Penn State Sports Magazine
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4 8 M A Y 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M O P I N I O N MATT HERB M AT T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M B ack when the NFL was trying to stave off the arrival of real free agency in the early 1990s, one of the league's lawyers argued that acqui- escing to players' demands would result in "the destruction of the National Football League that we know today." Three decades later, the NFL is still standing. If anything, it's more popular than ever. And yet, the lawyer's hyperbolic claim wasn't entirely wrong. The world that fans knew up to that point — a world in which teams steadily built win- ning rosters and kept them mostly in- tact for years — was forever changed. During the 27 seasons preceding the arrival of free agency in March 1993, there were five repeat Super Bowl champions — six if you throw in the Dallas Cowboys, who straddled the line by winning the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the 1992 and '93 campaigns. During the 31 seasons since, there have been only three repeat winners. Teams can still hit the draft jackpot and parlay the fortuitous choice of a Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes into long-term success, but even in a quar- terback-centric league, it's difficult to win championships year after year with supporting casts in constant flux. You'd be hard-pressed to think of a reason other than free agency for the decline of the NFL's dynastic era. Now it's time for the college game to grapple with that same issue. If anything, the collegiate version of free agency is even more radical than the NFL version. The NFL instituted a salary cap when it loosened its free agency restrictions, and players still signed multiyear contracts, the terms of which were public knowledge. Col- lege football has none of that. There's no cap, nearly unlimited freedom of movement, minimal oversight from an ever more embattled NCAA, and only a vague understanding among outside observers of the financial imperatives that drive transfer decisions. One of the big questions of this new era is whether free agency will have the same leveling effect on the college game that it had in the NFL. It's an especially big question at schools like Penn State that are striving to make the jump from the second tier of the sport's hierarchy to legitimate champi- onship contention. To date, the Nittany Lions have mostly benefitted from the transfer portal's roster-changing potential. And in two instances this year, their gains have come at the expense of teams in college football's top tier. Senior re- ceiver Julian Fleming left Ohio State to join the Lions, while sophomore cor- nerback A.J. Harris headed north after an unfulfilling season at Georgia. Penn State fans should feel encour- aged by Harris' reasons for choosing the Nittany Lions: The former four- star prospect from Phenix City, Ala., said he wanted to play for their coach- ing staff, notably veteran cornerbacks coach Terry Smith. He also wanted a PSU degree. "It was more so [a matter of] mak- ing the best decision for me to grow as a man and as a football player," he said. "Penn State has much more to offer than just football. To grow past football, grow in the academic lane [was impor- tant]. And then you've got somebody like Coach Terry. It was a no-brainer." As a freshman, Harris played in seven games and finished with 8 tackles, but he didn't see any game action after the Bulldogs' 43-20 win over Florida on Oct. 28. Having arrived in Athens as the No. 39 overall prospect and No. 3 cor- nerback in the On3 Industry Ranking, he came away from his debut season feeling as though he could find a better fit elsewhere. Fleming, meanwhile, was feeling less than fulfilled in Columbus. A five-star prospect from Catawissa, Pa., he was a solid receiver for the Buckeyes, but playing alongside the likes of Marvin Harrison Jr. and Jaxon Smith-Njigba made it hard to truly stand out. He'll have that opportunity at Penn State. Of course, one of the reasons Flem- ing's opportunity has arisen at PSU is because the team's depth chart at this position group is alarmingly thin. It was thin when he signed, and it suf- fered a significant blow in mid-April when senior KeAndre Lambert-Smith entered the portal himself. Depending on what happens over the next few weeks, the Nittany Lion wide receiver corps could provide an inter- esting data point in the debate over whether the transfer portal is a boon or a hindrance to programs like Penn State. The portal, in combination with the relaxation of NIL restrictions, really is destroying college football as we've known it all these years. There's no doubt about that. What remains to be seen, at least from the Nittany Lions' perspective, is whether that's for the better. ■ A.J. Harris was the No. 39 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking when he committed to Georgia. He ended up spending just one season with the Bulldogs before transferring to Penn State in January. PHOTO BY SEAN FITZ Portal Wreaks Creative Destruction — At PSU And Beyond VARSITY VIEWS