Texas high school football recruiting hurt by college football transfer portal, data shows

FORT WORTH – In her son’s first year at Bonham High School, Cynthia Gorden asked coaches what it would take for Jacob to get recruited to play college football.

Their response, she recalled, was clear: Play well, trust the process, and he’d be taken care of.

Four years later, Cynthia and Jacob are at North Crowley High School on a cold January night, about 100 miles from Bonham, to attend a showcase for unsigned seniors. Over 30 small colleges and junior colleges have shown up. Over 100 kids have come, hoping to show out before National Signing Day on Wednesday.

Cynthia, sitting in a folding chair with plenty of other parents, held a stack of business cards with Jacob’s stats as a running back, corner and kick returner, along with his GPA and SAT score. There’s also a smiling photo of him in his Bonham letterman jacket next to a quote: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

But a college football journey needs a path, and right now, Jacob doesn’t have one.

“It’s hard to even get answered,” Cynthia said. “It’s hard to get exposure. And we just have to keep faith.”

She’s far from the only parent who feels that way.

Introducing the college football transfer portal in 2018 has given players the freedom to change schools once without penalty, and it’s allowed teams to fill their rosters with experienced players, decreasing the number of spots available for high school recruits, according to data compiled by The Dallas Morning News. They end up sliding down the college football hierarchy, landing at FCS schools or junior colleges or not playing at all.

“The landscape has changed,” North Crowley head coach Ray Gates said.

Texas college recruiting, transfer numbers

Junior college is often an avenue for players who aren’t academically eligible for four-year colleges, but the transfer portal has expanded the pool of available high school players, said Ryan Taylor, the football coach at Navarro College in Corsicana.

“Some kids are close to being valedictorians that are really considering our level over the Division II and FCS offers,” he said.

“I think I’m talking about all junior colleges when I say I think we’re going to sign a really good high school class this year.”

There’s a reason for the expanded talent pool.

The News compiled data from 247Sports to examine how many high school players area Division I teams – Baylor, North Texas, Oklahoma, SMU, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech – have taken compared to transfers.

In 2018, the final recruiting cycle before the introduction of the portal, area teams signed 187 high school recruits and accepted only one transfer: Utah linebacker Gerrit Choate, who went to SMU.

As of Friday, the colleges had 75 commitments through the transfer portal and 163 high school players either signed or committed — 24 fewer than in 2018.

For college teams, it makes sense to devote extra attention to the portal. It can be an instant fix.

Wisconsin, for example, had a need at quarterback this offseason. It remedied that with three quarterback transfers, including former SMU starting quarterback Tanner Mordecai. SMU, on the other hand, needed to add more talent and depth to its secondary. The Mustangs did so by adding five transfer commitments in the secondary. They added 17 transfer players in total.

There are also a lot of players for schools to choose. According to an NCAA study, 1,407 players and graduate transfers entered the portal in 2021. Over 1,200 found FBS or FCS homes, but 172 signed at the Division II level, and eight players enrolled in Division III schools.

A recent study from The Athletic showed that there were more than 1,500 FBS players in the transfer portal when it closed on Jan. 18. At the time, 72% of Power Five players and only 56% of Group of Five transfers had committed to new schools.

Effect on high school recruiting

As transfers move downward, there are repercussions.

Multiple high school coaches and recruiting coordinators told The News they’ve had trouble finding homes for aspiring college players, even at the Division III, NAIA or junior college level.

It’s why Gates decided to host the senior showcase at North Crowley on Jan. 25, a week before the signing period opens. He wanted to give players who have gone unnoticed a chance to impress college coaches.

That opportunity was on North Crowley senior Robert Orr III’s mind before every drill and every one-on-one at the showcase, he said.

“This one rep could be the rep that makes a college coach go, ‘Yeah, we want him,” said Orr, who squats over 600 pounds and played both offensive and defensive line this season. He spoke with a representative from McMurry University, a Division III school in Abilene, after the showcase.

Wylie senior running back Lance Crosby also talked to a few coaches. He averaged over 7 yards per carry before a broken collarbone ended his season and put his recruiting on hold.

Lance’s father, Shane, said they planned to attend another showcase in Houston.

North Crowley defensive lineman Yafniel Pastrana’s recruiting potential also suffered after an injury in the second game, but he returned right before the postseason and finished with 24 tackles, eight tackles for loss and seven sacks.

Another factor working against the lineman is his size: He’s listed at 5-10.

“I’m undersized, but no one messed with me,” Pastrana said. “I proved that all season.”

After a successful performance at the showcase, particularly in demonstrating his pass rushing ability, Pastrana kneeled to pray with one of his North Crowley teammates.

“All glory to God,” Pastrana said. “He’ll take me where I need to be.”

Cynthia Gorden is hoping the same will happen with her son, Jacob. He’s been admitted to Tyler Junior College but currently doesn’t have a spot on the team. They said they’ve emailed the coaches but have yet to hear a response.

“We need just one,” she said. “We’re not going to be greedy. Just one.”

At the end of the showcase, Cynthia and Jacob passed out business cards to the college coaches on hand. They then headed back to Bonham, hoping it was enough.

Twitter: @JoeJHoyt

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