Eli Drinkwitz Gives Pros, Cons of New Transfer Portal Setup

Eli Drinkwitz has been outspoken about his issues with the calendar in college football, specifically with how jammed the start of the offseason is.

He added to that Tuesday when asked about his thoughts on the changes made to the transfer portal dates, which remove the spring portal window and moving back the first (and now only) window from December to January.

Drinkwitz sees pros and cons to how the changes affect the offseason workload.

"In one sense it's going to be really good because you only have to deal with the madness and the negotiations all at one time," Drinkwitz said. "In another sense, it's terrible."

In years before, the transfer portal opened on the Monday after conference championship games. Drinkwitz sees the benefit of having more time to retain the roster, but isn't a fan of the lack of flexibility that comes with the removal of the spring window.

"So you have spring practice, somebody gets injured or dinged up, you can't replace them. Somebody screws up and all of a sudden you have to remove them from your team for whatever reason, you are dealing with young men, can't replace them," Drinkwitz said.

Missouri has used the flexibility of the spring transfer portal before to adjust its roster. In 2024, the Tigers landed offensive tackle Marcus Bryant, who allowed the Tigers to shift Cayden Green back to left guard for the 2024 season after trying Green out at left tackle in spring practices.

Missouri has also added depth in the now non-existent spring window, landing defensive end Eddie Kelly Jr. and linebacker Khalil Jacobs in 2024, then wide receiver Xavier Loyd and defensive tackle Bralen Henderson in 2025.

"That's a long time to go from January to August without any ability to fix or change or manage a roster," Drinkwitz said.

The transfer portal is set to open Jan. 2, the day after the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff, leaving four teams still alive in the race at the opening of the portal. Players will be able to enter until Jan. 16. Players on teams competing in the National Championship on Jan. 19 will be granted an additional five-day window to enter the portal, beginning Jan. 24.

The biggest challenge the NCAA has had with navigating the best dates for the transfer portal has been creating a plan conducive to having students transfer to a new university within the academic calendar.

"Ultimately, we are still based off of an academic calendar, rightfully so, but that academic calendar is really restrictive to the fundamental way that college football is being run," Drinkwitz said. "Whether we're talking about the playoffs being jacked up or portal or coaching transitions, all of this stuff, man, there is not a better sport In the country than college football, and for whatever reason, we just keep shooting ourselves in the foot. How we manage it, it's mind blowing."

Drinkwitz has frequently called out the lack of a clear leader for college football, often saying "who's in charge?" He's also called out the lack of input given to coaches through the rampant changes.

"Nobody wants to hear coaches complain, and I totally understand that," Drinkwitz said. "But at some point we have to value our input enough to figure out this calendar that makes it worthwhile for everybody, and the ability for full student athletes, fans, coaches, administration, to not be placed under all this stress at the same time."

Drinkwitz sees these changes as a step in the right direction, but still a small one in a calendar that is still evolving.

"It's progress, it's better than it was because it was the day after your season," Drinkwitz said. "But still a long, long way from perfect."

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