How the Transfer Portal and Opt-Outs Impact College Bowl Games

With Kayvon Thibodeaux and Jacob Copeland opting out of bowl games, it impacts many different people.

Brian Smith | Dec 10, 2021

With players like Florida's Jacob Copeland entering the transfer portal ahead of the Gasparilla Bowl against UCF, and Oregon's Kayvon Thibodeaux opting out of the Alamo Bowl against Oklahoma to prepare for the NFL Draft, there's much uncertainty about the bowl matchups, as well as how bowl committees operate their situations moving forward.

What other players will jump ship and enter the transfer portal or head off for the NFL?

Regardless of of who or when, it's a situation that's fluid and college football programs are impacted across the board. Athletic directors, coaches, administrators, people within a bowl committee and even the folks that sell the tickets for games are impacted by players becoming opt-outs or forgoing a bowl game. To that end, college coaches are in a really unique situation whenever it happens to their program.

College football coaches need to find new ways to get younger and more inexperienced players involved in the offense and defense. That’s just the start.

For some schools like Oregon, Oklahoma, and Florida, any of which can suddenly lose a player to the portal, preparing for the bowl game is really hard. Which players are truly ready to make that step into the lineup? No one player is going to replace Thibodeaux. So, how does the new rotation go without him in the lineup?

There’s also the player side of things. Does a player sit out and avoid risk of injury or go out with a bang and play for his school one more time? Several more players are weighing those questions.

Bottom line, this is a debate that’s continuing to grow, and it’s definitely random when players will be making their announcements. Here’s a podcast defining some of the additional issues for now Florida Head Coach Billy Napier as he tries to put his staff together and play UCF in the Gasparilla Bowl after Copeland, a top wide receiver for the Gators, opted out for the NFL Draft. Coach Napier is in a really tough spot, and he's just an example for what many college coaches must go through in today's college football world.

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