College football is now a year-round activity thanks to innovations like the transfer portal, and there are always interesting tales to follow over the offseason. Programs are always changing and coming under scrutiny for a variety of reasons, from conference media days to preseason camp, and from the winter coaching carousel to the spring practice schedule and transfer portal. The nation’s best teams’ advantages and disadvantages become divisive debating topics that take center stage in discussions for months.
Prior to Deion Sanders’ second season as head coach, Colorado was still one of the most talked-about teams in the country, while Alabama was the topic of college football following a historic coaching transition that saw the greatest player of all time retire from the game. Rivals for the College Football Playoffs were also closely watched for every step they made.
Teams will either validate or refute their offseason narratives when the 2024 season begins next month. Many of the conclusions made throughout the offseason will turn out to be incorrect in retrospect.
The following are the most notable overreactions from the NCAA football offseason of 2024:
“Under Kalen De Boer, recruiting in Alabama will suffer.”
Under Nick Saban, Alabama was the best recruiting class in college football, and considering the Crimson Tide’s unrivaled history of top-ranked classes, it was not even close. When Kalen DeBoer took over as his successor, many people were worried that the supremacy would go, particularly given DeBoer’s lack of experience in acquiring talent. By assembling the No. 2 class for the 2025 cycle with four five-star commitments from quarterback Keelon Russell, tackle Ty Haywood, receiver Caleb Cunningham, and cornerback Dijon Lee, he allayed any worries with a dominant run on the field this spring and summer.
“COLORADO’S EXODUS TRANSFER PORTAL WILL PROVE EXPENSIVE.”
Under Deion Sanders, Colorado said goodbye to about half of its scholarship players through the transfer portal for the second straight offseason. That would be problematic for most teams, but the Buffaloes were able to upgrade at most positions because of Sanders’ ability to draw in significant talent. Yes, it hurts to lose players like running back Dylan Edwards. However, Sanders received more criticism for his exits than praise for his additions of defensive lineman Samuel Okunlola and Quency Wiggins, who started on Day 1. Colorado will demonstrate that its roster is just as talented as it was in 2023 as it competes for bowl eligibility.
‘CLEMSON IS UNABLE TO REMAIN UPON THE ELITES’
Dabo Swinney did not make a single transfer this summer, sticking to his transfer portal philosophies. It did not help the program’s image to shy away from quick fixes after the Tigers missed the double-digit win mark for the first time in over ten years, but that does not imply the team’s era is finished. Thanks to Swinney’s efforts in high school recruitment and the program’s shown capacity for internal growth, the Tigers are firmly in the running for the ACC championship and, consequently, a top-four playoff spot.
