Many accounts of life over the past five years use the terms “pre-COVID” and/or “post-COVID”. In the world of sports, perhaps no shift was greater than the one experienced in college athletics.

As high school seniors sign their National Letters of Intent for football and other sports beginning Wednesday, they enter a frontier defined by the transfer portal, the “Name, Image, Likeness” policy (NIL), and a new postseason playoff in football.

But how does the new reality affect those looking to enter the college scene? For Atlee football coach Matt Gray and senior wide receiver Matthew Martin, it’s all about focusing on what you can do.

“I’m still a big believer in the process,” Gray told The Richmonder. Gray, entering his 10th season at the Hanover County high school, closely works with his student-athletes on their opportunities post-graduation.

“What we talk about with our guys is what are the controllables? What do we have control over?” Gray explained. “We have control over our grades, we have control over our work ethic…our gains in the weight room. We’re in control of the product we put on the field so the video we get, we’re in control of that.”

But to upload a video to recruiting service Hudl, Gray reminds all that every piece in the team puzzle must fit. The lineman must protect the quarterback, the receiver must get open, and make the play. In a new age where there seems to be changes out of one’s control at every turn, keying in on what you can is grounding.

Martin, who didn’t start playing organized football until ninth grade, realized he could parlay the sport to the college level during his junior season. That winter, he reached out to several schools, including the University of Virginia. His first Division I offer came from the Naval Academy in April.

But as the process continued, his heart was leaning to the University of Richmond after attending a camp there, and he verbally committed to the Spiders early in the summer.

“That was definitely the school that felt like home the most,” Martin said. “The coaching staff was very personal to me, and it just felt like the right spot.”

But on top of seeing which wide receivers will return to Richmond’s roster this fall, Martin and other high school seniors also have to pay attention to the transfer portal.

Created in 2018, the portal looked to streamline the process of moving from one NCAA institution to another. At the time, transfers still had to sit out a year before being able to compete at their new school, save for special situations like coaching changes and a loss of scholarship.

But in 2021, the NCAA dropped the year-off requirement. Thus, the wild west began.

Martin’s Spiders will begin play in the Patriot League this fall. Two top wide receivers were among several key players who won’t return to Robins Stadium, choosing to enter the portal. Does this open opportunity for Martin? Sure. But what if multiple receivers, with previous college experience, enter Richmond via the portal? 

Martin doesn’t worry about that. He's seeking to improve his set of controllables.

“It’s definitely an opportunity,” Martin said. “It always gets brought up, the reality of it now, some higher level schools say they’ll keep track of you in case something happens. I’d be perfectly fine staying at Richmond all four or five years.”

Gray knows a thing or two about the navigation of the recruiting world, past and present. In late 2019, he had two standout seniors in Alex Oliver and Tyler Warren. Oliver played at VMI, though it took some time during his recruiting process to make that decision.

“I remember AO telling me, I’m where God wants me to be,” Gray said. And, when Oliver decided to transfer for his graduate year, Gray was there to help him. He landed at Liberty University.

Warren bided his time at Penn State, awaited his turn in the spotlight, and took full advantage of his senior season, winning the John Mackey Award as the best tight end in college football, and finishing seventh in balloting for the coveted Heisman Trophy. Warren is expected to be a first round pick in April’s NFL Draft.

This new age affects programs at all levels. Before Atlee, Gray served as defensive coordinator under Pedro Arruza at Randolph-Macon, an emerging Division III powerhouse with an overall record of 34-4 since 2022. In all three seasons, the Yellow Jackets were led by portal products.

Drew Campanale exploded onto the scene after a nondescript stay at Franklin Pierce University, getting a second chance in Ashland. In 2024, Dante Casciola, heavily recruited out of high school by Randolph-Macon, took over after spending his first three years at Division I Dayton.

Gray’s hope is that the dust in this new landscape will settle sooner rather than later, so that high school seniors can truly benefit from their football opportunities. A college football commissioner is one idea he touts. 

Even in Division III, which has eight member schools in Virginia, things can be tumultuous, Gray notes, with schools unable to offer athletic scholarships.

His perspective is a lesson that is sorely needed today, no matter what the playing field looks like.

“Sometimes I feel like the game of football, people think it validates them (for) who they are. I always say football is a thing,” Gray said. “With the portal, with NIL, clearly things have changed. It’s a reality we have no control over. Being comfortable with who you are, understanding football doesn’t validate you as a person, you will land where you are supposed to land.”