Programs are still learning the nuances of how best to take advantage of the transfer portal, so we see something new every other week. Some coaches opted not to play spring games for fear of being raided, a high-profile QB held out for a pay increase, then transferred. Bidding wars have ensued, a front office feel is the norm at many major programs, and the reality that we’re never going back to how things were even a decade ago continues to set in. Who navigated the chaos best? Who got hit hardest? Take a look...
WINNERS
1. LSU - CB Mansoor Delane (VT) and safety A.J. Haulcy (Houston) were two of the top defensive players available. NC State nickel Tamarcus Cooley should join defensive linemen Bernard Gooden, (USF) Jimari Butler (Nebraska), Patrick Payton (FSU) and Jack Plyburn (Florida) in being immediate contributors. WRs Nic Anderson (Oklahoma) and Barion Brown (Kentucky) join TE Bauer Sharp (Oklahoma) are proven playmakers. Braelin Moore (VT) and Josh Thompson (Northwestern) should start up front.
2. Miami (FL) - Ex-Georgia QB Carson Beck was polarizing, but don’t pretend he wasn’t a high level recruit and top NFL prospect before struggles set in. Beck was injured in the SEC Championship but is on schedule to be QB1 in place of No. 1 pick Cam Ward. The top FCS freshman, CharMar Brown (NDSU), joins WRs CJ Daniels (LSU), Keelan Marion (BYU) and Tony Johnson (Cincinnati) as new weapons. LB Mohamed Toure (Rutgers), LB Kamal Bonner (NC State), CBs Xavier Lucas (Wisconsin) and Ethan O’Connor (Wash St.) join safeties Jakobe Thomas (Tennessee) and Zechariah Poyser (Jax St.) to upgrade the defense.
3. Texas Tech - Edge rusher David Bailey (Stanford), DE/Dt Anthony Holmes Jr. (Houston), DT Lee Hunter (UCF), LB Romello Height (GT) and DBs Cole Wisniewski (NDSU), Brice Pollock (Miss. State) and Dontae Balfour (Charlotte) all have a chance to start. Landing tackle Howard Sampson (UNC) was a recruiting coup. RB Quinten Joyner (USC), WRs Micah Hudson (Texas A&M) and Reginald Virgil (Miami OH) and TE Terrance Carter Jr. (Louisiana) should all make the two-deep.
4. Oregon - RB Makhi Hughes (Tulane) is a gem set to become a household name. Safety Dillon Thieneman (Purdue) and CB Theran Johnson (Northwestern) stay in the Big Ten but should win a lot more. Offensive linemen Isaiah World (Nevada), Emmanuel Pregnon (USC) and Alex Harkey (Texas St.) were highly rated, while TE Jamari Johnson (Louisville) is a future pro looking to help replace first-round pick Terrance Ferguson.
5. Oklahoma - Elite dual-threat QB John Mateer (Washington St.) is the big get, upgrading a position that was a weakness. RB Jaydn Ott (Cal) is among the nation’s shiftiest backs and can be a star in the SEC if he can stay healthy. Kendal Daniels (Oklahoma St.) and Marvin Jones Jr. (FSU) are among the nation’s most physically imposing transfers.
LOSERS
1. Washington State - Besides losing a Heisman Trophy contender in Mateer, the Cougs lost OT Fa’alili Fa’amoe, who decided to join head coach Jake Dickert at Wake Forest. RB Wayshawn Parker left for Utah, and the defense lost standouts with DT David Gusta (Kentucky) and CB O’Connor (Miami FL) opting not to stay in Pullman.
2. Cal - QB Fernando Mendoza (IU), RB Ott (OU), RB Jaivian Thomas (UCLA), WRs Nyziah Hunter (Nebraska), Jonathan Brady (IU),Tobias Merriweather (Utah) and Mavin Anderson (Texas St.) joined TE Jack Endries (Texas) as significant contributors, so an offense that made great strides in Year 1 in the ACC takes a step backwards. The defense lost some key bodies too, adding to the carnage.
3. Stanford - With Troy Taylor fired in March, many key players opted not to see what results the combo of Andrew Luck and Frank Reich could coax at the start of a rebuild. Losing star pass rusher Bailey to Texas Tech and WR Emmett Mosely V (Texas) when he was supposed to help NFL draft pick Elic Ayomanor won’t help the new regime hit the ground running.
4. Wisconsin - The Badgers lost WR Will Pauling (Notre Dame), RB Tawee Walker (Cincinnati) and would-be top TE Tanner Koziol, who came in from Ball State, to Houston, in the spring. CB Lucas left for Miami (FL) and a number of key guys like DE/DT James Thompson Jr. ended up at Illinois. Since Wisconsin didn’t make much headway in the portal, it winds up on this list.
5. Marshall - Losing HC Charles Huff to Southern Miss despite his Sun Belt Championship led to a mass exodus and cost the Herd a spot in the Independence Bowl against Army. The spring window led to more defections, so new HC Tony Gibson has a rough road ahead. LB Jaden Yates (Ole Miss), RB AJ Turner (Minnesota), WR Christian Fitzpatrick (Oklahoma St.) will have larger stages, while QB Braylon Braxton and WR Elijah Metcalf will be one of many who followed Huff from Huntington to Hattiesburg.
Editor’s Note: Tony is a Playbook Expert. You can follow his work at PlaybookSports.com/Tony-Mejia
