In this era of college athletics, the spotlight usually shines the most on the players who enter the transfer portal, especially on who’s leaving, where they’re heading, and why. However, Sacramento State’s football coach, Brennan Marion, believes there should be a different approach to the media’s coverage of the transfer portal.
Brennan Marion: Retaining Star Players Should Be Celebrated Like Transfers
Marion spoke out on X on Monday, posting his thoughts on how the transfer portal is covered by the media in today’s college football.
Retaining your best guys needs to be celebrated by media just as much as changing schools does. The ability to keep starters & stars is just as big for a university as acquiring new talent. Many schools struggling bc they let great coaches & players go everyone is not disposable!
— Coach Marion (@BrennanMarion4) April 21, 2025
Many smaller schools, like Sacramento State, lose their top talent to the transfer portal for a variety of reasons, like bigger and better opportunities. Marion believes that keeping and retaining top talent is just as important as landing transfers and says it deserves the same media attention.
That is the truth about today’s college football landscape. Coaches not only have to recruit players into the program through the high school or junior college ranks but also have to re-recruit their own players before they decide to enter the transfer portal. At the same time, coaching staff can now go out and recruit players from different teams to add to their teams. This goes both ways for FCS schools like Sacramento State.
The Hornets are in an interesting position as the University applied for a waiver to move up to the FBS level for the 2026 season earlier this month. The program has been rallying for a potential invite to the newly revamped PAC-12 Conference, raising $35 million for NIL commitments for the past fall. They also have plans for a new football stadium that will hold 25,000 people, which helps their odds.
Now, Sacramento State will need to find more success on the football field. The Hornets went 3-9 in 2024 but have brought in talent from both the FCS and FBS levels.
Marion landed commitments from former Lafayette and FCS All-American running back Jamar Curtis, former Oregon State wide receiver and four-star recruit Jordan Anderson, and former Nebraska defensive lineman and three-star prospect Brodie Tagaloa, to name a few. Overall, the Hornets have gotten 29 portal signees while managing to keep some of their top talent from 2024.
Sacramento State will kick off the 2025 season on the road in Brookings, South Dakota, on Saturday, Aug. 30, when it will take on the FCS powerhouse South Dakota State Jack Rabbits before heading to Reno, Nevada, to take on the Nevada Wolfpack.
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This could be a telltale sign of how the Hornets’ season could turn out as they look to move up to the FBS level.
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