CFB coaches frustrated by roster limit uncertainty ahead of spring portal window

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For months, college football staffs have been planning and bracing for a world with a 105-man roster limit, a byproduct of the House v. NCAA settlement.

But schools were thrown a curveball last week when U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken zeroed in on those roster limits, suggesting that the settlement language be tweaked to phase in roster limits gradually and “grandfather in” players currently on rosters to avoid them being cut upon the settlement’s approval.

While the potential to keep current walk-ons beyond the 105 is welcome news to coaches who were disappointed to see those players possibly lose their opportunities, the timing creates a quandary.

College football’s spring transfer portal window opens on Wednesday, but settlement approval — which seems likely — is still pending. Coaches still don’t have clarity on whether they must be at 105 this season or can keep all their current players until they exhaust their eligibility, and it’s possible they won’t have an answer before the portal closes April 25.

That forces coaches to leave players on the bubble of making the 105 in limbo while the chance to find a new destination might pass them by.

Most teams have carried around 120 players, but that number varies, ranging from as little as 110 to as high as 140 in some instances. If every team were carrying 120 today and had to cut to 105 by the start of the season, that would equate to more than 2,000 cut players across 136 FBS teams.

A general manager at a Power 4 school, granted anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss his team’s roster strategy, said he’s uncertain how teams will advise players on the cusp.

“Can teams have those conversations with those kids right now and say, ‘Hey, you need to get in the portal?’ ” the GM said. “Because I’m not sure the number will be 105 based on information from (the settlement hearing).

“What you’re saying is if a walk-on doesn’t get in the portal in April and he doesn’t make your final roster at the beginning of your season, he’s essentially going to lose the year.”

When roster limits are instituted, schools will be required to meet that limit on the day of their first game, the GM said. The issue is that by then, the fall semester will have begun at most schools and the portal will have long been closed, leaving players who are cut without a chance to move. Staffers at four schools who spoke with The Athletic said they have two sets of roster projections: one for a 105-player limit and one without it.

One Power 4 director of player personnel said his staff informed players who wouldn’t make the 105 of their potential fate in December, so they could enter the portal during the winter window. Some did, others stayed on for spring practice and a few are finishing out their academic careers as students, walking away from football.

“If it does flip back and we stair-step it down to 105 over the next couple of years, we’ll have to pivot to add some guys back to the roster,” the personnel director said.

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule gave his players a choice ahead of time. (Dylan Widger / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

In February, Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said he did something similar, telling everyone on his team who would make it if the Cornhuskers had to establish a 105-man roster then.

“Some guys moved on and found spots,” Rhule told reporters in February. “Some guys said, ‘Coach, I’m staying here until you guys kick me off. I’m a Husker.’ ” At that time, Nebraska’s roster sat at 126 players.

“We’re being transparent and honest and telling the ones who are maybe on the bubble, ‘Look, we don’t know if you’re gonna have a spot or not,’ ” SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said. “ ‘But if you know that information and you want to keep practicing and working out with us, we’d love to have you.’ ”

Lashlee is troubled by the lack of context on remedies beyond the 105. Will there be an injured reserve? If a scholarship player is lost to a season-ending injury, will he count against the roster limit (and financially against the revenue sharing cap)? Can a player not on the 105 be brought in to replace such a player?

“That’s gonna put coaches in tough spots and put kids in tough spots,” Lashlee said. “So we’re gonna take a day at a time once we know the rules. We’ll do the best we can within the rules to take care of all of our guys.”

The fact that the season begins in less than five months and coaches do not yet know how many players they’ll be allowed to have on the roster has prompted frustration. But coaches can adjust — they fear for the players who will be left out in the cold.

“If we’re so set on this 105 thing, let’s have that decision made before we move into the portal windows so we can at least treat guys the right way, have difficult conversations and be up front and honest with them,” the Power 4 GM said.

A Group of 5 general manager said that before the portal opens, he will let players on the 105-man bubble know where they stand so they can enter the portal. But if current walk-ons are not grandfathered in and a hard 105 limit is installed this year after the spring portal window closes, “then they need to open up the portal (again) for the non-scholarship players, so they’re at least given an opportunity,” he said.

Lashlee said walk-ons are important to his team’s culture, and he wants to continue to have them in his program. Like everyone who spoke for this story, his team plans to carry 85 scholarship players and 20 walk-ons if 105 is the limit this fall. He said many coaches aren’t enamored with the idea of having to shrink their walk-on numbers.

“You’re going to have to tell walk-ons, people that are paying their way, that ‘I’m sorry, we want you in our program and you deserve to be in our program, but right now you can’t be in our program,’ ” he said.

But he acknowledged that coaches must adapt to the rapid changes in the sport, no matter how they feel about them. For now, they’re in a holding pattern while awaiting final word on their rosters.

“We’ve planned for it. We’re preparing for what we think (will happen),” Lashlee said. “But until it happens, there’s nothing to do. Once they tell us what the rules are, we’ll go with it.”

(Top photo of Rhett Lashlee: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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