In recent years, college football has been plagued by players transferring from one team to another. Often, more than a third of players have entered the portal since the rules were changed. Some argue that this constant roster turnover is ruining the game and turning college sports into a bidding war. Well, coaching legend Urban Meyer has a solution.
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It should be noted that the new transfer rules have done some good for college football. They have given some players who were overlooked as high schoolers a chance to work their way into a blue-chip school. They have also allowed players who get caught up in unfortunate circumstances the opportunity to control their destiny.
However, there seems to be more bad than good with the new transfer portal. It has left the football landscape very volatile when it comes to who’s playing where. It has also left little room for player development, as coaches simply look for a better player if they run into roadblocks.
And that’s why Meyer is suggesting that college football only allow one free transfer. After that, another transfer would bring players back to the old rules of having to sit out for a year.
“I think that there’s a big push in agreement that there should be a one-time. You get a one-time, not exempt. So, you can transfer one time, and then it’s over; you have to sit for a year if you transfer again,” Meyer stated on his podcast, The Triple Option.
It’s an interesting suggestion, and the former Ohio State HC believes it would completely stomp out players transferring two, three, and sometimes four times. He’s probably right as well. But now that things are the way they are, it might be a harsh rule to suddenly implement.
Meyer doesn’t seem to care, though. He believes players already get too many exceptions, arguing that there needs to be harsher consequences for transferring one too many times.
“I added that I thought the graduate student exemption should also be in there. And you brought up earlier when the coach leaves,” Meyer told his guest Mark Ingram. “I just think that’s too many exceptions. But you get one shot, Mark. If you don’t like where you’re at, you can leave without penalty.”
College football players certainly get a ton more exceptions than they used to. Meyer is probably not used to it and wants to see it a bit more restrained.
On this week’s show: Players should get one free transfer. That’s it. @wendys pic.twitter.com/AZ2pmKSv6e
— Urban Meyer (@CoachUrbanMeyer) February 23, 2026
But how do we reverse the transfer rules that have already been put in place? After all, some players are bound to be wronged if this were ever implemented. There are plenty of players who have already transferred and are thinking about doing it again this offseason. Imagine if they were suddenly told that doing that would incur a one-year sit-out penalty?
At the end of the day, the new transfer rules have turned college football into a mess. However, it hasn’t been so much of a mess that it’s deterred people from watching. In fact, viewership for the sport is higher than ever and continues to grow yearly.
With this in mind, maybe we don’t need to consider Meyer’s proposals at all. Sometimes chaos is the best form of entertainment. And in a day and age where college football feels like the Wild Wild West, they continue to strike gold with every rule change when it comes to viewership.
