Arizona OL brilliant star player announces departure ahead of next week’s NCAA transfer portal window

The NCAA transfer portal appears to be constantly open nowadays, especially with a 30-day window triggered for specific players whenever there’s a change in head coaching. This happened to Arizona in mid-January when Jedd Fisch departed for Washington and Brent Brennan took over. During this period, the Wildcats saw around 15 players enter the portal.

Now, the transfer portal is set to reopen for everyone on Monday for a 15-day spring window, anticipated to be very active throughout the college football landscape.

“Commencing this Monday, I anticipate some exciting movement in college football,” Brennan stated on Thursday. “The current scenario we find ourselves in, shared by all in college football, is truly intriguing and uncommon. We are all navigating this for the first time. While I hope everyone remains, I genuinely do, as I believe we have a fantastic group of young individuals here who genuinely care for each other. Their bond is important to them. However, ultimately, individuals make decisions, and we must honor and respect those decisions.

Even though the portal is not scheduled to reopen until Monday, Arizona has already experienced a setback. On Friday, offensive lineman Joe Borjon disclosed his intention to enter the portal after spending the last two seasons with the Wildcats.

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Standing at 6-foot-8, Borjon took part in seven matches last season for UA, initiating in three tackle positions after utilizing a redshirt year in 2022. He notably started at right tackle in the Alamo Bowl.

With his early announcement, Borjon is unlikely to engage in Arizona’s Saturday morning practice, which includes a minor scrimmage. Brennan essentially confirmed this on Thursday in relation to players entering the portal while spring practice continues until April 27.

“It’s challenging to allocate practice reps to a player who won’t be present,” Brennan remarked. “It’s not very practical. Those reps need to go to someone else who can benefit from them and improve.”

The immediate worry for UA is the potential further loss of players from an already diminished roster. Borjon’s exit leaves the Wildcats with only 69 scholarship athletes, 64 of whom are actively engaged in spring practices.

Upon completion of spring training, Brennan and his team will pinpoint the team’s most urgent personnel requirements and resort to the transfer portal for solutions. Time will be crucial, although he emphasized the importance of exercising patience.

I believe the crucial aspect here is that we conduct thorough assessments of all individuals under consideration,” he expressed. “At times, we might be quick to judge solely based on footage, without having a deep understanding of the individual, potentially resulting in adding a player who may not be an ideal fit for the team. Therefore, we must perform our due diligence, take our time, and strive to make well-informed decisions regarding the additions to our football team in the upcoming months.”

In his last season at San Jose State, Brennan recruited eight Division I transfers despite facing constraints on his NIL budget. However, this is no longer the case, and this element is anticipated to greatly influence Arizona’s recruitment choices.

This situation is significantly different,” Brennan acknowledged. “I believe this is something new for everyone, and we are all adapting as we proceed. Although the utilization of NIL was not a prominent factor in our previous process, just one year later, I see its significance increasing. As we progress through spring practice, we identify areas of need, prompting us to seek out solutions.