The landscape for college football sure has changed when it comes to recruiting. With the transfer portal, guys are leaving teams left and right, with the Wisconsin Badgers football team taking plenty of hits throughout the offseason.
The latest big news came in on Thursday, with freshman cornerback Xavier Lucas announcing that he was going to be entering the portal. What in the world? This came in from out of nowhere and Badgers fans remain quite shocked.
Wisconsin has seen more than 20 players enter the portal, but Lucas leaving town is arguably the biggest hit. Overall, what's going on? For various teams, it's quite clear tampering is happening and guys are getting recruited despite not even being in the portal. This is something Luke Fickell is aware of and he's sick of it:
Luke Fickell on 97.3 The Game: "Every kid is being recruited right now. Not just kids in the transfer portal. That’s what’s probably the most alarming thing. It’s making it almost impossible to have some semblance of where you're headed because there’s open lines to everybody."
— Jesse Temple (@jessetemple) December 19, 2024
Luke Fickell is not happy with other coaches recruiting his Wisconsin players
Unfortunately, this is the way things are going, but it's not only Wisconsin who is being impacted by negative recruiting. Several coaches this offseason have been livid with their guys being recruited by coaches despite still being on a roster and not announcing their intentions to transfer.
It's basically becoming free agency for players with other staff members not giving a damn about the rules. How is the NCAA supposed to regulate this? It's a free for all, which is not what anyone had in mind when the new transfer rules were put in place.
Moving forward, there's simply got to be a way to improve things. Playmakers transferring and joining new schools is always going to happen, but Fickell shouldn't have to worry about trying to keep his own guys in town if they're not in the portal.
The fact that other programs are connecting with kids, offering them lucrative NIL deals and convincing them to transfer is a complete and total joke. Respect is no longer present in college football and Fickell has had it. He has every right to be upset about how things are going.