A lot of fans may think the transfer portal changed recruiting but that’s not really the case.
At first, the transfer portal just meant those players who wanted to transfer could announce its intentions and be recruited by other teams’ players. Those players who chose to transfer would likely still have to sit out a year (unless they were graduates or met specific but also very arbitrary conditions).
Sitting out for a year is a tough decision to make regardless if a player is a freshman, sophomore or junio. Even if players had a redshirt year remaining, they had to weigh the decision to transfer somewhere, sit out a year, and hope to be a starter after sitting out that season.