Over 1,600 college football players have entered the transfer portal since the window opened on Dec. 5. Several Power 5 starting quarterbacks — including Devin Leary (NC State), DJ Uiagalelei (Clemson) and Spencer Sanders (Oklahoma State) — made waves when they entered.
But they aren’t the only big names to enter the portal recently.
To catch you up on the latest activity, we look at some of the biggest movers, notable entries and commitments from the portal over the past week.
Jump to:
Teams that won | New commits | New entrants
Top lists | One big question
Schools that won the portal this week
Oklahoma: The Sooners are a winner for bettering the offense with tight end Austin Stogner, who transferred to South Carolina last year but will return to Norman for 2023, and the defense with Indiana linebacker Dasan McCullough, a former top-50 recruit who wreaked havoc for the Hoosiers’ defense in 2022. And while it doesn’t count toward the portal, the staff also landed a commitment from McCullough’s younger brother, Daeh, an ESPN 300 safety in the 2023 class.
Ball State: The Cardinals landed a commitment from running back Marquez Cooper. Ball State lost its leading rusher, Carson Steele, and was able to replace his production with Cooper, who ran for 1,331 yards and 13 touchdowns this past season.
Florida State: Landing Jaheim Bell was a big win for Jordan Travis and the Seminoles’ offense, especially because the staff had already taken in Miami defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr. to help up front on defense. Those are two important additions for a team on the rise.
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys had some losses in the portal, the biggest coming from quarterback Spencer Sanders, but the staff has added some playmakers, including former Washington State receiver De’Zhaun Stribling, who had 602 yards and five touchdowns this past season. The coaches also added former Western Michigan running back Sean Tyler to help the run game.
Michigan: The Wolverines have already been active in the portal. After landing former Arizona State offensive lineman LaDarius Henderson, they struck again this week with Nebraska freshman linebacker Ernest Hausmann, who had 54 total tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. Michigan will return Junior Colson and possibly Michael Barrett next year, and adding Hausmann, who has three years of eligibility remaining, is promising.
Next chapter ➡️ #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/vowmLb60aH
— Ernest Hausmann (@Ernest_Hausmann) December 15, 2022
Most important commitments
Missouri adds a Sooner wideout
Missouri also added an offensive threat in former Oklahoma receiver Theo Wease. The former ESPN 300 recruit dealt with injuries at Oklahoma but has been productive when he’s on the field. Wease had 378 receiving yards and four touchdowns this season and should help fill the void left by Dominic Lovett entering the portal.
Michigan teammates reunite at Iowa
Michigan tight end Erick All announced he would transfer and entered the portal on Dec. 5. He found his destination this week, reporting that he is transferring to Iowa, joining his former quarterback Cade McNamara.
Top QB staying put
Not every move was a new school, though, as Western Kentucky quarterback Austin Reed, who entered the portal when it opened, decided he would stay with the Hilltoppers.
Entering the portal doesn’t mean the players have to transfer; they can withdraw their name and stay at their current program. The school had some fun with the decision and tweeted out a “Michael Jordan return from retirement” type of release that read, “I’m back.”
— WKU Football (@WKUFootball) December 13, 2022
Reed threw for an impressive 4,427 yards and 36 touchdowns with 10 interceptions this past season, and he rushed for 199 yards and eight touchdowns. Getting him back from the portal was a big win for Western Kentucky.
Key new entries into the portal
While one Hilltopper stays, another goes
Western Kentucky’s leading tackler, linebacker JaQues Evans, entered his name in the portal Wednesday. Evans had 100 total tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks this past season for the Hilltoppers.
Coastal Carolina loses three-year starting QB
The biggest name to go into the portal this week was quarterback Grayson McCall. His head coach, Jamey Chadwell, was hired at Liberty, and Tim Beck was brought in as the new coach at Coastal Carolina.
With the coaching change, it wasn’t a huge shock, but given what he has done for the program still gave pause that he would be playing elsewhere.
Grayson, a redshirt junior, has thrown for 8,019 yards and 78 touchdowns with just eight interceptions in his career with the Chanticleers, while rushing for 1,053 yards and 16 touchdowns. He will be one of the more sought-after quarterbacks in the transfer market.
Three teams lose top DBs
There were a few good defensive backs who entered the portal this week, including Texas Tech corner Reggie Pearson Jr. Pearson initially transferred to Texas Tech from Wisconsin and had 55 total tackles, two interceptions and four pass breakups this season.
Syracuse defensive back Duce Chestnut entered the portal, as well. Chestnut had 40 total tackles, two tackles for loss and an interception this season for the Orange. He had 43 total tackles and three interceptions his freshman season in 2021, as well, and should get quite a bit of interest from major programs.
Miami also lost a young corner when true freshman Khamauri Rogers entered the portal. The No. 45 prospect in the 2022 class out of Mississippi should be a target for plenty of schools.
Two former ESPN 300 WRs enter the portal
On the offensive side, a couple of intriguing receivers put their name in the transfer market, including Alabama freshman Aaron Anderson. He was the No. 69 recruit overall in the 2022 class, but an injury in high school prevented him from playing most of this season for the Crimson Tide.
Sophomore West Virginia receiver Kaden Prather is also in the transfer portal. After recording 175 receiving yards as a freshman, Prather followed that with 501 yards and three touchdowns in 2022.
Other players who entered the portal you might have missed: LB CJ Harris (Kent State), DB Christian Roland-Wallace (Arizona), LB Ayodele Adeoye (Sacramento State), OL Dillon Wade (Tulsa), OL Logan Parr (Texas).
Breaking down top lists
Former OU QB visits Big Ten school
Quarterbacks will always be a hot commodity on the transfer market, and freshman Nick Evers is wasting no time in figuring out his next steps. Evers initially committed to Florida out of high school but flipped to Oklahoma.
After one season, Evers is on the way out and has already heard from other Power 5 schools. He recently took a visit to Wisconsin, and the Badgers’ new coaching staff is looking for a new starter, as Graham Mertz is in the portal.
hmm. @BadgerFootball pic.twitter.com/bipAPSDo24
— nicco (@NickEvers12) December 14, 2022
Ole Miss, Michigan State and Cal vying for former Texas A&M players
Texas A&M freshman receiver Chris Marshall is a talented wideout but was suspended during the season for a violation of team rules. The former ESPN 300 recruit will receive heavy interest from Power 5 schools and already visited Ole Miss this week.
Texas A&M also lost defensive end Tunmise Adeleye, a former ESPN 300 recruit in the 2021 class, to the portal. He recently took a visit to Michigan State and also had coaches from Cal stop by his house on an in-home visit.
— Tunmise Adeleye 🇳🇬 (@OTK4Ltunmise) December 12, 2022
Top FCS OL making the rounds
Rhode Island offensive lineman A.J. Cornelius exploded as one of the most sought-after linemen in the transfer portal. He has heard from a number of big schools, recently visiting Oregon and Nebraska. It seems likely he will take more visits before making a final decision.
We had a blast at Oregon this weekend! Thank you for hosting my family and I! @oregonfootball @CoachDanLanning pic.twitter.com/2iR8icLKk0
— Ajani Cornelius (@AJCornelius65) December 13, 2022
One big question for the week
The transfer portal giveth and the transfer portal taketh. For Kent State, it has taken — 17 players so far.
That includes starting quarterback Collin Schlee, running back Marquez Cooper, receiver Dante Cephas and a handful of other important players. The program is hiring Minnesota running backs coach Kenni Burns as the next head coach after Sean Lewis left for an assistant job at Colorado.
Burns will have a tall task ahead to replace the tremendous amount of production leaving through the portal. How does he fill that with less than a week until the early signing period and the clock continuously ticking with transfer players?
Burns must either recruit some of the Kent State players who entered the portal to rejoin the team or hit the portal hard himself. It might be difficult to get the former players back, as Cooper has already committed to Ball State and Cephas is hearing from Power 5 schools, including Penn State.
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