Portal shopping isn’t the same for everybody.
How college football and basketball programs shop their respective transfer portals is as different as Costco and 7-Eleven. One outlet is designed to fill up a grocery cart while the other is perfect for grabbing an item or two and getting on your way.
The numbers game in today’s game has Kalani Sitake at 7-Eleven and Kevin Young at Costco.
With a roster size of 105 players for football, an expensive overhaul was out of the question — and unneeded. Sitake retained the best of what he had from last year’s 12-2 team and then he went shopping to pick up a few things.
For example, with their future tight ends serving missions, the Cougars went to the portal and signed tight ends Walker Lyons (USC) and Roger Saleapaga II (Oregon) to fill the void left by the graduated Carsen Ryan. Needing to replace the graduated Jack Kelly at linebacker, BYU inked Cade Uluave (Cal) and Jake Clifton (Kansas State). Receiver Chase Roberts graduated and the Cougars signed Kyler Kasper (Oregon) to replace him.
To win this fall, Sitake needs mass participation — 11 quality players on offense, defense and special teams. If some of those starters are superstars — all the better. He will also need plenty of depth to offset injuries and foster the growth of future starters.
If he was starting from scratch, he’d be buying in bulk at Costco — but he’s not. Sitake’s highly praised team culture is a decade in the making and the Cougars’ 23-4 combined record over the last two seasons reflects the benefits of patience, development, long-term recruiting and poignant portal additions.
Basketball rolls differently, where the right five guys can turn a team into a national champion. Just ask Michigan. The Wolverines won this year’s title with a starting five comprised entirely from the transfer portal.
With imitation still the greatest form of flattery, the new blueprint is out, and the mad rush is on for BYU and everybody else to find players. Shopping used to be a quest for the right ingredients to cook up a masterpiece. Today, it’s all about ready-to-eat meals and microwaves — same goes for college hoops.
That is why Young is pushing around a big cart at Costco. He has a big list. Of the 17 players that were on his roster last month, only six remain, including AJ Dybantsa who is expected to be the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft, Rob Wright III, who withdrew from the portal on Wednesday to rejoin the Cougars, and Dawson Baker, who suffered a massive knee injury last November.
By yesterday’s standard, the flurry of departures would be alarming. But if there is an upside to the upheaval in today’s game, it is the accountability for results. Players get paid, but they are on the hook to produce, and if they fall short, they can get replaced (almost like a professional). Coaches are accountable too, and part of their responsibility is to fix what isn’t working.
Even with the nation’s top player, BYU fell short last season with a quick exit in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. There were several reasons for their demise, with injuries most notably, but the second the season ended, all that mattered for Young and his staff was what they were going to do to make next year better.
The departures and arrivals are a sign of the times, and also an indicator that Young isn’t taking losing lightly. Already his additions include five-star phenom Bruce Branch III, Kentucky transfer Collin Chandler, Syracuse transfer Tyler Betsey, Clemson transfer Jake Wahlin, Timpview prep star Dean Rueckert, and returned missionary Brooks Bahr — and others are coming.
Eventually the dust will settle, and a new roster will be in place with plenty of time to prepare for next season. Watching it come together adds some spice to April and May, but it’s the product they put on the field Sept. 5 against Utah Tech and on the Delta Center court Nov. 2 against Ohio State that matters most.
That’s when we find out what kind of shoppers they were after they both perused the transfer portal as differently as a Costco and a 7-Eleven.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.