One-time transfer rule 'adds another layer' to the process for Harsin

The transfer portal has been evolving throughout college sports for several years now and the one-time transfer rule was just the next step in that transition.

For Bryan Harsin, who’s working to rebuild a roster that lost 11 in the transfer portal, it provides an opportunity to revamp the roster quickly with experienced players.

"Yeah, it's interesting to be able to have the ability to bring in players now and have the immediate eligibility,” Harsin said. “That's one thing. I think it just adds another layer to the recruiting process that we already have.”

So far, Auburn has brought in graduate transfers Tony Fair, Dreshun Miller, Eku Leota and Bydarrius Knighten. None of which require the one-time transfer rule to be eligible in 2021.

However, the recruitment of Vanderbilt transfer Donovan Kaufman and Marcus Harris from Kansas are impacted by the one-time transfer rule.

And, for Kaufman, the SEC’s upcoming ruling on intraconference one-time transfer rules will be impacted.

But as Auburn looks to keep loading up through the transfer portal, continuing to bring in young talent is still important for Harsin.

“But the high school players are still extremely important,” Harsin said. “Recruiting to where, you know as you think about your team, you lose a quarter of your team and you bring a quarter of your team in. You've still got to manage the numbers at positions. You've still got to manage how many you're going to lose when guys graduate. So you've got to be careful of stacking and having too many in the same class. And so I think it just adds another layer to the process.”

It’s a careful balance of bringing in young talent and guys who have already proved they can compete at the collegiate level.

“You're able to address some immediate needs with guys that can come in and play that you know can play,” Harsin said. “You've seen them play, you've seen them play at this level and can help you. It's just every program's going to have their own philosophy on how many transfers they take or what that looks like with their high school recruiting and the guys they can bring in, you know, that are elite players or high school players.”

For Harsin and Auburn, continuing to add players through the portal and using blueshirt scholarships that count towards the 2022 recruiting class seems to be a primary option. How many it chooses to add, though, is still yet to be determined.

“You know, I don't have an answer for that for us right now as we're working through it, but it's certainly something,” Harsin said about how many players they’ll look to add. “That portal's interesting every day. You see there's new guys in it.”

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