College football transfer portal live updates: Spring commitments, latest moves, analysis

Greetings from the transfer portal. Indiana has kicked off the first day of the spring transfer window by entering four players into the portal: RB Trent Howland, WR Derrick Bohler, WR Kamryn Perry and QB Broc Lowry.

New Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti loaded up on transfers with a strong haul in the winter featuring a bunch of his players from James Madison, so it's not surprising to see end-of-spring attrition. Howland led IU in rushing last season with 354 yards and 2 TDs on 75 carries, has two more seasons of eligibility and is already earning Power 5 interest.

Wisconsin defensive lineman T.J. Bollers intends to enter the transfer portal, a source with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Athletic. Bollers, a four-star prospect out of high school from Tiffin, Iowa, was recruited to play outside linebacker.

He was listed at 278 pounds before last season and moved to the defensive line late in the year. Bollers, who appeared in 16 career games, has two years of eligibility remaining. He becomes the second Badgers player to enter the portal this spring, joining quarterback Nick Evers.

Wisconsin’s defensive line depth takes a bit of a hit with Bollers moving on. Bollers had earned snaps with the second-team defense this spring and was in the mix to be a rotational piece next season.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan was only a few weeks removed from winning a national championship, but there was no time left to celebrate.

The afterparty was cut short when coach Jim Harbaugh bolted for the Chargers on Jan. 25, setting off a month of major transition at Michigan. Along with the exit of quarterback J.J. McCarthy and 17 other NFL combine invitees, new coach Sherrone Moore faced a steady drip-drip-drip of coaching departures, a sprint to assemble a new staff and a 30-day transfer window that sparked open bidding for some of Michigan’s returning stars.

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When it came to the Big Ten transfer portal a year ago, substance was the clear winner over style.

Michigan fortified a quality roster with key pickups along the offensive line and elevated from a national contender to a national champion. On the other end of the spectrum, six of seven teams in the Big Ten West started transfer quarterbacks, and the results were mixed. All but one either was benched or missed time because of injuries.

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Ohio State safety Caleb Downs said he received more than 100 calls in a seven- to eight-hour period after entering the portal following Nick Saban’s retirement at Alabama.

In a 15-minute session Tuesday, Downs met with reporters for the first time since committing to Ohio State. Downs, a five-star recruit in the Class of 2023, was a Freshman All-American last year, tallying 107 tackles and two interceptions. Highly sought-after and arguably the top player in the transfer portal, Downs narrowed his decision down to home-state Georgia and Ohio State before he chose the Buckeyes on Jan. 19.

“It’s like recruiting on steroids,” he said.

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LOS ANGELES — USC is entering the final week of spring practice, with the spring game coming up on Saturday. Here are some thoughts on the Trojans from Week 4 of spring ball.

USC’s defensive line has been in the news this week with the transfer portal. First, there was the Bear Alexander saga. USC was able to keep Alexander in the fold for now, but on Friday defensive lineman Isaiah Raikes, who transferred to the program in January after four seasons at Texas A&M, re-entered the portal after just a few months with the Trojans.

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For Iowa, it was yet another heartbreak in its roller-coaster relationship with Kadyn Proctor. For everyone else, it may be a warning.

The five-star offensive tackle’s decision to leave Iowa after two months so he can re-enter the transfer portal next month and rejoin Alabama had the college football world buzzing on Tuesday afternoon. Decommitments are commonplace in this sport, but rarely like this.

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State’s receiving corps shuffle continues. KeAndre Lambert-Smith, the Nittany Lions’ top target last season, has entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer, The Athletic has learned. Lambert-Smith, a senior, wasn’t at practice Tuesday night during the media viewing window and wasn’t present at Saturday’s Blue-White game, either.

Lambert-Smith led the Nittany Lions last season with 53 receptions for 673 yards and four touchdowns. Although he was expected to be a key contributor this season, his departure also isn’t too surprising. Lambert-Smith disappeared down the stretch last fall, with just two catches for 28 yards over the final four games of the regular season. He declined all interview requests after being held without a catch and dropping one pass in the Peach Bowl loss to Ole Miss. He hadn’t met with reporters since early November.

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With 51 seconds left on the clock in October at NC State, a frenetic Dabo Swinney urged his offense to pick up the pace from the sidelines.

Clemson had just gotten a critical first down, crossing midfield. Trailing 24-17, the Tigers had a chance to tie the score or win.

As Swinney gesticulated, all but begging his team to move faster, Clemson finally snapped the ball. But the first two plays resulted in a combined loss of 9 yards, and then quarterback Cade Klubnik’s pass fell incomplete.

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College football’s transfer portal opens again on Tuesday and closes on April 30, giving players the option to find new landing spots and teams the chance to shore up any personnel deficiencies for the fall.

As of Sunday morning, the 18 Big Ten schools had 299 football players enter the transfer portal during the previous cycle, according to player entries compiled by On3 and totaled by The Athletic. These numbers reflect the 2023-24 cycle that began Dec. 4, 2023, through Jan. 2, 2024, and extends throughout this spring for players who entered the portal after their seasons concluded in January, their coaches left for another job or are graduate transfers.

Of those transfers, 217 found new homes, 29 withdrew from the portal and two opted for the NFL Draft. Those schools added 153 commitments or enrollees during that cycle.

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Our Until Saturday podcast crew shares its thoughts on what to expect during the spring portal. Check out the full episode here.

This is not a sentence one expects to type: The NCAA meant well. And yes, it really did, but this being the NCAA, even when it does something that makes sense, the unintended consequences make it backfire in spectacular fashion.

And not surprisingly, it has to do with the transfer portal.

You may have heard, assuming you have working internet service, that Nick Saban recently retired. That came after the most recent transfer window had closed for non-graduate students. But the NCAA had foreseen this — again, an unexpected turn of phrase — and instituted a rule that allows players whose coaches leave the program an additional 30 days to enter the transfer portal.

And so more than a few Alabama players have done so. Receiver Isaiah Bond bolted quickly for Texas. Safety Caleb Downs appears headed for Georgia. More have left and more probably will. But the Saban effect didn’t stop at Alabama.

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