The college football offseason isn’t quite here yet, but one of the most important aspects of it is. The transfer portal opened up on December 9th, and it will be an important tool for the Missouri football team this offseason. Head coach Eliah Drinkwitz led the Tigers to another solid year this season as they went 9-3, but if they want to consistently compete in the SEC, they will have to continue to add elite talent. That is exactly what the transfer portal is for.

Last season, the Missouri football team came out nowhere in the SEC and finished with a 10-2 overall record in the regular season. The Tigers had struggled in prior years, so it was a bit surprising to see. They also went on to beat Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, so Missouri finished the year with an 11-2 record. Eliah Drinkwitz instantly became one of the hottest coaches in college football, and expectations were high for his squad coming into this year.

With the schedule that the Missouri football team had, a lot of people thought that they could make a run to the College Football Playoff. Unfortunately, the Tigers didn’t quite meet expectations, but they still finished the regular season ranked #19 in the country. It certainly could’ve been a lot worse.

Drinkwitz wants to get this team ready for a CFP run next season, and he can make that happen by hitting the transfer portal hard. Here are a few players that the Tigers should have their eyes on.

Fernando Mendoza, QB, California

California Golden Bears quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) throws a pass against the Stanford Cardinal during the fourth quarter at California Memorial Stadium.
© Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

One position of interest for the Missouri football team in the transfer portal is quarterback. Brady Cook has been a great QB for the Tigers, but they will need someone else to step in next season. Cal transfer Fernando Mendoza is one to watch for Missouri. Mendoza is one of the best QBs in the transfer portal as he finished this season 265-386 for 3,004 yards, 16 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He completed 68.7% of his passes. Mendoza has a bright future.

Marcellus Marshall, IOL, UCF

Another area that needs to be addressed this offseason for the Missouri football team is their offensive line. Football games are often won at the line of scrimmage, and if the Tigers want to compete with the best of the best, they will need to be strong on the offensive line. Marcellus Marshall is transferring from UCF, and he is one of the best IOL in the portal. He could potentially be a good fit for the Tigers.

Miles McVay, OT, Alabama

Lastly, we have Alabama OT transfer Miles McVay. This is another offensive lineman that could come in and make an immediate impact with the Missouri football team. There are some other positions of need for the Tigers, but the offensive line might be the most crucial in the game, so that’s why we went with two players on this list. McVay has already played in the SEC, and he might want to stay put in the conference.

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This is definitely a big offseason for Eliah Drinkwitz and Missouri, and it will be interesting to see who they can land in the transfer portal as the preparation for 2025 is beginning before 2024 even ends. The Tigers still have one more game as they will take on Iowa in the Music City Bowl.

Transfer portal overview

One of the biggest parts of the college football offseason is the transfer portal, and the festivities begin before the offseason actually starts. Teams that didn’t qualify for the postseason have entered their offseason, but there are a lot of teams that still have bowl games to play. The transfer portal opened up on December 9th, so it creates some issues for players that want to transfer but still have a season going.

The transfer portal is a massive part of college football now, and there are definitely positives and negatives to it. One of the biggest issues that people have with it is the timing of the first window. It is open in early December so players can pick a new school and start the next semester there when January rolls around. However, it does create issues as we have already seen players this year on College Football Playoff teams have to miss out on the opportunity to participate in the CFP because of their transfer.

On the flip side, the transfer portal gives teams a chance to completely rebuild their squad in just one offseason. New head coaches can come in and bring in a lot of experienced players from the jump, and it can make for a quick turnaround. Any team has hope in the offseason because of the transfer portal.

The transfer portal opened up for the first time this season on December 9th and it will stay open until December 28th. This window is the main window where a lot of the action takes place, but the transfer portal will open again in the spring.

From April 16th until April 25th, the transfer portal will be back open. That way, players can go through spring ball and have a better idea of what their upcoming season will look like. If they aren’t satisfied, they can leave. We even sometimes see players that transferred in the first window transfer again in the second window, sometimes back to their original school.

The transfer portal is a crucial part of the offseason, and we will be hearing a lot about it from now until the end of the spring.