The TNet staff interview with Dabo about Mario Goodrich's outstanding Cheez-It Bowl performance speaks volumes about the potential lost opportunities for players who make immature / premature decisions about using the portal.

To summarize that interview, Dabo said that if the portal had existed when M.Goodrich was a sophomore, then he probably would have left Clemson via the portal. But since the portal did not exist in 2018 / 2019 (as it does now), M.Goodrich had to stick it out, learn the CB position, and earn his way into becoming a starter. As a result of him sticking it out, he's got a reasonable chance of making a NFL roster as a DB.