Big 12 Coach Awarded Title of ‘GOAT of Transfer Portal’ by SEC Counterpart

Like it or not, the transfer portal has become a major part of college football and isn’t going away anytime soon. That said, some coaches and programs have adapted to it better than others. But while the transfer portal can cause coaches extra stress, they can also use it to their advantage.

Recently, On3 Sports posed the question asking which coach is the “GOAT” of the transfer portal. And to some surprise, one of the candidates feels one of the other coaches is the right answer.

The always outspoken Lane Kiffin, now entering his fifth year as head coach at Ole Miss, said “Coach Prime” as his response to seeing the question on X (formerly Twitter).

Obviously, “Coach Prime” refers to Colorado head coach Deion Sanders. Oregon’s Danny Lanning was the other candidate provided on the poll.

Coach Prime!!!! @CUBuffsFootball https://t.co/PYbnlCHRoA

— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) July 9, 2024

This comes just a couple months after Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt labeled Kiffin the “Transfer Portal King.”

And while Kiffin, and Lanning as well, have both heavily used the portal as a way to quickly retool and reshape their rosters, no coach has been more active than Sanders.

The football legend as a player, both in college at Florida State and then throughout a Hall of Fame career in the NFL, instantly started using the transfer portal just like professional free agency since taking over the Buffaloes in 2023.

Sanders, or “Coach Prime” as he likes to be called, swapped out half of his roster throughout this offseason. Since the end of the 2023 season, Colorado has seen 44 players depart, often times sending them packing, and has added 41 through the portal. Those numbers still pale in comparison to the 55 exits and 50 additions from his first year with Colorado.

With Colorado back in the Big 12, West Virginia and the rest of the conference will now be competing directly against Sanders and his aggressive portal ways.