In College Football 26 Dynasty Mode, a majority of your recruitment will be done by courting players out of high school and convincing them to join the university you preside over. However, that isn’t the only way to acquire players — there is also the transfer portal. This is a short window in the offseason that allows you to poach players from other universities.
For newer players, navigating and nailing a transfer portal window can be a difficult and daunting task. But worry not, as we’re here to provide you with some tips on how to get the most out of each transfer portal and ensure that you don’t lose anything either.
Here are some of the best transfer portal strategies for College Football 26 Dynasty Mode.
You Have To Work Fast
You know the saying “It’s a marathon, not a sprint”? Well, it’s a good saying, but it doesn’t apply to the transfer portal. When it comes to the transfer portal, you only have four weeks to make moves. After that, you’re out of luck.
To prepare for this, take stock of what you need going into the next season, then act accordingly. To put it bluntly, you have to be prepared. Because if you aren’t, you will see every potential target slip through your fingers.
Focus On Interested And Realistic Transfers
Because of how short the window is for the transfer portal, players can sometimes be tempted to broaden their search a bit too much. Instead of doing this and potentially missing out on players that could be of use to you, focus on players that are actually interested in coming to your school.
If there is a player who fills a position of need, has decent attributes, and considers your school to be in the top 10 or top 5 of desired landing spots, that’s the kind of player you should pursue. There is no sense in chasing players who aren’t considering your program and wasting recruiting points.
This also means that you need to be realistic. If your school doesn’t have a high-prestige program, don’t chase after 5-star recruits.
The Transfer Portal Is Not A Replacement For Recruiting
While this may sound obvious to some, it isn’t to others: The transfer portal is not a replacement for high school recruiting. When it comes to building out your program, high school recruits should always be the priority because you have more time to scout them and make them an offer.
As we’ve already touched upon, the transfer portal takes place in a very tight window, and you won’t have time to sign a ton of players with it, even if you are doing everything correctly. Therefore, using it as a primary means of acquiring players is a fool’s errand.
Retain Your Players First
This one probably should’ve been closer to the top, but it should be said that retaining players already in your program is extremely important. Yeah, the transfer portal is important for grabbing a few pieces and filling in some holes on your team. That said, if you aren’t making sure your house is in order, it’ll be your own players that jump ship.
The key to preventing your players from entering the transfer portal is to make sure everyone’s happy and is getting enough game time. Don’t neglect that.
