STEELE SPORTS

One aspect of college sports that has seemed to have gone by the wayside this past year is the importance of a commitment.

As we approach National Signing Day, athletes around the county will begin to make their final decisions on where they would like to continue their academic and athletic careers.

Yet, if 2022 has taught us anything, it’s that commitments don’t carry much weight nowadays.

With the explosion of the transfer portal, it seems as if athletes left and right are just waiting for any opportunity to jump from one school to another until they find themselves in a favorable position.

Last year alone, there were over 3,000 athletes who entered the transfer portal and that is just accounting for football.

While I’m all for athletes being able to have the option to move around, this new rule has allowed athletes to jump ship multiple times over their careers.

This results in paths like that of current Rice University quarterback J.T. Daniels who is now at his fourth university in as many years.

I remember back when I was making my college decision, I couldn’t wait to put on the hat of the school I chose and make a commitment to playing for a team and staff that I believed in.

I had to weigh my options and made sure to choose a place that I could call home where I would be happy even if football did not work out.

Now, it just seems as if athletes are making decisions based on all the wrong reasons.

Name, image and likeness deals as well as a system that offers no consequences to athletes interested in leaving their schools have left coaches in a vulnerable position trying to keep ahold of their players even after they have committed and arrived on campus.

While it would have been pretty sweet to make some money in college as an athlete, there was never a doubt in my mind that I would revoke my commitment to my school if playing time or injury hampered my career.

The point of committing is to find a school and atmosphere that you love with sports being the cherry on top.

I hope that in the coming years the NCAA will clean up the transfer portal and hold athletes more accountable for their decisions, but until then, I will be keeping my eyes close to the portal window to see how it affects the landscape of the game for years to come.