FIU coach Simmons in favor of NCAA limiting transfer portal to one session
FIU football coach Willie Simmons said he believes that eliminating the spring transfer portal period will help his Panthers.
The NCAA on Wednesday made it official: Football will now have just one portal period per year, from Jan. 2 until Jan. 15.
In 2024-2025, the winter transfer window was open Dec. 9-25. The spring transfer window was open April 16-25.
Now, teams who do not make the College Football Playoff semifinals will be allowed to finish their seasons with their entire teams before the transfer portal opens.
Simmons said football had been “unique” in that it was the only sport with two portal windows.
“I’m all for players’ rights,” Simmons said. “But, to start developing our team, I think there have to be some hard guidelines as to when the roster can be set. The one-portal window seems to work for every other sport. I don’t think it will be a problem for football.”
Simmons, though, said FIU won’t be able to use the entire 15 days of the new portal that is set to open Jan. 2.
“Once drop/add [for classes] ends on Jan. 10, we’re done,” Simmons said. “We can’t bring in any more guys for that semester. We have to identify guys early, and, as soon as they hit the portal, we have to be on the phone with them. We have to rush to get them on campus and admitted to school.”
Simmons also likes the idea of knowing — as of mid-January — which if any of his players are in the portal.
“We won’t have the situation we had this past spring where a guy establishes himself as a starter or a key backup, and he leaves after 15 spring practices,” Simmons said. “That’s what a lot of coaches were pushing to prevent. For programs like us, it’s critical. We’re a developmental program. We’re not getting ready-made guys. It will help to get them in January so we can develop them for seven months before we have to depend on them in August.”
THIS AND THAT
FIU has several starters banged up, including quarterback Keyone Jenkins (ankle); center Julius Pierce (knee); cornerback Brian Blades II (foot); and safety Shamir Sterlin (hamstring). Simmons said he is “optimistic” all four of them will be able to play Tuesday night at Western Kentucky (8 p.m. on ESPNU).
But backup linebacker Dwight Nunoo has a concussion, and he will likely miss the game. Nunoo was hurt on the opening kickoff in FIU’s most recent game, at Connecticut.
While a concussion is serious, Simmons said he’s grateful the injury was not worse for Nunoo, who had seemingly been injured much worse because of the medical attention he received. He was placed on a board and carted off the field.
FIU (2-3 overall, 0-1 Conference USA) is a 7½-point underdog at league-leading Western Kentucky (5-1, 3-0).
WKU has beaten FIU five straight times. The most recent time they met in Bowling Green was in 2022, and FIU lost 73-0. Grayson James was FIU’s primary quarterback in that game..