Transfer portal and NIL deals shaking up college football in Oregon

'It’s pretty wild -- it's almost like semi pro football at this point.'

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Outside of bowl games, NFL draft decisions and recruit commitments, the transfer portal has become the new college football focus at this time of year.

With players able to make money off their name, image and likeness, schools large and small feel the shakeup every year, including Summit High grad Ben Graziani and his Southern Oregon Raiders. 

“It's pretty crazy,” Graziani said. “I mean, it's a lot different than how it first was when I got to college.”

Graziani graduated from Summit High in 2018, and joined the Raiders as a wide receiver in the fall.

Since then, he’s seen quite a change in collegiate sports.

“There’s definitely a lot more movement and uncertainty, I would say,” Graziani said. 

In the fall of his freshman year, the NCAA introduced the transfer portal, which allowed student athletes to play for a new school, if they sit out their first year with the college.

In April 2021, the rule was eliminated, and players could transfer schools and start the next season.

“There were transfers coming in and out beforehand -- it's just more frequent now,” Graziani said. 

Southern Oregon is an NAIA school, which is a lot smaller, compared to the FCS Division 1 schools like Oregon and Oregon State.

However, Graziani said transfers at the top often create a trickle effect down to his level.

“Every year, we have starters coming in and out, including our quarterback, who was starting this most recent season and is actually a transfer from Missouri State,” Graziani said. 

Coming off a 9-3 regular season, Oregon State only has one player in the transfer portal - quarterback Chance Nolan, according to On3.com.

The University of Oregon, also with a 9-3 regular season, has seventeen players in the portal looking to leave, including linebacker Justin Flowe, running back Sean Dollars, and wide receiver Dont'e Thornton, among others. 

Another wrinkle comes from the June 2021 change to NIL, which allows college athletes to make money off of their name, image and likeness.

“The NIL money is almost the most important thing kids are looking for now when transferring schools,” Graziani said. “It’s pretty wild -- it's almost like semi-pro football at this point.”

While Graziani and his teammates are not seeing any million-dollar deals, he has no issue with players going where it makes sense for them.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say it's good or bad," Graziani said. "I think kids definitely deserve to make money off their name -- and it's all money that they’re earning, so it's not like they’re being handed anything.”