Michigan Wide Receiver Shares Interesting Thought On The Transfer Portal

The transfer portal is fundementally changing college football. Whether or not it's for worse or for better is still up for debate.

The transfer portal is certainly a hot-button issue in college athletics.  As it becomes common practice for athletes to utilize the portal in hopes of getting more playing time within other programs accross the country, many are asking the question of whether or not the portal is good or bad for college athletics.

The University of Michigan is no stranger to the transfer portal, particularly as it relates to the football program.  Since the arrival of Jim Harbaugh, the Wolverines have welcomed three transfer quarterbacks into the program - including John O'korn (2015), Shea Patterson (2018) and Alan Bowman (2021).  During that same span, Michigan has lost four quarterbacks to the portal - including Wilton Speight (2018), Brandon Peters (2019), Dylan McCaffrey (2020) and Joe Milton (2021).

The latest high-profile player to transfer from Michigan is junior wide receiver Giles Jackson.  Despite making a lot of big plays, especially as a true freshman in 2019, Jackson has decided that continuing his career elsewhere is the best move for himself.

As a rookie, Jackson had a 97-yard kick return touchdown against Maryland, a 22-yard touchdown run against Ohio State and a 50-yard catch against Indiana. He was a big play waiting to happen and looked like a future star for the Wolverines. Last year however, he had just 17 touches on offense over the course of five games and didn't score, but did take a kick back 95 yards for a touchdown against Rutgers. With a clearly smaller role in 2020, it looked like that role might shrink even more in 2021.

As spring camp progressed, rumors began to swirl that Jackson had slipped on the depth chart and that he was unhappy with certain things at Michigan.  Shortly after the rumors began, Jackson announced his intention to transfer.

Interestingly enough, veteran wide receiver Ronnie Bell shared a post via his twitter account that highlights one of the problems with the transfer portal.   

🎯 https://t.co/z0FMtz8v4y

— Ronnie Bell (@Ronnieb_8) April 2, 2021

To be clear, I'm not suggesting that this was some veiled shot at Giles Jackson for his decision to depart Ann Arbor for greener pastures elsewhere - or any other Wolverine that has taken the same route for that matter.  However, Bell's career at Michigan serves as the antithesis for what the transfer portal has become in today's college football.  Bell was not a highly-coveted recruit coming out of high school and he didn't arrive in Ann Arbor as "the guy" on day one.  Instead, Bell had to pay his dues and work his way up the depth chart - the traditional route to on-field success.  As a result, Bell had become Michigan's leading receiver in yards for both the 2019 and 2020 season.  He returns to Michigan for his senior year as a top target at the wideout position, a title he has earned in Ann Arbor.

There are certainly good things that the transfer portal provides for college athletes, but it's also true that some are choosing the easy way out as opposed to competiting for what they feel they deserve.