The offseason has arrived at halftime. BYU is four months removed from its 36-14 triumph against Colorado at the Alamo Bowl and is four months out from the 2025 season opener against Portland State.
Time is flying by, and nothing has quickened the calendar’s pace or has shortened what used to feel like an eternal wait from the bowl season to a new season more than the transfer portal.
The portal is a mystical place that pitches the allure of a quick fix for everybody involved. Just like a slot machine, some users hit a jackpot and change their fortunes, while others come up empty and lose everything — rags to riches and riches to rags.
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In just a few short years, the portal and subsequent NIL money, has transformed the way coaches recruit, the way they rebuild, and the way they retain their rosters from one season to the next. In addition, it has enabled star players to regularly adjust their own value and even walk away without penalty if their price isn’t met.
As a result, the college game that was once described by conservative old-school programs as three yards and a cloud of dust has turned into something BYU legend Jim McMahon would call a dream come true — everybody is going deep on every play.
It’s a free-for-all where nothing is free and it’s not for everybody.
For the fan, however, this is Xanadu. News hits the social media feeds as fast as the user can swipe to refresh. In this land of the unaccounted for, trash talk among rivals escalates as reports, fact or fiction, spread about the comings or goings.
BYU hasn’t always thrived in this space, but membership in the Big 12 has turned the Cougars into a player and head coach Kalani Sitake and his staff have hit on many of their transfer portal additions, culminating in last year’s 11-2 season.
- Jack Kelly (linebacker) transferred from Weber State and led the team with five sacks.
- Harrison Taggart (linebacker) transferred from Oregon and was the second-leading tackler (69).
- Marque Collins (cornerback) transferred from Weber State and had two interceptions.
- Darius Lassiter (receiver) transferred from Eastern Michigan and was second on the team with 45 receptions for 703 yards and four touchdowns.
- Keelan Marion (receiver/kick returner) transferred from UConn and was third in receptions (24-360, TD) and earned All-American honors returning kicks.
- Caleb Etienne (offensive line) transferred from Oklahoma State and earned First Team All-Big 12 honors at left tackle.
- Will Ferrin (kicker) transferred from Boise State and made 24 of 27 field goal attempts. Ferrin finished the season having made 16 consecutive kicks, including the 44-yarder in the final seconds to beat Utah 22-21 in Salt Lake City.
- Sam Vander Haar (punter) transferred from Pittsburgh and averaged 42.8 yards per kick. He was also the holder for Ferrin’s field goals and point-after-tries.
This offseason, BYU added several players from the portal, including expected starters Keanu Tanuvasa (defensive tackle), Carsen Ryan (tight end) and Andrew Gentry (offensive line). The Cougars also watched the portal doors swing the other way as Marion and Taggart opted to leave Provo and play elsewhere in 2025.
The roster shuffling will continue through the summer, and it might just keep going until a governing body is empowered to provide some regulations.
Despite the chaos it has created, the transfer portal does deserve some credit. It has managed to extend BYU’s football season, and all other programs in the country, to 12 months a year — and it’s shaping up to do the same for college basketball, too. Sports talk shows and social media outlets couldn’t be happier. The content, good and bad, fact and fiction, flows uninterrupted.
The four months since BYU’s win at the Alamo Bowl has zipped by like a snap of the fingers. The next four months, leading up to the season opener against Portland State (Aug. 30) will likely go by just as fast.
Helping time fly is the transfer portal, where there is a pretty good chance something has been posted during the few minutes it has taken to read this article. Go ahead and check your feed. It might be good news for your favorite team, but brace yourself, it might also ruin your day.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.
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