Bill O'Brien talks portal approach
Things were much different for Bill O’Brien’s Thursday press conference.
After O’Brien went viral on Tuesday, Coach spoke for 20 minutes at length (and much more quietly) on Thursday about everything ranging from SMU, to the Red Bandanna Game, to the team’s approach to the transfer portal.
The portal stuff stood out, as it’s really the first time we as a media group got in-depth with O’Brien on how things work at BC when it comes to adding or subtracting from the roster. Here’s what stood out:
On if there’s an emphasis on evaluation now as opposed to focusing on the present
“Yeah, there’s a lot that goes into that. That question would take a long time to answer. I’m not sure we have all that time…but yeah, look, this is a different age of college football. I think at BC, we’re never going to be the school that abandons what we’re all about here. This is a high-academic school. This is a school that teaches people about giving back to others. This is a school that’s very family-oriented. In the end, we do the best we can relative to what we can do within the football program. We’ll work at it. We’re always working on recruiting, always working on evaluations and things like that. That’s a daily operation. We’ll just keep plugging away and do the best we can.”
On if the staff can have an idea of who might be available in the portal from other teams before the season ends
“You know, you’re not allowed to tamper. So, there’s certain things you can do, but we certainly don’t have the ability to…we don’t have the staff size that some of the other schools can do, relative to monitoring all the teams that play college football. In pro football, when a guy becomes a free agent, when his contract runs out, there’s 32 teams. Everybody knows when the guy’s contract is going to run out. Everybody knows who the free agents are going to be. If you choose…if you’re a team that has a free agent and you choose to bring that guy back, you make him an offer and all that.
“In college football, everybody’s a free agent every single day of the week. Now, there’s only one portal window. So, to be able to track like, every school and every conference, not just in the Power 4, but also at the lower levels, I would say that’s virtually impossible at a place like BC. I’m just giving you the truth. So, we just try to do the best we can. If somebody calls us and says ‘hey, this guy’s interested in transferring,’ we’ll certainly watch him and do the best we can to evaluate him and make the best decision for BC. But, it’s tough. It’s the wild wild West because…essentially, every kid on this team when the portal opens up that has eligibility left – I don’t believe that they will – but they can all leave. Every guy has the choice to leave. So, you’ve got to do a great job of connecting with your own team, making sure your own team understands what the future looks like. I don’t really want to lose anybody. I like to develop players, get to know players and things like that…when the portal opens up, the whole team can leave. That’s the way it is right now.
“So, I think here, we do the best we can of monitoring that and see who fits us the best.”
On the process dealing with building a roster these days
“I think it’s important…there’s no excuses. This is a different era of college football. It changed very quickly. So, to understand all that goes into it right now, it will take time. Whether I’m the coach here or whoever’s the coach here, it takes time. It takes time to recruit. This freshman class that’s here right now is our first recruiting class, the ’25 class. Then, the ’26 class will be our second, the ’27…also, people say ‘quick fixes’ in the portal, but the portal’s tough. Like, in recruiting, you recruit a guy for two years, you get to know his family and really understand what he’s all about. The coach that coached him in high school, the teachers, the guidance counselors, all the people that helped bring him up in football…in the portal, you’ve got to make a quick decision. So, you’ve got to do the best you can understanding what this guy is all about. They can come in and visit…let’s just call it a 36 hour visit, it’s difficult. Especially in a place like BC.
“We’re doing the best we can with that and I think it’ll improve over time.”
On if he expected the college landscape to be like this
“I would say when I was at Alabama, this all started to happen, that players could be compensated…I saw it coming and then when I went to the Patriots, I was in pro football for a year, but I wasn’t blind to the fact that this was happening. I will say this – it’s happening very fast. It just takes a lot of thoughtful processes that…the big thing about BC is…you have to have a guy that really wants to go to class, that wants to get a meaningful degree that will take care of him for the rest of his life. You want a guy that really understands ‘hey I can really give back in the community, help out in the community.’ And you want a good football player.
“You have to do a great job of understanding those fits and I think that’s just what we try to do every day. There’s no overwhelming feeling or anything like that…it’s a fast-paced world out there. You’ve got to make quick, thoughtful decisions to the best of your ability.”
