Kolpack: Football portal quiet with Bison, not so much at Colorado

As of noon Friday, there were exactly three days and 12 hours remaining in the spring transfer portal period. And as of noon Friday when the portal opened on April 16, that means it’s been 10 days of peace and harmony with North Dakota State’s football team.

The days of who made a difference or who made strides in spring football have been replaced by who left? As of noon Friday, again things could change in a minute, the Bison lost one backup cornerback who didn’t play in a game after transferring from junior college.

In 2024, that seems almost remarkable.

If the Bison hold serve until the Aug. 29 season opener at the University of Colorado, that would be considered double remarkable. As for NDSU’s opponent, not so much.

Mike Farrell Sports, a website that tracks the transfer portal, reports that the Buffaloes have lost 24 players to the portal this spring, which does not include 12 that left after last season.

Can you imagine the reaction in Fargo if 36 players left the Bison after the Division I FCS semifinal loss at the University of Montana?

Anarchy. Drop the sport.

Furthermore, the transient nature of the CU team includes a YouTube video put out by a freshman cornerback that takes aim at Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders. Cormani McClain, a former five-star recruit, titled his 15 minutes “Next Step.”

He opens by answering questions that people have about his career that he says are from the social media site Instagram.

“I want to change the narrative of what everybody is thinking on my name,” he said. “Be a part of a real and great program that is going to impact me and my ability.”

Bam. Shot fired at the CU program and presumably Sanders.

McClain rebuffs apparent questions on his academic standing, saying he’s getting As and Bs. He says he wants to go to a program that develops players. Bam, another shot fired. The next 13-plus minutes is video of McClain working out.

It’s quite the production that following his Q&A includes video of McClain stretching out at a place that appears to be a high-end living quarters.

This is next-level transfer portal stuff.

Say this about McClain: he looks very fast on a stationary bike. The video shots are from all different angles; this is no cell phone placed on the floor. It morphs into McClain squatting that seems to be a decent amount of weight for a cornerback to slow music that seems more fitting to put an insomniac to sleep at night.

Not sure what the point of the weight lifting session is meant for any school looking at re-recruiting him. The guy is in shape, we get that with the shirtless plank exercise.

NDSU had some drama with portal defections in 2022 when starting cornerback Courtney Eubanks and key safety backup Dom Jones left after the FCS playoffs. Running back Kobe Johnson, a team captain, left soon after. There were others that hit the portal, like cornerback Marques Sigle before the playoffs started.

But they left, quietly, and didn’t produce a YouTube video for all to see.

NDSU’s biggest drama this spring was the offensive line being flagged for illegal procedure on the first two plays of the Spring Showcase event last Saturday, which prompted a not-so-nice response from head coach Tim Polasek, who was mic-ed up over the Fargodome sound system.

In a radio interview on 740-The Fan not too long ago, Mark Johnson, the play-by-play voice of CU football, acknowledged he had no idea what the Buffaloes’ lineup is going to look like when the Bison come to town. Perhaps nobody does, even Coach Prime himself.

We’re pretty sure of this: there will be no shortage of talent with CU, starting with quarterback Shadeur Sanders and wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter. Those two alone will be a load for the Bison to handle.

But what about the other factors of football? Like teamwork? Communication? Team bonding? Playing for the guy next to you?

Does it matter anymore? Will those intangible factors play into the Aug. 29 season opener? Sanders said in an interview last week he trusts his recruiters and said his team will be just fine.

The Bison, meanwhile, have one known offer to a defensive back from the University of Albany. Otherwise their biggest issue right now is to get a few guys healthy, which is expected to happen by summer workouts. A big assist in keeping players goes to The Green and The Gold Collective.

Nobody appears to be in the process of putting out a YouTube video.