He was almost done.

In high school, Tate Sandell kicked at night. His father worked at the school, so he took the keys and went out to the field alone.

He walked on at UTSA. Two seasons in, he had attempted two field goals and had no scholarship, and the cost of staying became a family conversation. "I'm not gonna put my family in a financial burden, so I was almost done," he said later.

He kept kicking. His first career field goal, in 2023, was from 47 yards. The next year he made 19 of 23 and set UTSA's school record with a 54-yarder, and in 2025 he transferred to Oklahoma. On Saturday, another 47-yarder as time expired beat No. 1 Texas.

Sandell is one of four players behind four of Week 6's statement wins. Our full story follows each of them: where he came from, why he chose his school, and how it has worked out.

The backup. Kenny Minchey threw 29 passes in three seasons at Notre Dame. "It just really just taught me to enjoy where I was at," he said. After he entered the portal, Kentucky's Will Stein called with Minchey's parents on the line. Minchey's deciding question was "coaching, and how am I gonna get coached." He chose Kentucky, and on Saturday he ran in the two-point conversion that beat No. 10 LSU in overtime.

The former quarterback. Patrick Overmyer moved from tight end to quarterback the week before his senior year of high school because his team needed one. When he left UTSA, the recruiting call came from the Houston tight end whose job was opening. On Saturday he caught four touchdowns for Houston at Kansas State, tying the FBS single-game record for a tight end.

The safety. Ta'Shawn James played 26 games at Iowa State without an interception. He has four in five games at UCLA, including one in Saturday's 17-15 win at No. 13 Oregon.

Four athletes. Four roads. Every one of them was decided long before October.

The SEC put its contracts on one template. On Monday, Oct. 12, SEC presidents voted to adopt uniform NIL and revenue-share contracts across the league, effective immediately. The SEC is the second power conference to standardize athlete contracts, after the Big Ten. So what: the terms an athlete signs in the SEC now come from the conference, and staffs and agents should have the template in hand before January.

The portal window got shorter. On Oct. 7, the NCAA Division I Cabinet approved a 10-day football transfer window that opens the first business day after Jan. 1, down from 15 days last cycle. This cycle, that means it opens Monday, Jan. 4. So what: staffs, agents and athletes get 10 days instead of 15, which moves the real work into December.

What's moving: the rules of this market are going onto paper. Conferences are writing the contracts, and the NCAA is tightening the calendar.

What we heard across the network this week, from staffs and agencies getting ready for January.

An assistant coach at an FCS program, on how often he checks the portal: "every five minutes. Because that's how often kids enter." His staff has no one assigned to it: "We don't have a whole recruiting staff that just sits and watches kids in the portal all day."

A recruiting staffer at a Power 4 program, who used to track agents on a notepad on his desk, on the question nobody has answered yet: "the kids that have like eight agents and they don't sign with them until they get ... paid."

An evaluator at an agency, on when to move on a player: "we don't want to ... close our eyes and throw darts, but ... we want to be early and be right."

Trivia: an ACC program joined the network this week. It plays in the South's Oldest Rivalry, its head coach is in his fifth season, and its fans sing their school song to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne." Name the school.

See who joined

A transfer decision gets graded on a Saturday in October. It gets made months earlier, usually on a phone call.

Explore the network: for staffs · for agents · for athletes

What was the call that made your decision, or the one that made a player's? Reply to this email or write [email protected].