Alright, folks, buckle up ’cause we’re diving into the busy world over at the University at Buffalo’s football camp where it’s all hustle, all week. You see, as these guys prepped for their spring game, Pete Lembo—the head honcho—was doing a bit of juggling, like some pro multitasker at a circus.
This spring, the Bulls weren’t just hitting the field for their last practice sessions for that all-important spring game at UB Stadium. Nah, they were deep into recruiting too. Coach Lembo was seen meeting potential recruits after practice like he’s shopping for the team’s next superstar. All of this right before the transfer portal swung open on Wednesday, ready for any roster shakeups until it closes on April 25, just days after the spring game.
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Coach Lembo talks about hitting the sack at night—but he’s not counting sheep. He’s wrangling with to-do lists that would keep anyone up. Welcome to 2025, where if you wanna keep coaching college ball, you gotta handle the dizzying blend of player management, transfer news, and recruiting fiestas. Embrace the chaos, right?
And it’s not just Lembo feeling the heat. Across the nation, coaches are navigating this spring madness—juggling recruiting while players contemplate hopping into the transfer portal. It’s like some kind of reality TV for sports nerds. The NCAA might not have exact figures, but the buzz is there’s somewhere between 2,700 to 3,200 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) players floating in the portal. And check this—if you count players from all divisions? You’re looking at nearly 11,000 names, including over 6,600 from D-I schools, swirling in that digital space looking for their next gig.
Here’s a kicker: Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava, a promising quarterback, reportedly skipped their spring game itching to renegotiate his juicy $2 million-a-year NIL deal. Boom, he’s benched. Coach Josh Heupel? Just moving on, no hesitations. Ah, NIL and agent negotiations are part of the new gig now.
Back with the Bulls, the transfer portal claimed edge rusher Kobe Stewart, and man was that a body blow. He was the MAC’s sack king in 2024, a one-season wonder from Samford over in the FCS. Stewart hasn’t spilled the beans on his next move, but Coach Lembo says they had a good talk about it. It’s tough losing a player like Stewart, but hey, UB’s got 11 edge rushers in the wings. Who knows? Maybe they’ll find their next game changer in that same portal that took him away.
So far, UB’s managed its roster nicely, with only a few others like offensive lineman Matthew Pajuste deciding to transfer. Let’s hope they won’t have to put Plan B into action and dip back into the transfer portal pool.
All this portal action and the NIL landscape at UB and beyond? It’s a big chess game with real stakes—kinda like shuffling a deck of talented cards and hoping you draw the aces. These coaches are like master strategists, and if you’re one of them, you have to plan ahead, keep your roster in shape, and be prepared to hustle at the drop of a whistle.
In this new era of college football, it’s all about who can adapt the quickest and leverage every resource. Sounds like Lembo and the UB crew are on it. Now, time to see how it all plays out under the stadium lights. Time will tell if their strategies pay off on the field—and in the portal.
