Arik Gilbert, Spencer Sanders, Hank Bachmeier among notable transfers this week

The transfer portal features interesting moves on a daily basis. Today, three in particular grabbed my attention, and two could affect football in Louisiana.

Tight end Arik Gilbert was once hailed as the top tight end in the country and the National Gatorade Player of the Year out of Marietta, Ga. before he signed with LSU in 2020.

Gilbert grabbed 35 passes for 368 yards and two scores as a true freshman and then strangely disappeared due to off-field issues. Rumored to be headed to Florida, he instead landed at Georgia in ’21 where he caught only two passes for 16 yards and a touchdown in three games.

Now, Gildert has transferred to Nebraska to join new head coach Matt Rhule.

With the skills to spilt out wide and be a dangerous weapon, Gilbert has never put it all together. Some compared him to former Alabama and NFL tight end O.J. Howard. On skills and potential alone, he would be worthy of an NFL team spending a draft pick on him. For Gilbert, Nebraska represents “Last Chance U.”

Meanwhile, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin was not done bulking up the quarterback room when Walker Howard committed to the Rebels this week. Oklahoma State’s Spencer Sanders made his transfer to Oxford official Thursday.

The 6-foot-2, 219-pound Sanders started 42 games for the Cowboys, posting a 31-11 record as a starter. He was first team All-Big XII in 2021. The Dallas, Texas native has thrown for 9,553 yards, 67 touchdowns and 40 interceptions, completing 61.1% of his tosses. Sanders is confident in his skills and drawn to the type of offense that Kiffin runs.

“I like Lane Kiffin,” Sanders told 247 Sports, “I like how he schemes his offense. I like how he runs his offense, how he spreads the ball out. He’s got tempo in the SEC as well. I love the play action shots as well. I just want to compete and do the best I can and show the world what I can do in a different level.”

Auburn’s newly hired head coach Hugh Freeze made an all-out push to land Sanders.

Louisiana Tech landed an intriguing prospect who could make a major difference. Former Boise State quarterback Hank Bachmeier transferred to Ruston after starting 29 games for the Broncos and passing for 6,605 yards with 41 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

The big appeal for Bachmeier was the offense run by Tech coach Sonny Cumbie, a pupil of Mike Leach and Kliff Kingsbury and their versions of the Air Raid attack.

The 6-1, 202-pound native of Murrieta, California was a 4 star prospect in the ’19 class. He left the Boise State programs after four games this season so he will maintain two years of eligibility.

Bachmeier has good arm strength to make all the throws with zip on his passes and good placement. He can drop it over the top in deep throws and thread the needle in tight windows. Elusive in the pocket, Bachmeier sees the field while on the move. He can make throws from hash mark to hash mark.