That’s what college football has evolved into with the rise of the transfer portal.

Take BYU, for example.

The Cougars had some high-profile players transfer out, while others transferred in.

Did they lose more than they gained?

• Will QB Kedon Slovis (USC/Pitt) be better than QB Jake Conover (left for Arizona State)?
• Will OL Caleb Etienne (Oklahoma State) and Paule Maile (Utah) be better than OL Clark and Campbell Barrington (left for Baylor)?
• Will CB Eddie Heckard (Weber State) be better than CB Gabe Jeudy-Lally (left for Tennessee)?
• Will LB AJ Vongphanchanh (Utah State) be better than LB Keenan Pili (left for Tennessee)?

The answer to all of those questions is there are a lot of factors that come into play and only time will tell.

But the positives and negatives of transfers are the reality of today’s college football, so teams like BYU simply have to swap players to try to get the best hand they can.

“I think we improved quite a bit in our depth,” Cougar head coach Kalani Sitake said. “I was really happy with the way the recruiting has gone with our staff and our coaches. I think every coach is going to say that but looking at the roster, looking at the guys that we’ve added and looking at how our team is working, man, I feel really good about where we’re at.”

BYU’s starting quarterback, Slovis, is a veteran who has seen how the transfer portal can impact a team. He has transferred twice himself in his career.

“It can be good, but it can hurt you too,” Slovis said. “I think it’s really important to get the right guys. You can look and see someone’s film and say, ‘oh, they’re good player,’ but do they fit what you do, fit the culture? Do they work hard? Are they good team players? I’ve seen it work both ways. I don’t know if it’s good or bad. I think you can make it good or it can hurt you as well.”

He is optimistic about how well BYU has done at bringing in the right players.

“I’m happy with where we are as a team,” Slovis said. “I think all of our transfers are going to help us this year at some point. Going to a Power 5 conference allows transfers from Power 5 schools who have a lot of Power 5 experience. I think for us this situation going into the Big 12 is probably the best thing that we can have happen.”

Sitake said that the Cougars might still look at adding more transfers, since BYU hasn’t filled all of its 85 allotted scholarships.

“It’s going to depend on the guys who are going to be ready to go,” Sitake said. “The thing that is always different with us is the missionary program. There are guys who are coming home who are going to go through some summer and we’ll figure out what’s best for them, whether it’s starting now or to start their clock in January. So it’s kind of a moving target right now.”

He said it’s not as straightforward for the Cougars since so much can happen before the season, especially with those who have chosen to share their faith by serving for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“Those who have served missions know that the road to come back to football and athletics is not a cookie-cutter plan,” Sitake said. “So we have to be flexible with that. That’s the main reason why it’s not set right now.”