With the Big Ten not having a football season this fall, is there potential for some Badgers to transfer to a school that is still playing?
The Big Ten Conference made the decision on August 11th to cancel fall sports for all teams within the conference with the possibility of playing some games this spring. Whether some teams like it or not, there will be no football this fall. At least, not in the Big Ten or PAC-12. The ACC, Big 12 and SEC have all continued onward as if there will be football this fall. The reason this is significant for the Badgers is that some players may look to transfer to a team in one of the three conferences that are still playing.
With the NCAA transfer rules the way they are these days, we could see a lot of players from the Big Ten and the PAC-12 who could transfer and play this year. It would be extremely tough and a very quick process for any player who would choose to do that, but if they can get in somewhere and play another season before entering the draft, it could be worth it.
Badgers head coach Paul Chryst discussed players ‘being poached’ as a real possibility.
Paul Chryst acknowledged that players being poached from rosters is a concern, and that it is going on. "To think that's not happening is naive."
— Matt Belz (@savedbythebelz) August 11, 2020
But he has not yet had anyone talk to him about it yet.
Now, I don’t think the Badgers are in real danger of losing anyone who will play an important role for the Badgers in the future. The players who would be the most likely to transfer would be the ones who are either entering their final year of eligibility or are going to be entering the NFL Draft after this season and would need more playing time to boost their draft stock.
As far as eligibility goes, there are still some unanswered questions. Chryst says that is the question he has been most commonly asked by players. Right now, that is a big question mark, especially for seniors. These players had one year left and now if they don’t get to keep their eligibility, they will be lucky to play a few games this spring and then they are done. In that case, I think some seniors may look to transfer to play and get their draft stock up as well.
The only issue I can see that can come from transferring is if all of college football is canceled. What happens if a player decides to transfer to a school and then their season is canceled? Then they are stuck in a new school and still can’t play. If I had to guess, I would think we wouldn’t see a Badger transfer, but I wouldn’t put it out of the realm of possibility. Especially in this crazy year.