Miami football: transfer portal is a team effort to sign players

The Miami football program’s repeated forays into the transfer portal have created the most buzz of all the activity off the field for the Hurricanes in the 2019 offseason. It takes a team effort to scour the portal and recruit the players to Coral Gables.

In a meeting with reporters, earlier this week Miami football director of recruiting Andy Vaughn discussed the transfer portal late in his discussion with the Media. Adding players to a pro football franchise or collegiate program is not fantasy football. It’s not just adding a player based on his production somewhere else.

The Miami football staff has to identify players through the portal and who will be a good fit on and off the field. Transfers don’t always pan out. The Miami basketball program added Anthony Mack from Wyoming a year ago and he already made the decision to move on to another school.

There are many factors that go into the player’s and programs decision with recruitment as a transfer. The player is going to be far more sophisticated than he was when being recruited out of high school. Players in this era are more connected than in past generations. They see each other at camps during the summer.

The relationships go far beyond the summer football and seven-on-seven camps. Social media and texting, often in groups, have made it easier than ever for players to keep in touch. That allows the players a much greater understanding of what is happening at other programs than they did in the past.

The Miami football staff has a great responsibility in identifying which players will fit the culture head coach Manny Diaz is hoping to cultivate. Miami, as with most major college football program have a staff just dedicated to recruiting. Vaughn and his staff have to keep tabs on which players are moving on through the transfer portal.

The next step is identifying which players are high enough caliber to play at Miami if there is a spot for them and how will the player fit into the locker room. That is a lot of responsibility and it takes a team to make it work. Vaughn discussed the process with the reporters in his first meeting with the media since being hired in February.

"“It’s a group effort…The portal can be a really good thing if you manage it the right way…We have to make sure those guys fit the Miami profile, what a Hurricane should be. As long as we figure those things out early in the process it can be a very valuable thing.We’re on there every day, know what we want, what we’re looking for, positions of need that we have.”"

Miami added two players through the transfer portal in December and six more since Diaz was hired December 30. There is a lot to be aware of when adding transfers. There are many different aspects to consider when a player decides to switch athletic programs.

Some players will be eligible immediately. Others have to sit out a season. Graduate transfers do not have to sit out, but usually, have only one season of eligibility remaining. There are transfers from other Division I programs, power five and group of five programs, plus players from FCS schools.

Coming to the conclusion of if a player fits into the Miami football program takes in all those factors. Does the player fit in a position of need and the culture in the locker room? As transfers continue to become more frequent the recruiting director’s job will become more critical.