Transfer stigma is moot point
Switching schools no longer an issue
DENVER — Playing for multiple schools no longer raises a red flag for NFL talent evaluators in this day and age of the ever busier transfer portal and financial windfalls available to college football players before they’re even old enough to buy a round of drinks.
That’s a good thing for the nearly one-third of the 398 prospects invited to the NFL scouting combine in February who switched schools on their way to catching the attention of pro scouts ahead of this week’s NFL draft.
The list of players who capitalized on relaxed transfer rules includes Southern California quarterback
Caleb Williams, the odds-on favorite to go first overall to the Chicago Bears on Thursday night. Williams spent his freshman year at Oklahoma before following coach Lincoln Riley to Los Angeles, where he threw for 72 touchdowns in two seasons with the Trojans.
Another is Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels, who spent two seasons at Louisiana State after playing three years at Arizona State.
“Transfers, in terms of impacting guys and grades, no, that’s not really an issue anymore,” said NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, a former pro scout.
Players also can make money long before declaring for the draft nowadays and there’s still an influx of athletes who took advantage of the NCAA’S decision to give them an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic.
One player who capitalized on that extra season was Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Johnson, who caught just one touchdown pass in five seasons at Tennessee, including one year that he ended up redshirting after four games.
Johnson, the son of former major league catcher Charles Johnson, transferred to Central Florida, where he caught 11 touchdown passes in 13 games in 2021, catching the attention of the Broncos, who signed him as an undrafted free agent.
“I think a lot of guys transfer for circumstances that everybody may not know about. There’s a lot that goes into it,” Johnson said. “So
I’m glad the negative stigma is gone.”
Of the 398 players invited to this year’s combine, 121 of them attended more than one college or university. Four of them transferred multiple times.
Jeremiah said that when talent evaluators go back to “self-scout” and see why a certain player didn’t work out, two things usually come up: “They don’t know how to handle adversity and then the other thing is sometimes they don’t know how to handle money, fame, all that kind of stuff that goes along with it, all the distractions that money can bring.
“So, now you’re getting a chance to see them in that situation, basically being a professional before they even get to you and see how they handle themselves,” Jeremiah said. “I think it can be a plus.”