ATHENS -- Kirby Smart and Deion Sanders might not seem to have much in common on the surface, but a closer look reveals similarities.
And, if you listen closer — especially these days — the two former collegiate defensive backs and current college head coaches are singing some similar tunes on the effects of the transfer portal.
Both Sanders and Smart have concerns about the sustainability of the NIL salaries some players have been promised and the tampering that takes place before players enter the portal.
“(There’s) got to be a salary cap on this stuff, because this stuff is going crazy,” Sanders said while speaking at the Big 12 Media Days this week, per a SI.com transcript.
“And nobody knows where it’s going to land, where it’s going to end, and you have so many different doors.”
Secret negotiations
Sanders believes other schools are talking to his players behind closed doors, even before the players they desire have entered the transfer portal.
“I’m trying to figure out, how can somebody say you got a $5 million offer?” Sanders said. “And the kid is not in the portal?”
Smart said at the SEC Spring Meetings in May that tampering will become an even bigger problem if college football does not limit itself to one transfer window before the spring semester.
“You think tampering is a problem? Put that portal in April and see what teams do in January, February, and March,” Smart said. “…. a lot of people believe, ‘well, the kids won’t be able to leave if we put it in April. They’ll have to stay the next semester.’
“Oh, no. They’ll be on your campus getting tampered with, collecting 33% of your cap before they leave with it.”
Turnover differences
The transfer portal and uncertain NIL dealings are things both coaches have to deal with, but Smart doesn’t typically have as many players leaving his program as Sanders has experienced at Colorado.
Certainly, Georgia is nowhere close to Colorado when it comes to annual portal additions, even though Sanders reduced the Buffaloes transfer numbers this season from the eye-popping 52 additions he made after taking the job two years ago.
Sanders, speaking at the Big 12 Media Days, pointed out heavy transfer portal action hasn’t turned out to be such a novelty after all.
“Once upon a time, you guys were talking junk about me going in the portal,” Sanders pointed out this week.
“Now, when everybody goes to portal, it’s okay. It’s cool when they do it, but it’s a problem when I do it. Ain’t that a rap song?”
Not yet, but based on the recent success portal-heavy programs like Ole Miss, Arizona State, SMU and Indiana have had, there’s no reason to believe it will be any less of a trend.
Necessary talent
Smart is the first to acknowledge the need for talent in any program.
“College football has changed, and it changed really fast,” Smart said at the SEC Spring Meetings. “So, it was different from when Nick (Saban) started at Alabama and we were part of that staff to when I started at Georgia to now Sark’s (Steve Sarkisian) well off at Texas, doing a great job.
“It starts with getting good football players.”
Indeed, and volume isn’t everything, as Ohio State proved last season when it acquired pivotal players via transfer.
The Buckeyes landed just eight, but among them were CFP Championship Game Offensive MVP quarterback Will Howard, Consensus All-American and Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year Caleb Downs, Former SEC rushing champion and 2024 Buckeyes’ team leader Quinshon Judkins and Consensus All-American and Rimington Trophy winner Seth McLaughlin.
Georgia’s 2024 11-man portal class, by contrast, featured only one regular season starter, former Florida tailback Trevor Etienne.
The Bulldogs also added reserves London Humphreys, Xzavier McLeod and Ben Yurosek, and four-game starter Colbie Young, who was suspended most of the season.
Transfer portal classes, without a doubt, can play a major role in determining national championships.
Here’s a look at the programs who landed the most players through the portal the past three seasons (Top 10), along with Georgia’s number of portal signees, per the 247Sports transfer portal database:
2025
Purdue 54
West Virginia 52
North Carolina 41
Oklahoma State 41
UCF 41
Cal 38
Wake Forest 35
Mississippi State 34
Colorado 33
Arkansas 31
Georgia 10
2024
Colorado 43
Louisville 32
Indiana 31
Memphis 31
UCF 30
Arizona State 30
Texas A&M 28
Washington 28
Ole Miss 26
Arizona 26
Georgia 11
2023
Colorado 52
Arizona State 31
SMU 26
Louisville 25
Ole Miss 23
Indiana 23
BYU 23
Cincinnati 22
Auburn 20
Cal 20
Georgia 4
