Freshman LB Justin Okoronkwo is entering the NCAA's Transfer Portal, per reports that came through late Sunday night. He leaves Alabama football without making much of a mark as just a special teams contributor in his first season on campus, but what he takes with him is a lot more.
Okoronkwo was already a fan favorite among Alabama fans as a player who had a lot of promise. Reports out of practice were that he was developing nicely and was one day going to be a potential star LB in Tuscaloosa once he got his time to shine.
Watching the development of young players in your program is one of the best joys of being a fan. In the era of the Transfer Portal, those joys have been ripped away and no longer exist.
Even for a player like Okoronkwo, who was not heavily recruited coming out of Germany. He was just a three-star prospect, but a fantastic evaluation by Nick Saban, who was a master at finding undervalued talent.
Based on where he was ranked as a recruit, he seemed like a player fans could safely assume would be willing to wait his turn and not let impatience cause him to seek quicker playing time elsewhere.
Okoronkwo was undoubtedly excited about his opportunity for playing time at Alabama in 2025 with Jihaad Campbell entering the draft, Deontae Lawson likely doing the same, and Justin Jefferson exhausting his eligibility.
Unfortunately for Okoronkwo, Lawson announced he was coming back for one final season, buoyed by the season-ending injury he suffered in the loss at Oklahoma. Jefferson got an unexpected JUCO waiver that allowed him to return for another season, and Alabama landed a transfer from Colorado in All-Big 12 LB Nikhai Hill-Green.
That put at least three players ahead of Okoronkwo on the depth chart and meant he would be in a backup role for his second season on campus and limited to being a special teams contributor for a second straight season when I'm sure he had his eyes set on winning a starting job.
But that's short term thinking on his part because all three of those guys have one final season of eligibility left, meaning after another year of learning from veteran players, particularly a leader like Lawson, Okoronkwo would be in line for an obvious starting role in 2026.
But players aren't patient anymore. If there isn't an obvious path to playing time going into their second season on campus, most are going to seek playing time elsewhere. Following recruiting and getting excited about any young players anymore is a foolish endeavor.
Odds are that young player you see potential in will end up transferring. Even guys like Jaylen Mbakwe who saw plenty of playing time might generate a seven-figure offer from a rival school to entice them to enter the Transfer Portal.
The portal has been a net negative for fans, and arguably it has been a net negative for players and higher education. The portal was meant for guys like Jeremiah Campbell, who spent three seasons in Tuscaloosa and never really could find meaningful playing time and didn't have a path to it going into his fourth season on campus. He entered the portal looking for an opportunity, and he's likely to find it.
It wasn't meant for freshmen who didn't play much, or guys to transfer three, four, or even five times. It wasn't meant to be an unlimited free agency. Changes are coming down the road as this current model isn't sustainable for programs or for fan interest.
But for today, it's just another blow. Okoronkwo's departure is a bigger loss for Alabama fans than it is the team itself. Fans losing out is a trend in college football and one that can't continue for much longer.