Change may be inevitable, but it is often unenjoyable. We began our look at the 2022 Texas small college offseason with a peek at the head coaching changes. This piece will delve into something that makes us, well…sad.

The transfer portal has brought about a sense of free agency in college football and, thus, plenty of movement in the small college ranks. Some teams have been hit hard by the transfer portal this year.

However, keep the faith if your team is mentioned in this story. Many of these same programs will be in the following piece that discusses some of the notable additions from the transfer portal.

The most notable change in the Texas small college ranks was the decision by former UIW quarterback Cameron Ward to enter the transfer portal following the departure of head coach Eric Morris. The Jerry Rice Award winner and FCS All-American decided to follow Morris to Washington State after receiving offers from Ole Miss and Houston.

The Cardinals had two defensive ends transfer, with Chance Main choosing to play at Colorado after forgoing the 2021 fall campaign. Blaine Hoover transferred to fellow WAC rival Tarleton for the 2022 season.

The 2020 FCS national champions, Sam Houston, suffered some key losses to the transfer portal. The most notable was former All-American running back Ramon Jefferson, who transferred to Colorado.

The Bearkats took a significant hit along the offensive line with the transfer of Eleasah Anderson to Western Michigan. Prince Pines is currently in the portal and could return to SHSU. However, the All-American has offers from Oklahoma State, Colorado, Mississippi State, and Texas State.

One under-the-radar transfer was Gino Garcia departing Houston Baptist. The accurate kicker from Richardson was a hot commodity before deciding to play at Texas Tech next season.

Head coaching changes often cause a flurry of portal activity. Such was the case at Abilene Christian this offseason.

Wildcats' head coach Keith Patterson will be replacing some key pieces of his team during his first season in Abilene. ACU lost two defensive backs, with Ryan Stapp transferring to Minnesota and Christopher Satterfield choosing to play at Grambling after receiving offers at numerous FCS schools.

Stone Earle saw significant time at quarterback alongside Peyton Mansell last season but decided to transfer to North Texas while tight end Remington Lutz has moved on to Southern Illinois.

ACU also had two offensive linemen transfer, with Collin James departing for New Mexico and Bronson Warner leaving to play at Bowling Green.

One NCAA Division II player to keep an eye on is Tobias Harris at West Texas A&M. A perennial member of the DCTF All-Small College team has entered the transfer portal and is receiving plenty of attention.

Harris currently has at least 13 offers from FCS schools, including an offer from Sam Houston, Texas Southern, Eastern Kentucky, ACU, Campbell, UIW, SFA, and FCS newcomer and former Lone Star Conference rival Texas A&M-Commerce.