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Purdue’s Barry Odom welcomes streamlined transfer portal system

On3 imageby: Tom Dienhart9 hours agoTomDienhart1
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(Krockover Photography)

Barry Odom worked the two transfer portals windows harder than any coach in America after last season upon his arrival from UNLV.

How busy was Odom? The first-year Purdue coach added 54 players via the portal–more than any school in the nation. But if he wants to add a similar number after this season, he’ll have one less portal window to utilize.

The NCAA FBS Oversight Committee voted recently to move to a single January transfer window and eliminate the spring window. The proposed lone transfer window would last 10 days, opening Jan. 2, 2026, one day after the College Football Playoff quarterfinals are completed.

“You gotta adjust,” said Odom. “You gotta adapt. You gotta make it work. And we will. We’ll have a really good plan for it.”

The Division I Administrative Committee must approve the legislative changes before it can take effect. The vote is expected to occur before Oct. 1.

“I’m in favor of one,” said Odom. “Most guys that are going to get in the portal, they know where they’re going anyway before they get in. So, we’ll be very aggressive to help build our roster for 2026 during that time.”

Odom has no choice but to embrace the coming change.

“I’m always going to be a believer in whatever it is, we’re going to make the most of it and the best of it,” said Odom. “And if we sit around, well, ‘why don’t we have two and all that,’ then that’s wasted energy and thought. So, we’ve got to have a great plan, be very select and direct on what we need to target during that window in January and find a way to get them.”

Purdue added 29 players in the spring window this past offseason, including QB Ryan Browne, LB Charles Correa, OL Marques Easley, S  Myles Slusher, WR Michael Jackson, WR Nitro Tuggle and OL Bradyn Joiner.

Players can commit and transfer to their next school at any time after their names have been entered into the portal. But Purdue will have to hustle to address its portal needs in the new lone portal window from January 2-11, as players must be signed and delivered in time to begin the spring academic semester on January 12, 2026.

“The thing I don’t want to lose sight of is, when school starts,” said Odom. “Each school is different times. Ours is early in January, so it’s a window of time to be able to get a guy in school with the time they need to. There’s a thing called graduation, and I care deeply about that. Everybody that we get in our program, if they haven’t graduated yet, it’s my job to make sure they graduate from college.”

How busy could Purdue be in the portal after the 2025 season?

“As far as numbers or what that looks like, we won’t have any idea yet until we get closer to the end of the season on how many transfers we’re going to take,” said Odom.

MORE: From UNLV to Big Ten: Purdue’s Barry Odom, USC’s Jayden Maiava set for reunion | First Look: USC | First and 10: Purdue-USC | Three Thoughts From The Weekend: Devin Mockobee, Purdue vs. USC and more | 25 years later, Purdue to honor 2000 Rose Bowl team| The 3-2-1: Talking Mockobee workload, football IQ, summer of George and more | Opponent View: USC

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