ESPN's Laura Rutledge Admits It's 'Incredibly Difficult' To Cover College Football Today

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"I cover the NFL daily. When I transition out of college and into the draft coverage, there's a ton of crossover because I've been covering these (college) players all year long," Rutledge said, via Awful Announcing. "When we hit like July, SEC Media Days, August range, I'm thinking, 'Who is on what team? What is going on with this?'"

Rutledge recalled coaches telling ESPN in pre-game production meetings that players who entered the transfer portal withdrew and now planned to play. They had to scramble to reconsider players "off our boards

One coach said he tried to get his freshmen recruits to school early because the scout's team's defensive linemen were all in the transfer portal.

Despite these challenges, Rutledge remains an advocate for players getting paid.

“From our perspective, it's so minor compared to what these coaches are dealing with, but it definitely makes it more difficult. I truly understand when fans say it makes it harder to root for my team. Who am I actually rooting for? Because so much of it changes," Rutledge said.

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