Another significant change is possibly on the horizon for college football.
On Thursday, Ross Dellenger reported that the NCAA FB Oversight Committee has voted in support of a single transfer portal that would take place in January, eliminating the spring version that caused headaches for coaches across the country.
It still needs to be formally adopted by the Administrative Committee, which has until October 1 to vote on it. If approved, the transfer portal would likely consist of a 10-day window starting on January 2.
Currently, the transfer portal is open twice a year: during the winter from December 9 to January 28, and in the spring from April 16 to May 25. The spring window has caused many coaches to cancel or limit their teams' activities during annual spring games, in order not to reveal to other teams what players who might be interested in entering the transfer portal can achieve on the field.
In the past, Auburn has held an intra-team scrimmage with certain players, mostly quarterbacks, who were not allowed to be tackled. This past April, Hugh Freeze and his staff held a glorified practice that saw the Tigers go through drills, including 7-on-7 and full-team red zone situations.
Auburn utilized the transfer portal this past December to fill multiple roles the Tigers needed following last season, especially with the arrival of quarterback Jackson Arnold from Oklahoma and wide receivers Eric Singleton Jr. (Georgia Tech) and Horatio Fields (Wake Forest). The Tigers also filled needs on the offensive line with both tackles, Xavier Chaplin (Virginia Tech) and Mason Murphy (USC), being plucked out of the portal.
On defense, DJ Durkin's group added defensive back Rayshawn Pleasant, who returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown in the win against Baylor, along with Raion Strader, while punter Hudson Kaak arrived from Oklahoma State.