Transfer portal hits and misses revisited

The football season is not coming to a close but it never really ends. It is a 24/7, 365 operation.

College football just spills into the next phase when regular season ends. In addition to postseason play and bowl games, there is early signing period in mid December and the always intriguing transfer portal, which is here to stay.

Since it has been implemented, the transfer portal has proven to be capable of facilitating an immediate reversal of the fortunes for a college program. At the very least, the right transfers can jump start it and get it back on track. It can also backfire.

The window for the transfer portal for the 2024 season has been slightly altered. Last year, it was a 60-day opportunity. This season it has been trimmed to 45 days total. It will open December four and close January three (a 30-day period). It reopens in spring for 15 days from May 1-15.

Recruiting prospects in the transfer portal is a more challenging task than recruiting high school athletes. The prep players have been on a school’s radar for numerous years in most cases so relationships have been built. Most do not actually know who will enter the portal until the very last minute. Even one assistant coach’s departure could prompt an exodus at a particular position.

The most coveted players available will always receive the lion’s share of the attention. A quick background check and an evaluation for fit may have to be done quickly on the fly. It varies from one program to another. Often, a head coach’s gut feeling plays a role in the decision to take a transfer on board.

Here is a list of players who found new homes for the ’23 campaign. I’ve listed 12 who were bargains with a successful landing at their new spot. There are a dozen more who underachieved for one reason or another. In all or most of the latter cases, the player’s production declined from 2022 to this season.

Here are a few of the bargain additions for 2023:

– WR Malik Washington arrived at Virginia from Northwestern after he recorded 65 catches for 694 yards and a score. This season, he has flourished despite the Cavaliers overall struggles with 96 grabs for 1,311 yards and nine touchdowns, second nationally behind only LSU’s Malik Nabers

– RB Ishmail Mahdi, only a sophomore, came to Texas State from Houston Christian after rushing for 459 yards and a touchdown last year. This season, Mahdi is 13th in the country with 1,112 yards and nine scores. He began the season as the team’s 4th RB.

– QB Jason McCloud, a junior, came to James Madison from Arizona. He played in only three games in 2021 for the Wildcats and left the team October 8, 2022. McCloud has led the surprising Dukes to a 10-1 mark with 3,089 yards passing with 27 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He emerged in fall camp after originally thought to be a backup.

– RB Logan Diggs, who headed back south LSU from Notre Dame, became the Tigers’ RB1. The former Rummel Raider’s productivity didn’t decline from 2022 (820 yards, four touchdowns) to this season in which he has accumulated 635 yards and six scores while averaging 5.6 yards per carry. Diggs has solidified the LSU rushing attack, complementing the explots of Jayden Daniels with a bruising, between-the-tackles style despite missing games with injuries.

– WR/CB Travis Hunter, a high profile transfer from Jackson State to Colorado, made an immediate impact on the FBS level. The 6-foot-1, 185 pounder is looked upon as a legitimate Heisman candidate before he leaves Boulder. This season, he has collected 49 catches for 614 yards and four touchdowns, adding 46 stops and three interceptions on the defensive side. Hunter, who has drawn comparisons to 1997 Heisman winner Charles Woodson, played in 274 toal snaps the first two games of the season against TCU and Nebraska prior to suffering a lacerated liver injury against Colorado State in the third contest.

– QB T.J. Finley, a name many would not have expected to be on this list a couple of years ago, has finally found the right college fit. The 6-7, 255-pound Finley arrived at Texas State from Auburn and rejuvenated his career in the high octane attack of new Bovcats head coach G.J. Kinne. Texas State topped Baylor 42-31 in the season opener and later scored 77 against Jackson State as well as 50 against Southern Miss. Finley made five starts at LSU as a freshman in 2020 and five more in the two subsequent seasons at Auburn. In 2022 at Auburn, the Ponchatoula product threw for 431 yards, a touchdown and four interceptions. He has managed to toss for 2,919 yards and 21 touchdowns with seven interceptions, completing 68.6% of his attempts. Finaly is Exhibit A for how the portal can really work well.

– WR Adonai Mitchell, who left Georgia for Texas, had only nine catches for 134 yards and no touchdowns for the National Champion Bulldogs in ’22. This season, the 6-4, 196-pound junior sprouted wings for the nationally-ranked Longhorns with 43 grabs for 669 yards and nine touchdowns.

– WR Jimmy Horn, South Florida to Colorado, had 27 catches for 551 yards and three touchdowns in ’22. In Boulder, he has 56 grabs, 549 yards and six touchdowns this season.

– WR Theo Wease, Oklahoma to Missouri, has helped bolster an impressive Tiger attack. The 6-2, 193-pound senior had 19 catches for 378 yards and four touchdowns for Sooners last season but has upped the ante to 44 grabs for 624 yards and six scores for Mizzou. He tallied 10 catches for 118 yards and a touchdown against Vanderbilt.

– QB Hudson Card, Texas to Purdue, accounted for 928 yards passing with six touchdowns and only one interception in three starts as a sophomore with the Longhorns. As a first year starter for the Boilermakers, the junior has 2,112 yards, 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions, adding 118 yards and four more scores as a runner.

– LB Tyler Grubbs, Louisiana Tech to Tulane, has continued his solid play back home. The former Holy Cross All-State performer had 49 tackles for the Bulldogs while fighting injuries last year after a phenomenal freshman comapaign in 2021. Grubbs has stepped up in a major way at Tulane with 53 stops, 6.5 tackles for loss and three sacks for a rock solid defense. His leadership has been a contributing factor to the team’s success.

– RB Dillon Johnson, Mississippi State to Washington, managed 488 yards rushing with three touchdowns for the Bulldogs. He has helped the unbeaten Huskies with 879 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging 5.8 yards per carry.

Here are a dozen transfer portal arrivals in 2023 who have had a less favorable return on their new team’s investment.

– WR Zakhari Franklin from UTSA to Ole Miss, In 2022 he was among the leaders in college football with 93 catches for 1,137 yards and 15 touchdowns. This season, those numbers have shrunk to four grabs for 38 yards and a touchdown.

– RB Dominic Richardson, Oklahoma State to Baylor, his three years with the Cowboys produced 1,139 rushing yards with 15 scores. This season 494 yards with no scores.

– CB Denver Harris, Texas A&M to LSU, has not flourished. There wouldn’t be a list like this one without his name on it. In 2022 as a freshman for the Aggies, he had 14 tackles prior to being suspended for a locker room incident. In the four games he has played for the Tigers, HArris contributed seven tackles but one of the crown jewels of the 2023 transfer portal has mostly been inactive throughout the ’23 season.

– LB DeMario Tolan, LSU to Auburn, was a highly-regarded 4-star signee who made 10 tackles as a freshman with the Bengals Tigers on a limited basis. He moved onto Auburn immediately following the season. As of July 2023, he was declared no longer a member of the Auburn football team. LSU’s Brian Kelly once considered him the next Micah Baskerville.

– DB Ja’Had Carter, Syracuse to Ohio State, made 135 tackles and five interceptions in three seasons with the Orange. He was pencilled in as a starting nickelback for ’23 for the Buckeyes but has made just five tackles this season.

– CB Duce Chestnut, Syracuse to LSU, was an All-ACC performer who had 40 tackles and a interception in 2022. In only two games with the Tigers, he has six stops and a pick but resides mostly in Kelly’s doghouse this year.

– WR Dante Cephus, Kent State to Penn State, made 27 starts with the Golden Flashes, recording 145 catches for 2,139 yards and 12 touchdowns. He has not lived up to billing after arriving in Happy Valley, securing 19 grabs for 210 yards and two touchdowns.

– RB Keyvonne Lee, Penn State to Mississippi State, had 1,062 yards and six touchdowns while adding 30 catches for 219 yards with the Nittany Lions. In seven games for the Bulldogs, Lee has only 60 yards with no touchdowns and no catches.

– WR Jack Bech, LSU to TCU, compiled 59 catches for 689 yards and four touchdowns over two seasons in Baton Rouge. The former record-setting Louisiaana high school product has just 11 grabs for 112 yards and no touchdowns this season. He was supposed to be on the receiving end of high school teammate Walker Howard for the Tigers but both transfered.

– WR J. Michael Sturdivant, California to UCLA, tallied 65 catches for 655 yards and seven touchdowns for the Golden Bears last year. At his new home with the Bruins, he has 29 catches for 438 yards and three scores this season.

-LB Dasan McCullough, Indiana to Oklahoma, was a playmakrs for the Hoosiers with 48 tackles and 6.0 sacks. In seven games with the Sooners, he has 27 stops.

– RB Carson Steele, Ball State to UCLA had 1,556 yards rushing with 14 touchdowns to rank in the top 20 nationally in 2022. His numbers have fallen short this year at 794 yards with six touchdowns for the Bruins. That’s not bad but maybe a little behind of what was expected in a run-friendly offense.