The success of next year’s football season for Louisville and Kentucky can’t be won in December, but it sure can be lost in the shortened window the NCAA approved for the transfer portal.
That is why U of L coach Jeff Brohm and UK coach Mark Stoops spent the last part of the season not only trying to beat each other on the field but also trying to figure out the winning formula for roster construction.
This is the part of the game where there’s no country for old men.
It’s why Nick Saban retired.
It’s why Mack Brown was recently fired.
And why Brohm and Stoops are clamoring to keep up.
The coaches who can master this new window — and everything that comes with it — are the ones bound to succeed, regardless if they have the best schemes on paper or are the best tacticians during games.
The coaches still reluctant to adjust to the mobility of players and the name, image and likeness deals being part of the process either will watch their programs take a step back (hello, Dabo) or be the ones getting weeded out of the business.
“Everything happens so fast right now with the end of the year, with the portal and with the signing day, that if you’re not prepared, you’re in big trouble,” Stoops said.
Here is the tricky part: You can embrace the changes, you can have a plan and still not get the right fit. That’s why this window is so crucial.
The NCAA Division I Council voted in October to reduce the transfer portal window from 45 days to 30. There are loopholes that included keeping a 30-day transfer window when a head coach leaves a program.
Players on College Football Playoff rosters will be allowed to enter an additional five-day transfer portal window in January after the portal has closed.
Recruiting players to your school used to take years of work. Relationships had to be built, not only with the player but also his parents, his high school, coaches and anyone else in his circle of influence.
Now coaches such as Brohm and Stoops are tasked with trying to find not just the right talent but the right fits for the program in a 30-day window. There’s no time for relationships, only time to make the best educated guess on bringing players in.
“We want to bring in guys that can help us win right away, and for the most part, guys that have played football,” Brohm said. “That does take a lot of research and work behind the scenes … and the plan will be ready once the last regular-season game is over to go full speed on that.”
Sometimes, it works. Brohm tabbed quarterback Tyler Shough from Texas Tech despite many schools backing off him due to his history of injuries. Shough started every game this season, which was the first time in his career he played more than seven games.
Sometimes, it doesn’t. UK got Brock Vandagriff from the portal thinking it solved its question at quarterback for this season. It didn’t play out that way as Vandagriff’s inconsistent play paved the way for him to eventually be replaced by freshman Cutter Boley.
And sometimes, the results are so puzzling it feels like a waste of time. U of L receiver Caullin Lacy had a promising start after coming back from a broken collarbone, then abruptly opted to sit out the remainder of the season after playing in four games.
It was a decision Brohm said at the time he was “not in agreement,” although the South Alabama transfer left open the possibility of returning to Louisville. He could also transfer again.
There will always be transfers that coaches miss on. It’s not an exact science, but the stakes to get it right just got amplified now that they’re on the clock.
Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@gannett.com, follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Jeff Brohm, Mark Stoops on clock with transfer portal window change
