Rivals Camp Series Miami: Prospects address the transfer portal

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The second stop of the Rivals Camp Series was Sunday at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, and we took the opportunity to do a player survey with the question being: "Could half of the prospects in the 2024 class end up in the transfer portal at the next level?"

Their answers are below.

*****

CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

*****

QUESTION: Could half of the prospects in the 2024 class end up in the transfer portal at the next level?

Justin Bodford: “I have no idea, probably a lot with all the stuff going on right now. I guess because they are not willing to work or stay loyal with the program.”

*****

Dinellson Exume: "Probably. Some people don't make great decisions. We can't really expect them to stay loyal to a program. There's always somebody in the class doing something like that."

*****

Hardley Gilmore: “I think it might be that big because most people in my class have hype. I don’t feed off the hype, I just play. The transfer portal may be big, but it might not be. It may be 50-50. Money might be it somewhat, and if they are not liking the school they are at, they might try to go to another school to figure it out.”

*****

Trever Jackson: “I’d say a good 75%. Just for another way to start and to show their talent. If it doesn't work out at that school, they can hit the portal and go to a school where they think they can start.”

*****

Ryan Mack: "Half might be a stretch for the first year, but eventually maybe half throughout their career."

*****

Gavin Nix: “I don’t know. For me, God willing, I hope everybody stays at the place they choose. Off the top of my head, I couldn’t give you a number. I feel like it is guys getting somewhere and it is not what they think it will be or maybe they were presented with something that wasn’t what they really wanted. For us players, it is all about being in the right fit. Wherever you go is home, so off the field and on the field you want to feel comfortable. If you are not comfortable, you will never be able to perform.”

*****

Booker Pickett: “Man, a lot. I am sure a lot, because during the recruiting process they will get buttered up but not like it. It will probably be 30%, maybe. Because they are scared of competition. It can be for personal reasons. Sometimes it may be they want to play more so they go to a place where they can get more playing time. I don’t blame them.”

*****

Preston Watson: “I’d say quite a few. The transfer portal is just kicking up for us. I’m not going to be one of those guys. I feel like it will be a decent amount. It is what it is. I’m a loyal guy though, I will stay with Duke. I think that maybe when they get there, they might realize they weren’t going to get as much playing time as they should or maybe they are not treated as they should be. Sometimes people put up a front when trying to recruit you, but when it is game time it is different.”

*****

Eddy Pierre-Louis: “At least 35-40%. Because I know my boys want to play early. If they don’t play early, they are trying to get as many reps in as they can in as many games as they can. I feel they will go where they can to make that happen.”

*****

David Stone: "Most likely. We have a lot of people in our class, so I feel like a lot of people will go into the portal but for different reasons."

*****

Kaden Strayhorn: “Maybe 50%, I’d say. They probably get stuck in a thing where they think they won’t get to play because they are freshmen. Even though they are not playing, you really just got to stick it out. At IMG, that is really how it is. I see a lot of that at Bama.”

*****

Wilnerson Telemaque: "I don't think so. Definitely with the South Florida cats, I think we can trust these guys to be loyal to their program. I think that we're hard workers down here and I think we don't really get fazed with the transfer portal stuff. That's for people that don't really want to work hard."

*****

Winston Watkins: "Yeah, I actually do (think it will be a lot). With the way the portal is working now, the colleges don't really need as many high schoolers. Since they don't really need high schoolers, they're going out for what they really need and they see experience in college, so most of these 24s are going to have to transfer and go somewhere else."