Carifio: The 2 compelling ways to look at NIU and the transfer portal

Inside everyone who follows a college football program, there are two wolves.

One of these wolves isn’t actually a wolf, but a chicken yelling about the sky falling when a player announces their intention to enter the transfer portal. The other wolf has on a pair of shades and a leather jacket, far too cool to worry about one transfer.

Almost two weeks later and barely a week before signing day, and both wolves still are arguing in my head about one particular NIU player, and both make compelling points. Is running back Harrison Waylee’s announcement a major shakeup, or just a little blip on the road back to success for the Huskies?

It’s important to point out NIU didn’t seem particularly as hard hit as other schools in a year it seems like almost everyone is jumping into the portal.

Marques Cox is an All-Mid-American Conference-level talent who’s probably moving on to a Power Five school. Eric Rogers and Jordan Gandy were both starters at cornerback, but the whole secondary needed a makeover anyway. Valuable leaders, yes. Irreplaceable, no.

But Waylee is different. He plays a position at which the Huskies have considerable depth. But he’s been the leading rusher two of the past three years. Thomas Hammock and his coaching staff have shown more trust in him over the past few years than any other running back not named Clint Ratkovich, and arguably any other player not named Rocky Lombardi.

It’s the second year in a row the Huskies will lose their leading rusher to the portal. Last year, Jay Ducker went to Memphis. And honestly, that’s what gets the chicken-wolf howl-clucking the most. That’s two years in a row this running back-friendly team with a running back-friendly coach will lose its top running back.

And I’m glossing over Mason Blakemore, another back who hit the portal as his playing time dried up. Presumably because of injury, but because of Hammock’s tight-lipped injury policy, we don’t really know for sure.

It’s hard to just hand wave those losses as, “Oh, they’re great at running back, they still have Antario Brown, Jaiden Credle and whatever high-potential freshmen Hammock is sure to bring in, as he has the past few years.” And I will do that soon. But it’s also hard to not see a pattern forming that’s not great for the Huskies.

Coming off a 3-9 season can make small hiccups look bigger. And maybe that’s what this is. NIU had seven All-MAC players. Five are back, and only one went into the portal. Putting too much stock into one player at one position as proof the end is nigh is probably not the most genius move.

The fact it’s happened two years in a row can be noise more than a signal. Just look at Kent State, which has lost pretty much every offensive player of note to the portal – although a coaching change is probably playing a big hand in that. In the end, the Huskies really weren’t hit as bad by transfers as a lot of other schools, and that is obviously a positive sign.

Both wolves are loud. Only one wolf is correct. And only time will tell which it is.

• Eddie Carifio is sports editor of the Daily Chronicle. Write to him at ecarifio@shawmedia.com.