Ross Dellenger breaks down Lane Kiffin's comments about Bryce Young, CFB free agency
Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated recently sat down with Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin to discuss several hot-button issues surrounding college football.
In the wide-ranging interview, Kiffin weighed in on the current state of what is basically college football free agency. At one point, he wondered why a guy like Alabama QB Bryce Young didn’t enter the transfer portal after the 2021 season:
Why did Bryce Young not go into the portal? If you are advising Bryce Young, why do you not go into the portal and walk into Nick Saban’s office and say, ‘Hey, I want to be here, but I’ve got to protect myself so I’m going to go into the portal. And I want to come back as long as it’s matched with what I get out there.’ The kid would make 10 times what he would have made. How’s that not going to happen all the time? It should. It will.
On Thursday, Dellenger dove into those comments from Kiffin more during an appearance on “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning” on WJOX, likening college football’s situation to current NFL free agency:
.@SINow's own @RossDellenger joined @MacandCube to discuss his recent interview with @Lane_Kiffin, and the @OleMissFB head coach's comments regarding Bryce Young & 'unregulated free agency' within college football. pic.twitter.com/6CxG4vPV5X
— WJOX 94.5 FM (@WJOX945) May 26, 2022
Will we see more top players enter the portal to try to drive up their value in the coming years? Kiffin thinks so. And, if this offseason’s situation with Biletnikoff Award-winning WR Jordan Addison, who transferred from Pitt to USC, is any indication, that trend is already here.
Relationships matter. Going scorched earth and threatening with the portal or threatening at all is extreme. I would hope Young and most of these players would be smart enough to negotiate more intelligently than that.
Yeah, I don’t think that would fly with many coaches. I understand the money part, but there has to be some loyalty there, and an understanding that you are going to get paid even more money as a top 5 pick. Bama has a GOOD 4* QB with a year of experience behind Young, and a 5* from this recruiting cycle. With the offensive skill players on the team, Young may have been asked if he needed help packing. You do not want to lose a Heisman winning QB, but being held hostage by one would set a very poor and dangerous precedent.
Excellent comment, 8×5. A lot of coaches would not make it so easy to move back into the fold if some 19yo tried to throw his weight around as Kiffin is suggesting.