Despite it being a pretty dead period for college athletics outside of baseball and softball, it’s been a rather active couple of weeks regarding changes to the way college football and basketball operate. That includes quite a bit of talk about changing how the transfer portal works, and Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman is behind a push to have only one portal window.
Freeman met with the local South Bend media on Thursday and discussed a wide range of subjects, from Steve Angeli transferring to Syracuse to who he thinks will break out at wide receiver and who he thinks will be “the man” on the defensive line. He did make it clear what he’d prefer to see in the transfer portal and why.
Marcus Freeman wants one spring transfer window to protect Notre Dame’s postseason focus
“If you made me vote, I would vote for the spring, but I wouldn't be upset if it were the winter or the spring, right?” The Notre Dame football team’s head coach explained. “I'm a big proponent of one transfer portal window, but if you made me choose one over the other, I would choose the spring."
One reporter asked him why he leaned this way, and he didn’t disappoint with a well-thought-out response.
"Probably more than anything, not dealing with that distraction during your postseason play, the ability to get people into school, right? You know, after the spring semester is an advantage for us, but I'm not opposed to some of the other times, like the winter. “
Freeman said that the portal's timing was less important to him than making sure there was only one. He feels that way because he has to deal with roster juggling several times a year.
The Notre Dame football coach is far from alone in that opinion, though he might be out on an island when it comes to the spring being the one window. Most reports indicate January will be where the majority of college football lands.