You watch these programs like Colorado bringing in 43 transfers in one class and Oklahoma State basically buying a whole new roster with 50 portal guys and I just sit here shaking my head. That is not how you build a program. That is not how you build loyalty. I remember when we had guys like David Pollack and Thomas Davis who committed to Georgia as teenagers and stayed four years through the good and the bad. They earned their stripes in the weight room and on the practice field not by swiping right on the NIL portal.
The transfer portal window gettign eliminated for spring was the right move but it is too little too late in my book. These kids see a rough spring practice and they are already looking for the exit. Back in the 1980s under Coach Dooley you showed up in August with your duffel bag and you competed. You did not get a participation trophy and a bag of cash. You had to earn your snaps against guys like Terry Hoage and Jimmy Payne. Now everybody wants instant gratification and a starting job guaranteed in the portal.
We lost three guys this spring who could not handle competition. That is fine. Let them go. I would rather have ten guys who bleed red and black than fifty mercenaries who are just collecting NIL checks. Kirby will build this thing the right way. We have been through tougher times than this. The 1996 team that beat LSU in the Peach Bowl had walk-ons and three-star kids who played their hearts out. That is what I want to see again.