Xavier Stephens. In the Portal

[RichH]

Announced last night. Senior with eligibility going into the Portal is not unusual. This one tho is concerning. He was one of the top recruits in that class. He did get some PT in the DL rotation. There can be various reasons for players to transfer. Not going to speculate on his.
I just hope that this is not the start of a rush to the portal.

[TMH]

Agreed..could be a big loss.

I know nothing about this case but the transition from high to school to college can be incredibly challenging both athletically and academically as well as being away from home. Most find a way to handle it and others can't.

I wish him well wherever he ends up.

Note: we have also picked up some guys in recent years for the same reasons I suppose. Sibblis, Harris, Mcintyre eg

[RichH]

First semester frosh year can be overwhelming even more so for football players. A lot of adjustments academically and athletically in a very compressed time period..
Agree I hope the young man finds a school better suited for him.

I will speculate that his decision motivated recent offers to DL prospects. Some of whom were on camous this weekend. Fingers crossed.

[TMH]

I just noticed that West Virginia had 26 players enter the transfer portal in 2021 and there was no Head Coach change.

This is going to take some getting used to. With the 5th year, COVID and businesses waving around NIL money, this will become an epidemic.

As of this past March, over 14,000 athletes have entered since it's inception. Most end up going nowhere and a lot others transfer down in classification.

[RichH]

Noticed that coaches'assoc is discussing rule changes to at least organize portal transfers. And to have a separate Signing period and day for transfers prior to Signing days for HS players.
Expect we will see a few every year in the PL . I wonder whether the Ivies will??

[Richb-3]

I have seen some statements that once someone enters the portal he can no longer compete for his original team, even if he does not go elsewhere? Is this true?

If so, it seems foolish. Here would be an example. A d1 Wrestler from Utah has accepted a scholarship to EastCoast State U. But he decides he would rather return home, and he misses his family, and maybe other Mormans. So he decides to enter the Transfer portal, to the only College in Utah with D1 wrestling, Utah Valley. No other D1 Wrestling within maybe 400 miles of Salt Lake City. But having entered the portal, something goes wrong. Maybe they drop the sport, or downgrade to D2, or the coach leaves etc. So he decides to stay. Why should he not continue wrestling where things were good, just not perfect.

[lfnadmin]

I have seen some statements that once someone enters the portal he can no longer compete for his original team, even if he does not go elsewhere? Is this true?

If so, it seems foolish. Here would be an example. A d1 Wrestler from Utah has accepted a scholarship to EastCoast State U. But he decides he would rather return home, and he misses his family, and maybe other Mormans. So he decides to enter the Transfer portal, to the only College in Utah with D1 wrestling, Utah Valley. No other D1 Wrestling within maybe 400 miles of Salt Lake City. But having entered the portal, something goes wrong. Maybe they drop the sport, or downgrade to D2, or the coach leaves etc. So he decides to stay. Why should he not continue wrestling where things were good, just not perfect.

There are cases of kids taking their name "out" of the portal after putting it in, but it's rare. I think it's because frequently putting one's name in the portal causes bad blood between the recruit and the existing coaching staff. There are certainly very good, valid reasons to transfer from one school to another, like the one you describe, but "ENTERING THE PORTAL" has become a public declaration, which is just one of the many problems with it. In the past the wrestler might have dropped a line to his coach that he's "thinking about going back home" or something, and then sees what unfolds, but now everything is a public display of affection or disaffection, communicated immediately, to millions of strangers.

[TMH]

I have seen some statements that once someone enters the portal he can no longer compete for his original team, even if he does not go elsewhere? Is this true?

If so, it seems foolish. Here would be an example. A d1 Wrestler from Utah has accepted a scholarship to EastCoast State U. But he decides he would rather return home, and he misses his family, and maybe other Mormans. So he decides to enter the Transfer portal, to the only College in Utah with D1 wrestling, Utah Valley. No other D1 Wrestling within maybe 400 miles of Salt Lake City. But having entered the portal, something goes wrong. Maybe they drop the sport, or downgrade to D2, or the coach leaves etc. So he decides to stay. Why should he not continue wrestling where things were good, just not perfect.

If student-athletes withdraw from the portal, the original school can return them to the roster and restore athletics aid if it chooses. ... Previously in Division I, when student-athletes wanted to transfer, they had to ask their coach for permission to contact other schools.

This is up to the sole discretion of the University.

Hope this helps.

[Hawktalker]

I looked up Stephen's stats:
Played in 8 games
Had 16 tackles
1.5 sacks
Not a bad first season. His best years are yet to come, but apparently elsewhere

[RichH]

Per reports , he has transferred to Furman.