Vanderbilt is being called out for possible tampering with former Liberty left tackle Chase Mitchell who entered the college football transfer portal on Monday. The timing of his entry and subsequent campus visit is rather suspicious.
It does not seem like a coincidence…
Here’s the thing. Tampering in college football is rampant and it’s not a secret. Multiple head coaches, including Matt Rhule, have been very vocal about the problem that exists throughout the sport.
Mitchell might be one of the players who was lured into the portal with a specific destination already in mind. Offensive tackles are at a premium right now. If you are 6-foot or taller with a pulse and any kind of experience, there is a school out there with a need and an interest.
The Flames’ former left tackle checks all three of those boxes. Chase Mitchell started for Liberty last season!
He entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer on Monday with a ‘Do Not Contact’ tag. To enter with that designation typically means that the athlete already knows where he is going to end up, or has a short list of schools that he knows have interest.
Now, less than 24 hours after his decision to leave was formally announced, Mitchell is in Nashville to visit Vanderbilt University.
The Commodores hired Chris Klenakis as their offensive line coach in January. He brings with him more than three decades of collegiate experience and spent last season as the offensive line coach at…
… Liberty!
Could this all have happened by chance? Absolutely.
Does it seem likely? No, it doesn’t.
All of the circumstances surrounding Mitchell’s decision to enter the transfer portal with a ‘Do Not Contact’ tag and subsequent visit to his former coach’s new school certainly seem like a calculated timeline.