NC State coach Dave Doeren supports the change in transfer portal, just one winter window

After months of deliberation, college football is headed to a single transfer portal window. The NCAA Division I Administration Committee approved the single window, abolishing the spring portal timeframe, On3’s Pete Nakos reported Wednesday.

NC State coach Dave Doeren, a 13-year veteran at the helm of the Wolfpack, supported the idea of only having one free agency period within the sport. 

“I think it’s better for roster management,” Doeren said Thursday. “I don’t know what the perfect zone of the calendar is because our calendar seems to change every year right now. I like that it’s after most of the bowl games, I think that’s a positive. There’s way too many guys opting out to transfer. All we do is talk about finish, so giving them a calendar that allows them to finish what they started, I think is a good move.”

It’s unclear when the actual portal window will be as the NCAA is still evaluating its options, but the Division I Football Oversight Committee proposed for it to be 10 days from Jan. 2-11. 

Although the exact dates are still up in the air, Doeren was in favor of not having to re-recruit his entire roster twice a year. He can speak from experience, too, as wide receiver Dacari Collins and linebacker Kamal Bonner both entered the portal after spring practice, landing at Louisville and Miami, respectively. 

Instead of going through spring practice and then having players depart after the program put time and effort into them, Doeren liked the fact he would know what his roster would look like for the following season at the start of the spring semester.

“Having one window I think is a good move,” Doeren said. “There shouldn’t be two times a year where we have to worry about guys leaving. If they sign a deal with you, they should be with you for at least one calendar year. I think it’s way better than what we had. Is this going to be the perfect window? I think we’ll just have to do what we’ve been doing. It’s a new era. You try something, you think it’s going to work, and then you assess it afterwards and see what the problems were.”

Doeren in favor of eliminating redshirts with 5-for-5 legislation

While the single transfer portal window was a positive, Doeren also voiced his opinion on the five-for-five legislation that has been shopped around. That rule change would make every college football player have five years to play five seasons, eliminating the redshirt policy in the process. 

Why is Doeren in favor of it? It, in his opinion, would cut down on tampering by agents and other schools trying to get a player with a redshirt available to use it before going into the portal, essentially quitting on a season. 

“I would just love for that to pass,” Doeren said. “I think the four-game redshirt rule was created so we could give some guys a chance to play a little bit so after they redshirt, they’d be ready to play. It’s turned into leverage for other teams to try to get guys to transfer and agents to try to get guys to save years so they can get more money for them potentially.”

Doeren knows this story all too well. He dealt with then-sophomore quarterback MJ Morris electing to redshirt after he made four straight starts — he posted a 3-1 record over that stretch — following Brennan Armstrong’s benching in 2023. 

That decision, eventually, led Morris to entering the transfer portal after the season concluded. Morris landed at Maryland, where he appeared in seven games but only attempted 10 or more passes in two , before transferring to Coastal Carolina this past offseason. Morris started the Chanticleers’ first two games before he was benched after throwing for 265 yards with no touchdown passes and four interceptions.

Now, as NC State hits the four-game mark this week at Duke, the Wolfpack could have some decisions to make when it comes to preserving some redshirts over the rest of the season. NC State has five freshmen that have appeared in all three games — linebacker Ke’Von Carter, wide receiver Teddy Hoffmann, offensive lineman Spike Sowells, safety Tristan Teasdell and defensive lineman Josiah Victor — so they have just one game to play before officially burning their redshirt.

It’s likely none of those players will keep their redshirt, but linebacker LaCorian Hodge has played in just one game so far and quarterback Will Wilson has appeared in two games to this point. 

For Doeren, the decision to sit someone to keep a year of eligibility is on a case-by-case basis.

“We’re trying to win games, and if there’s conversations to be had because a guy’s in that area, then we have them. Ultimately, it comes down to one-on-one conversations with guys,” Doeren said. “Some guys want to play, they don’t care. Some guys are worried about how much they’re playing, ‘can you use me when you need me?’ They understand that we need to win games and injuries happen, that’s going to override the four games. If they’ve got to play, then they’re going to play.”

But if the five-for-five legislation were to go through, then Doeren and coaches around the country wouldn’t have to worry about the redshirt rules moving forward. Not only that, but it would also be helpful as the FBS roster cap will limit teams to having just 105 players moving forward.

“Let them play for five years. Let them play as much as they can for five years, and get that stuff out of there,” Doeren said. “Especially now that we’re at a 105 [player] roster limit, it makes sense to have more available players because of attrition. … I’ve talked to a lot of coaches in other leagues, coaches in our league, and there’s a lot of people in favor of that. I hope they do the right thing and grant that rule. I think it would really help college football.”