deion Sanders bluntly told players that he would be overhauling the roster.
Three key points as you watch the mayhem unfold:
— Athletes who enter the portal have the option to return to their original team, so long as a roster spot remains available.
— NCAA rules allow undergraduates one free transfer. Any player who changed teams during the 2021-22 offseason faces the prospect of sitting out a year if he decides to move a second time.
— The portal is open until Jan. 18, then closes until May. Players don’t have to commit to a team during those windows; they simply must register their name in the portal.
All eyes are on the quarterback position, and the Pac-12 showed why last winter.
Oregon’s Bo Nix (from Auburn), Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. (Indiana) and USC’s Caleb Williams (Oklahoma) thrived with their new teams and helped propel the Pac-12’s resurgence.
Oregon State, Colorado, Arizona State and UCLA, and perhaps others, will be active in the quarterback market.
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Originally published at Jon Wilner