A few thoughts while I try to get a handle on things from the Garden State…
For two nights in a row, Pitt has been front and center in the national sports conversation. On Thursday night, that was good because it was about Kenny Pickett getting drafted by the Steelers.
On Friday night, it wasn’t so good, and you know why.
Rumors about Jordan Addison entertaining a transfer out of Pitt started emerging Friday afternoon, and by the evening - right about the time I was getting ready to board my flight out of Pittsburgh - it became apparent that not only were the rumors were accurate about Addison considering a transfer, but also that he was likely to make that very decision and leave.
To say many were shocked would be an understatement. I don’t think anyone at Pitt saw this coming, and certainly those of us on the outside who heard Addison proclaim his allegiance to the Panthers four months ago didn’t expect it.
But here we are, with Addison’s potential move making national news and bringing inevitable - and not altogether unjustified - discussion about the state of college football and what this all means for the future of the sport.
While NIL deals are certainly a big part of that conversation and will be in play for Addison should he choose to go to USC (or even if he chooses to stay at Pitt), I don’t think that’s the entirety of it. The bigger issue here is the tampering.
As of Friday afternoon, Addison wasn’t in the transfer portal. He may have informed Pitt’s compliance department of his intention to enter, but that doesn’t happen immediately upon notification and he might not even show up until Monday.
(Fun fact about the transfer portal: coaches can’t see the listings of players from their own schools. Usually they know anyway, but a Pitt coach can’t go into the transfer portal and see what players from Pitt are in there.)
But let’s be real: the scenario of Addison walking into Pitt’s compliance office at 4 pm, telling them he wants to transfer and then walking out to a fortuitously timed call from Lincoln Riley is nonsense.
Those conversations didn’t start with Addison informing the compliance office of his intent to transfer (if he has even done that). Those conversations started before that. Maybe a few days, maybe a few weeks, but they started before Friday.
And that’s tampering.
Now, of course, there are ways around some of the rules. There are loosely-connected or not-connected-at-all parties who can act as intermediaries on both sides (the player and the school). They can have the necessary contact to get things in place before anything official actually happens.
I’m sure there has been some of that in this situation, and I do think the connection with USC quarterback Caleb Williams played into this. But I also wouldn’t be surprised to learn that more “official” USC parties were in contact as well.
Just like Addison heard from coaches at other schools as soon as the Peach Bowl ended (and maybe before), I think it’s safe to assume he’s been talking to people at USC.
This is the reality. And this is the problem.
The NIL system has its issues, of course. The conferences - they’re the ones who can actually make rules with teeth - need to find a way to make it an actual system, although I’m not confident that those organizations are inclined to do anything that could limit their top teams’ winning potential.
But the tampering is a big problem that has to be figured out. And I’m not sure what the solution is.
Really, it’s tough on this Saturday morning to see what any solutions are. Regardless of what Addison decides to do, the fact that his consideration of a transfer became the major story that it did shows just what kind of moment this is for college football:
A lot of people, from fans to media to coaches, are dangerously close to becoming disillusioned with the whole thing. If this can happen, if the Biletnikoff Award winner on a team with the returning and added talent to legitimately fancy itself a College Football Playoff contender, can bail for his final year of college football, is anyone safe?
Right now, it doesn’t feel like it.
A couple other things:
- I don't think anything is done yet, but it sure feels like Addison is heading elsewhere.
- There will obviously be NIL enticements, but I have been told that's not the entirety of his motivation. He's got NIL deals at Pitt and would likely get more; he seems to be driven by more private motivations, and I'm not sure that anyone really understands it.
- I do believe that most people around Addison are trying to convince him to stay, just like they did when Texas tried to lure him in December/January.
- Pitt is not going down without a fight. Addison took a lot of calls yesterday from people in and around the program.
- The deadline to enter the transfer portal is May 1, so whatever the outcome is going to be here, we'll know something relatively soon.
For two nights in a row, Pitt has been front and center in the national sports conversation. On Thursday night, that was good because it was about Kenny Pickett getting drafted by the Steelers.
On Friday night, it wasn’t so good, and you know why.
Rumors about Jordan Addison entertaining a transfer out of Pitt started emerging Friday afternoon, and by the evening - right about the time I was getting ready to board my flight out of Pittsburgh - it became apparent that not only were the rumors were accurate about Addison considering a transfer, but also that he was likely to make that very decision and leave.
To say many were shocked would be an understatement. I don’t think anyone at Pitt saw this coming, and certainly those of us on the outside who heard Addison proclaim his allegiance to the Panthers four months ago didn’t expect it.
But here we are, with Addison’s potential move making national news and bringing inevitable - and not altogether unjustified - discussion about the state of college football and what this all means for the future of the sport.
While NIL deals are certainly a big part of that conversation and will be in play for Addison should he choose to go to USC (or even if he chooses to stay at Pitt), I don’t think that’s the entirety of it. The bigger issue here is the tampering.
As of Friday afternoon, Addison wasn’t in the transfer portal. He may have informed Pitt’s compliance department of his intention to enter, but that doesn’t happen immediately upon notification and he might not even show up until Monday.
(Fun fact about the transfer portal: coaches can’t see the listings of players from their own schools. Usually they know anyway, but a Pitt coach can’t go into the transfer portal and see what players from Pitt are in there.)
But let’s be real: the scenario of Addison walking into Pitt’s compliance office at 4 pm, telling them he wants to transfer and then walking out to a fortuitously timed call from Lincoln Riley is nonsense.
Those conversations didn’t start with Addison informing the compliance office of his intent to transfer (if he has even done that). Those conversations started before that. Maybe a few days, maybe a few weeks, but they started before Friday.
And that’s tampering.
Now, of course, there are ways around some of the rules. There are loosely-connected or not-connected-at-all parties who can act as intermediaries on both sides (the player and the school). They can have the necessary contact to get things in place before anything official actually happens.
I’m sure there has been some of that in this situation, and I do think the connection with USC quarterback Caleb Williams played into this. But I also wouldn’t be surprised to learn that more “official” USC parties were in contact as well.
Just like Addison heard from coaches at other schools as soon as the Peach Bowl ended (and maybe before), I think it’s safe to assume he’s been talking to people at USC.
This is the reality. And this is the problem.
The NIL system has its issues, of course. The conferences - they’re the ones who can actually make rules with teeth - need to find a way to make it an actual system, although I’m not confident that those organizations are inclined to do anything that could limit their top teams’ winning potential.
But the tampering is a big problem that has to be figured out. And I’m not sure what the solution is.
Really, it’s tough on this Saturday morning to see what any solutions are. Regardless of what Addison decides to do, the fact that his consideration of a transfer became the major story that it did shows just what kind of moment this is for college football:
A lot of people, from fans to media to coaches, are dangerously close to becoming disillusioned with the whole thing. If this can happen, if the Biletnikoff Award winner on a team with the returning and added talent to legitimately fancy itself a College Football Playoff contender, can bail for his final year of college football, is anyone safe?
Right now, it doesn’t feel like it.
A couple other things:
- I don't think anything is done yet, but it sure feels like Addison is heading elsewhere.
- There will obviously be NIL enticements, but I have been told that's not the entirety of his motivation. He's got NIL deals at Pitt and would likely get more; he seems to be driven by more private motivations, and I'm not sure that anyone really understands it.
- I do believe that most people around Addison are trying to convince him to stay, just like they did when Texas tried to lure him in December/January.
- Pitt is not going down without a fight. Addison took a lot of calls yesterday from people in and around the program.
- The deadline to enter the transfer portal is May 1, so whatever the outcome is going to be here, we'll know something relatively soon.
