2StripesCPD Digital, Vol. 4

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Welcome to another edition of 2StripesCPD Digital! It was a fairly newsworthy week around college football, and I'm here to break it all down, plus give you a heads up on what's coming next on 2StripesCPD. Enjoy!

Portal season is here

Whether you love or hate the transfer portal, you need to make peace with it dominating discussion for the rest of April as teams wrap up spring practice. There've been rumors for a while about big names preparing to hit the portal, and this week gave us a preview of the movement barrage on the horizon when the spring window opens on April 16:

• Oregon State running back Damien Martinez is the biggest name so far. He has over 2,000 yards rushing in two seasons, and is legitimately a top-five running back in college football. I'm stating the obvious here, but Martinez will be a massive addition to whichever program adds him.
• USC deserves their own section. Defensive tackle Bear Alexander was reportedly heading into the portal for a second time on Tuesday. On Wednesday he announced that he's staying after speaking to the coaching staff. (Well played, Bear. I commend your savvy, and your freshly stocked bank account.) True freshman offensive lineman Jason Zandamela is potentially on the move, despite the fact that he got to campus last month. He was SC's top-rated recruit in their 2024 class. They got a double-dose of bad news on Friday, as defensive lineman Isaiah Raikes and cornerback Tre'Quon Fegans are both re-entering the portal. Raikes initially transferred from Texas A&M in January, while Fegans played at SC last season after originally being at Alabama. Does all this movement mean that things in LA are a disaster and the Trojans are hurtling towards another underwhelming season? The latter might be true, but I think this is just the new normal for everyone - programs like USC included.