Two of the most important things going on in the college football world right now are bowl season and the transfer portal. Bowl games start next Saturday, and the transfer portal just opened up at the beginning of the week. Penn State football is taking on Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl, and James Franklin had a lot to say about the transfer portal in the press conference for the bowl game. The Nittany Lions head coach discussed tampering, and he inferred that Penn State waits until the portal is open to go to work.

Tampering is a big issue in college football. It is illegal to talk to players before the transfer portal is open and try to get them to come to your school, but it's clear that it happens. The Penn State football head coach took a little shot at coaches who do it during his Peach Bowl press conference.

“Well, the transfer portal opens tomorrow for us legally,” Franklin said, according to an article from Basic Blues Nation. “But for a lot of people, it’s been open for a while, which is concerning. But we’ll look into the best players available.”

Franklin is right. It's pretty clear that this happens because of the fact that some players already have a list of top schools right when they enter their name into the portal. If they haven't been in communication with the teams, how would that happen so fast? At the end of the day, Franklin and Penn State wait until the portal is open, and they look to build the best roster possible.

“We’re trying to create the most competitive roster that we possibly can,” James Franklin continued. “Our players understand that. We told him that when we recruited them, whether it’s high school players or whether it’s transfer portal guys. We just want to create as much competition as we possibly can in the locker room and go from there. But you know, that’s really what we’re looking for. As best players [as] available, and obviously guys that are the best fits for our locker room and our campus and community.”

The portal has now been open for almost a week, and Penn State has been going to work. The Nittany Lions seems like legitimate contenders to land some of their top targets. It will be interesting to see who they land for the 2024 season.

Penn State football will still play one final game in 2o23. The Nittany Lions and Rebels will kickoff in the Peach Bowl on December 30th from Atlanta. The game is at noon ET, and it will be airing on ESPN. Penn State is currently favored by 3.5 points.