College football coach blasts Deion Sanders' use of transfer portal: 'That's not the way it's meant to be'
Deion Sanders has proved one of the more intriguing storylines of the 2023 college football offseason, in particular his zealous use of the NCAA transfer portal, both to load off players and to bring on those he wants to build the Colorado program in the future. But not everybody who has been watching Prime is a fan of what he's done.
In particular, Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi, who went public with his concern over Sanders' tactics using the portal.
"That's not the way it's meant to be," Narduzzi told 247Sports reporter Brandon Marcello.
"That's not what the [transfer portal] rule intended to be. It was not to overhaul your roster. We'll see how it works out but that, to me, looks bad on college football coaches across the country.
"The reflection is on one guy right now but when you look at it overall — those kids that have moms and dads and brothers and sisters and goals in life — I don't know how many of those 70 that left really wanted to leave or they were kicked in the butt to get out."
Narduzzi is far from the only figure in college football to voice some concerns over Sanders' robust use of the transfer portal, but the rookie Colorado head coach was never shy about his intentions when it came to using it to craft his roster.
Including during a speech to the team shortly after his arrival in December that went viral for the coach's candid comments.
Much has been made of the roster purge going on at Colorado, but Sanders and his staff have attracted plenty of talent to the team this offseason, as well.
Wide receiver/defensive back — and former five-star No. 1 ranked recruit — Travis Hunter joined Sanders by moving from Jackson State to Colorado this offseason, as did Deion's son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, followed by edge rushers Sav'ell Smalls and Derrick McLendon, linebacker Demouy Kennedy from Alabama, safety Myles Slusher, corner Jahquez Robinson, receiver Xavier Weaver, and many others.
College Football HQ ranked Colorado at No. 1 in our football transfer portal team rankings following the close of the 2023 spring transfer window.
(247)
More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | All Teams