Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz is already looking ahead to what he expects will be another chaotic offseason, and he doesn’t think this one will look like anything college football has seen before.
Speaking Wednesday during the SEC teleconference, Drinkwitz said he believes the next transfer portal cycle will be the wildest yet.
“Just a prediction, I think this will be the most volatile transfer portal,” Drinkwitz said Wednesday during the SEC teleconference. “I think we’ll have more people in the portal than we’ve had previously because that’s just the nature of what it is. More agents involved with players than there’s ever been.”
That warning comes as college football continues to be shaped by NIL and the transfer portal, two forces that have changed the way the sport operates and have helped narrow the gap between the traditional powers and the rest of the country. The 2026 season has already reflected that shift, with more programs finding ways to compete at a high level and the overall field looking more balanced than it has in the past.
Drinkwitz has been one of the most vocal coaches on the subject, and his latest comment fits right in with the way he has talked about the portal before. With recent transfer activity still surging and courts continuing to issue rulings and lawsuits that allow players to return to college football, the expectation of another turbulent offseason doesn’t feel out of line.
If anything, Drinkwitz’s prediction sounds less like a hot take and more like a realistic read on where the sport is headed. The portal has already become one of the defining forces in college football, and another massive wave of movement would only deepen the parity that has started to define the game.
In Other News...
Chiefs Trade Buzz Around Mahomes Just Got Very Real
The Chiefs loss at Seattle only sharpened the conversation around their passing game, and the timing is hardly subtle. Kansas City has been searching for more help at receiver, and the market is already starting to take shape around names that could matter if the front office decides to act before the season drifts any further.
ESPNs Jeremy Fowler reported that Brian Thomas Jr. is drawing interest from teams that include the Chiefs and Steelers, which gives Kansas City a high-end target to monitor if Jacksonville ever becomes willing to listen. There is also the familiar buzz around a possible Tyreek Hill reunion, though that idea comes with real uncertainty because of his recovery from a severe leg injury, leaving the Chiefs with more questions than answers for now. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Put Real Pressure On Harrison Butker At The Worst Time
Harrison Butkers uneven season has finally pushed Kansas City to add some real competition, and the timing only raises the stakes. The Chiefs are expected to bring in veteran kicker Justin Tucker to the practice squad, a move that signals the organization is no longer willing to wait around for Butker to sort things out on his own.
Butker has already missed multiple field goals and extra points this year, and the latest frustration has made the situation hard to ignore. Tucker, one of the leagues most accomplished kickers from his years in Baltimore, gives Kansas City a proven alternative and puts Butker on a short runway to clean up his performance before this turns into a full-blown job battle. [Read more 🡒]
Chris Jones Is Becoming A Real Problem For The Chiefs Defense
The loss to the Seahawks did more than just dent the Chiefs record. It also put a spotlight on a defense that has not looked nearly as disruptive as expected, and Chris Jones has become the clearest example of that slide. Kansas City has leaned on him for years to tilt games from the interior, but his overall impact has dipped enough this season to become a real concern as the unit searches for answers.
Jones has been battling a calf injury, which may help explain some of the drop-off, but the bigger issue is that the Chiefs do not have an obvious fix if his production stays muted. His quiet showing against Seattle fit the broader trend, and with opposing offenses no longer forced to account for him on every snap, Kansas Citys pass rush loses some of the edge that once made it so hard to sustain drives against. [Read more 🡒]