The fact that we are talking about player movement in College Football currently is a completely different concept, and for even the hard core sports fan like myself, it will take time to get my head around by the fact many college football players are now earning pay cheques. For decades in the National Collegiate Athletic Association we never saw players move from school to school, and they certainly did not get paid.
So what we are seeing in university sports in the United States is something we have never seen before, and there is now this term we are learning called a spring transfer portal. This is where 2700 college football players who were on a scholarship, are all of a sudden leaving their current institution for greener pastures.
The latest high profile player to switch schools is quarterback Gio Lopez of Madison, Alabama. According to Eli Lederman of ESPN, he has signed a two-year contract worth $4 million with North Carolina. Lopez has two years of College Football under his belt at South Alabama. Now a junior, he will be able to learn from one of football’s most high profile coaches in Bill Belichick. It is unlikely that Lopez will be the next Tom Brady, but the Tar Heels commitment to Lopez is noteworthy.
From a statistical perspective last season in South Alabama, Lopez completed 206 passes in 312 attempts for 2559 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions in Sun Belt Conference play. He also had 83 rushes for 463 rushing yards and seven touchdown runs.
It also means that quarterback Ryan Browne of Venice, Florida is on the move again. Browne was a quarterback for the Purdue Boilermakers the last two seasons, and committed to change schools and join the Tar Heels on December 19. However, with the recent events with Lopez, Browne is re-entering the transfer portal. Another Tar Heels player who has joined the portal is defensive end Beau Atkinson of Raleigh, North Carolina. Atkinson has generated interest from Ohio State and Georgia.
