Editor’s note: Article updated Jan. 18
The college football transfer portal is officially open, and many players and coaches have already begun to take advantage.
The portal allows players to declare their intent to transfer from the current school and it allows coaches to communicate with those players legally. Communicating with a player who isn’t listed in the portal would be considered tampering by the NCAA.
The portal isn’t new, but this is the first year that college football players have a specific window in which to announce their intent to transfer. Previously, players could enter the portal whenever they wanted – which caused roster issues for many coaches.
Now, players have a 45-day window to enter the portal, beginning the Monday after conference championships. Some exceptions to this timeline are made for graduate transfers or players whose head coaches leave the program.
This year’s window is open now until Jan. 18, 2023. Players don’t have to actually transfer to a new school during that window, but they do have to put their name in to announce their intent.
Even if a player does announce their intention to transfer to a specific school, it doesn’t become official until the player passes the necessary academic requirements and enrolls in the university.
A good summary about the portal, along with questions and answers, can be found here.
What it means for Kansas
Look for the Kansas coaching staff to be very active as they attempt to add playmakers to this roster.
Head coach Lance Leipold has been very open about how they plan to be aggressive in the portal, perhaps even more so than the high school recruiting ranks.
Last year, the Jayhawks added 15 players through the portal – which gave them the No. 22-ranked transfer class in the country, according to 247sports.com.
One of those transfers was defensive end Lonnie Phelps, who ended up being a big difference maker for the KU defense and was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team.
Of course, the transfer portal wasn’t all good news for the Jayhawks. They lost more than a dozen players to the portal last offseason.
Many of them were second or third on the depth chart and not players that were big losses for KU in hindsight, but with the transfer market growing each year and Kansas players getting more exposure as the team becomes more successful, that only increases the chances of a player looking to capitalize and join a more high-profile program.
Gains and losses in the portal
Here’s a look at where KU currently stands with the transfer portal. This list will be updated weekly throughout the transfer portal window.
Losses:
- Running back Ky Thomas
- Linebacker Gavin Potter
- Safety Edwin White
- Cornerback Cam’Ron Dabney
- Wide receiver Steven McBride
- Linebacker Eriq Gilyard
- Safety Jarrett Paul
Additions (verbal commitments)
- Defensive end Patrick Joyner Jr. (Utah State)
- Cornerback Damarius McGhee (LSU
- Linebacker JB Brown (Bowling Green)
- Offensive tackle Spencer Lovell (Cal)
- Kicker Charlie Weinrich (Nebraska)
- Kicker Seth Keller (Texas State)
- Defensive end Austin Booker (Minnesota)
- Defensive tackle Gage Keys (Minnesota)
- Defensive lineman Devin Phillips
- Offensive tackle Logan Brown (Wisconsin)