Today is Thursday, Jan. 19, which means that until May, the transfer portal is officially closed. That means if a player is still on your roster at this point, they should be locked in through spring ball. That’s especially good for , as the Aggies lost a total of 24 scholarship players to the transfer portal over the past two months.
While the portal window closing doesn’t mean players in the portal have all decided where they are going, the vast majority have, with spring classes beginning either last week or this week on most campuses. So where did those 24 players end up? We take a look.
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From a sheer numbers perspective, Texas A&M led the nation in transfer portal entries. That makes for an easy narrative that things are not going well in College Station. And while that is undoubtedly a lot of talent and depth headed out the door, it may not be as catastrophic as it may seen on the surface. Some things to keep in mind:
Texas A&M has lost 3 five-star and 18 four-star players to either the portal, the draft or graduation. But they’ve also added 3 five-star and 12 four-star players from high school and the portal. A&M has some ground to make up in filling out their roster, but having the same number of five star players and only six fewer four-star players than last year is hardly the disaster that many have portrayed it to be. And there’s a good chance they aren’t done adding to the total coming in.
Of the 22 players who started in the Aggies’ season-ending win over No. 5 LSU, not a single one entered the transfer portal (19 of them return and three are early entrants to the NFL Draft).
Only 14 of the 24 A&M players who entered the transfer portal ended up at another Power 5 program. That’s not meant to diss those players, but simply to illustrate that many of these portal departures are your run of the mill transfer seeking more playing time, and several of the players who ended up at other top programs (Marshall, Harris, Adileye) reportedly had disciplinary issues that would have prevented them from returning even if they wanted to do so.
While the portal attrition is significant, not enough has been made of how virtually nonexistent the Aggies’ losses due to graduation are this year. With S Demani Richardson and TE Max Wright announcing their returns for one more season, A&M currently stands to only lose THREE scholarship seniors from last year’s roster (WR Ainias Smith, WR Jalen Preston and LS Connor Choate). And it is not a foregone conclusion that all of those players leave. With only three underclassmen declaring for the draft, A&M was seemingly always destined to have significant portal departures simply to make room for the incoming recruiting classes.
The portal window hit A&M hard, but mostly with regard to depth rather than starters. Granted, depth matters in college football. You rotate players at a lot of positions, and injuries happen that make backups suddenly become starters. But this team will still be one of the most talented in college football, with a lot more game time experience than it had a year ago. If the coaching changes click, this could be a team that could do some real damage in 2023, even with the portal departures.
Since the spring transfer window opened in mid-April, the Texas Longhorns lost nine players to the NCAA transfer portal, including Terrance Brooks, the projected starter at field cornerback.
Transfer applicants should have at least a 2.5 grade point average on at least 24 graded semester hours of transferable coursework at the time of application to be considered for admission. Review the information on the Transfer Course Sheets to determine the specific coursework preferred by each major or department.
Transferring to Texas A&M University can be a different experience than applying as a freshman applicant, but I'll do my best to provide some insight into the transfer acceptance rate. The transfer acceptance rate does vary from year to year, but in recent admission cycles, it has typically hovered around 57-60%.
USA Today updated its win-loss prediction for every team in the SEC and suggests the Aggies will improve from last season's 7-6 record to 9-3 in 2024. "Wimberly and I are on the same page with this one, mainly due to new head coach Mike Elko's tremendous job acquiring talent through the transfer portal.
The NCAA will no longer limit the amount of times that athletes can transfer schools. Previously, athletes were allowed to transfer one time and play immediately, but they had to sit out a full year if they transferred schools a second time without a waiver.
There were 1,692 FBS players who entered the portal in the 2019-20 cycle. That number nearly doubled two years later to 3,083 during the 2021-22 cycle. This past cycle, that number jumped to 3,252 and the 2023-24 cycle is again on pace to set a record.
While the Wolverines lost Keon Sabb to Alabama, Moore retained key guys on defense. However, a week into the spring transfer portal window, it doesn't seem like Michigan is doing enough, especially when we saw how beneficial the portal was for the Wolverines in 2023.
This means the school is moderately selective. The school expects you to meet their requirements for GPA and SAT/ACT scores, but they're more flexible than other schools. If you exceed their requirements, you have an excellent chance of getting in.
An Aggie is a student at Texas A&M. In the early 1900s, our students were called "Farmers." The term Aggie — reflecting our agricultural roots — was first used in the 1920s, and in 1949, the yearbook changed its name from The Longhorn to Aggieland. At that point, Aggie became the official student body nickname.
The University of Texas at Austin acceptance rate is lower than A&M. UT Austin admits 31% of applicants, making it harder to get into. The Texas A&M admission rate is 63%.
Texas A&M University has an acceptance rate of 63%. Half the applicants admitted to Texas A&M University--College Station who submitted test scores have an SAT score between 1150 and 1390 or an ACT score of 25 and 31.
Four Aggies were taken in the 2024 NFL Draft, including linebacker Edgerrin Cooper in the second round by the Green Bay Packers and defensive lineman McKinnley Jackson in the third round by the Cincinnati Bengals. The Aggies last had four players taken in 2022.
The NCAA has promised not to retaliate against athletes who transfer multiple times should the rules revert back to previous form. There were 2,611 football players (roughly 23% of FBS scholarship players) in the transfer portal during the fall semester. Expect numbers like that to be the norm going forward.
The legislation will not limit the number of times an athlete can transfer -- and there are still two transfer windows -- but they can't transfer midyear and play for a second school in the same season.
Introduction: My name is Rueben Jacobs, I am a cooperative, beautiful, kind, comfortable, glamorous, open, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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