The name, image, and likeness era has been an adjustment for everyone in college football, with plenty of growing pains and regulations to sort through. The new legislation reinvented the nature of the transfer portal and recruiting.
On Monday, Duke head coach Mike Elko warned about the growing pains that could be yet to come.
“We’re probably about 13 days away from complete anarchy and the Wild West,” Elko said, according to WRAL’s Brian Murphy. “It’s literally open free agency for all of college football.”
“I don’t know that anyone is immune to what is going on in the transfer portal,” the second-year coach continued. “And you’ve got to put together a strategy to retain your players, and NIL is a big part of it.”
Elko has plenty of Power 5 experience to rely upon, serving as Notre Dame‘s defensive coordinator in 2017 and Texas A&M‘s defensive coordinator and safeties coach from 2018 to 2021. His tenure at Duke began in 2022, meaning he has navigated the name, image, and likeness transition from the head coach office.