U of M's Koi Perich is in the transfer portal?

[StickierBuns]

What happened? He's rated the 8th best option in the portal currently. What's the story?

[purplefaithful]

I wasn't happy about it.

I think he wants to see what his options are at this point of his journey...Thats what he's saying publicly and I believe him.

Lots of $$ at stake in the interim. I dont blame him. Sadly, programs like the Gophs are training camps for the big nil $ programs now...

Portal makes it so much easier to move around.
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Koi Perich, the star safety from Esko, Minn., who just completed his sophomore season with the Gophers, intends to enter his name into the transfer portal and explore his collegiate options.

Perich, who earned second-team All-America honors from The Sporting News as a freshman in 2024, has not ruled out returning to the Gophers.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel was the first to report the development. The transfer portal opened Friday, Jan. 2, and runs through Jan. 16.

The top-ranked recruit in Minnesota in the 2024 class and the fifth-ranked safety nationally, Perich chose to stay home with the Gophers despite a late push from national power Ohio State on the final weekend before the early signing period.

“It was super close. It came down to the last day,” Perich said during Big Ten Football Media Days in July. “Ohio State is Ohio State, and what I liked more about Minnesota was ultimately just their NFL safeties and what they did in that.”

Where might Perich end up if he doesn’t return to the Gophers? Look for potential national title contenders to be in the mix.

Ohio State, the runner-up for Perich’s services in 2024, is a possibility. The Buckeyes are expected to lose star safety Caleb Downs to the NFL draft, and Perich could be a replacement.

Don’t sleep on Oregon, which advanced to the CFP semifinals with a victory over Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl. The Ducks added former Purdue standout safety Dillon Thieneman from the transfer portal last year and could follow that route with Perich.

Miami (Fla.), another national semifinalist after beating Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31, could be an option, with former Gophers defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman running the Hurricanes defense.

Strib

[JR44]

It is a bummer that this is what college football has become, most schools are just becoming a resource for the top programs to continue to stay on top. If he stays where he is at, he still gets drafted and becomes a NFL player, but going to one of the big 5 he gets a chance to play for a national championship, most likely more NIL money and possibly getting drafted higher. And unfortunately it is the same dynamic for the coaches as well.

Similar to what we see in professional sports with superstars leaving for bigger market and more competitive teams when they reach free agency. Look at Ohtani who was highly successful with the Angels, but in two years with the Dodgers has won two World Series and made even more money in endorsements. Big difference is that at least in pro sports the players are locked in for a number of years where in college they can go anytime now.

[JimmyinSD]

I think it's just a matter of time before the rest of the FBS says FOff to the power house programs and starts their own series,  they likely take a bunch of the lower bowl games with them,  but they will become more interesting as their talent levels will be more in line with their competitors. It would be a gamble to leave that money,  but I think it would create more interest in many of those programs and some of that money would follow.  I just dont see a bright future for most FBS programs under the current format.

[Vikergirl]

College football is business and he made a business decision

[purplefaithful]

Perich, an Esko, Minn., native, is a dynamic safety and return ace who became a fan favorite in high school and as a freshman in 2024. He will play his junior season with the Ducks, a team that reached the College Football Playoff the past two years.

Though Perich has not spoken publicly about why he decided to leave the Gophers after two seasons, he reportedly wants to play for a team that is a playoff contender, a status the Gophers have yet to reach. Oregon won the Big Ten and made the playoff quarterfinals in 2024, then advanced to the semifinals before falling to Indiana in the Peach Bowl this season.

Perich visited Oregon over the weekend after making a visit to Texas Tech earlier in the week. Texas Tech lost to the Ducks in the CFP quarterfinals in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1.

Strib

[mblack]

Good for him. I’ll start caring when the program as a whole deals with coaches who make insane amount of money don’t honor contracts and hold schools ransom when they get fired especially when they don’t live up to the large wages they commanded in the first place.
100% behind any college athlete who thinks they can get a better deal somewhere else.

[comet52]

College football now makes me think of this song.

[RS_Express]

Oh, well. On the positive (?) side, WR Troy Diaz from UTRGV (67 catches 881 yards as a freshman), one of the more coveted portal WR's, was offered by Alabama Thursday and scheduled to visit Tuscaloosa Friday night. Friday afternoon, Diaz tweeted that he was committed... to IOWA. Not a typo. A WR just turned down Alabama for Iowa. There might be hope for the world yet.