10-23-2026, 10:09 AM
For years, the college football calendar has worked against Stanford. When the early signing period was implemented in December 2017, it sped up recruiting timelines significantly. Suddenly, NSD in February became irrelevant as Stanford Football and admissions had two months less to figure out which recruits would be greenlit.
The increasing prevalence of high school recruits foregoing the spring of their senior year to enroll early also posed challenges to a Stanford structure that wasn't used to making such accommodations. Again, Stanford adapted.
Plenty of ink has already been spilled discussing the implications of the transfer portal and Stanford's ability to adapt to a landscape in which the portal has become an integral component of roster construction. I think it's fair to say that Stanford has done so in recent years with a moderate level of success. It's certainly better than it was. However, I fear that the ever-accelerating timeline of portal machinations is going to make things harder and harder for Stanford to keep pace going forward.
We are currently 2.5 months out from the opening of the transfer portal on January 4 and schools being allowed to contact players who enter their names. This year, it has been shortened from 15 days to 10 days. In reality, the reduction is a moot point. At 12:01 AM on January 4, most transfers who are valued by FBS programs will already have compensation agreements in place with their new employer school.
Despite still being 2.5 months away, a significant portion of FBS programs already have a rough idea of how their transfer class is shaping up. The proliferation of college player agents has blurred the lines between permissible and impermissible contact. Coach Joe and GM Andy are allowed to have conversations with Agent Jack about players currently on their roster who he represents but not about players who Agent Jack represents on other college rosters. Good luck policing those communications!
If you think it's just the usual suspects of rule flouters wading in murky waters on this issue, you'd be mistaken. But do I think Richard Shaw and his admissions staff are busy reviewing transcripts of players at other schools who Stanford isn't even allowed to technically have contact with yet? I highly doubt it.
The increasing prevalence of high school recruits foregoing the spring of their senior year to enroll early also posed challenges to a Stanford structure that wasn't used to making such accommodations. Again, Stanford adapted.
Plenty of ink has already been spilled discussing the implications of the transfer portal and Stanford's ability to adapt to a landscape in which the portal has become an integral component of roster construction. I think it's fair to say that Stanford has done so in recent years with a moderate level of success. It's certainly better than it was. However, I fear that the ever-accelerating timeline of portal machinations is going to make things harder and harder for Stanford to keep pace going forward.
We are currently 2.5 months out from the opening of the transfer portal on January 4 and schools being allowed to contact players who enter their names. This year, it has been shortened from 15 days to 10 days. In reality, the reduction is a moot point. At 12:01 AM on January 4, most transfers who are valued by FBS programs will already have compensation agreements in place with their new employer school.
Despite still being 2.5 months away, a significant portion of FBS programs already have a rough idea of how their transfer class is shaping up. The proliferation of college player agents has blurred the lines between permissible and impermissible contact. Coach Joe and GM Andy are allowed to have conversations with Agent Jack about players currently on their roster who he represents but not about players who Agent Jack represents on other college rosters. Good luck policing those communications!
If you think it's just the usual suspects of rule flouters wading in murky waters on this issue, you'd be mistaken. But do I think Richard Shaw and his admissions staff are busy reviewing transcripts of players at other schools who Stanford isn't even allowed to technically have contact with yet? I highly doubt it.