Starting in 2021, the transfer portal in college athletics has become a revolving door.
Due to the popularity of portals, tampering with recruiting players who access them has also come to the forefront.
Last May, Florida's Billy Napier accused college football of cheating.
“There is no question that tampering is a reality,” he said. ESPN.com.
Although NCAA rules prohibit coaches from contacting players before registering their names in the portal, the system still harkens back to the Wild West.
In the same ESPN.com article, Georgia coach Kirby Smart said the tampering had been happening for some time, even before the portal was implemented in 2021.
“It's probably more prevalent because it's much easier to move from one school to another,” Smart told ESPN.com. “But when kids are trying to leave the house, it's very difficult to police.”
During his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Smart was asked again about how prevalent cheating is in college football.
“I don't know. I'm not wiretapping anyone's phone. There's no wires. I'm not a federal agent,” he said, adding, “It's almost impossible to actually navigate or monitor or police. Honestly, we're going to coach the kids that stay, so there's no hesitation. Those who leave need to provide an opportunity for someone else. That's the way I look at it.”
Smart said he remains focused on selling the program's success and culture to new hires.
“We try to do the best job we can by being honest with our kids and promoting what our program has done in the past,” he said. “I've said it a million times that everyone's path is different. You pull up a map on your phone, type in an address, and it shows you six different ways to get there. Everyone's path is different. is different. Key Walker was very different from man. Nakobedeen's. Each his own. Each his own.”
