Transfer season is in full swing in college football, again.
The spring transfer portal window officially opened on April 16, allowing players to move following spring ball or even during their team’s spring practices.
Which players are on the move this offseason, and which ones have already found a new home?
Let’s take a look at the stars and standouts who are testing the waters and transferring.
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April 16
McClain was one of the top overall prospects in the class of 2023 and was very a late flip to Colorado shortly after Deion Sanders took control as head coach there. McClain saw inconsistent playing time and even earned a public admonishment from Sanders over his practice habits during his freshman season despite the Buffaloes’ limited defensive back depth. However, McClain appeared to respond well to Sanders’ tough love and saw more game action as the season progressed and his playing improved, eventually earning four starts. That said, it appears McClain has decided to move on from Boulder, and given his elite five-star prospect profile coming out of high school, he will garner plenty of interest.
Oregon State RB Damien Martinez
Martinez is perhaps coming off the best season of everyone who entered their name into the college football transfer portal when it reopened Tuesday. He was a key factor in Oregon State’s rise up the Pac-12 over the last two seasons, with 2,167 rush yards and 16 touchdowns on 355 attempts since the beginning of 2023. Martinez initially decided to stay in Corvallis when head coach Jonathan Smith departed for Michigan State, but now will enter the portal as one of the most proven players available. Martinez is already reportedly set to visit several Power 5 schools including Arizona, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Kentucky and Miami.
USC OL Jason Zandamela
Despite the proliferation of the transfer portal in recent years, a true freshman transferring before his first collegiate season is still virtually unheard of aside from a significant coaching change. Yet one of the top overall prospects in USC’s 2024 recruiting class is doing just that despite head coach Lincoln Riley and offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Josh Henson still very much entrenched in Los Angeles. Zandamela, a four-star originally from Mozambique, is essentially restarting his recruitment process all over again.
Evers, a top-10 quarterback recruit in the class of 2022, excited fans when he transferred to Wisconsin to join new head coach Luke Fickell. However, Evers struggled to break through and never seriously competed for the starting quarterback job during his year-plus in Madison, and now leaves the Badgers without having ever appeared in a game for them.
Just months after transferring to Iowa, Proctor is back in the portal, according to multiple reports. Proctor reportedly has a “do not contact” mark next to his name, as it’s believed he’ll be transferring back to Alabama. The 2023 five-star recruit transferred out of Alabama following Nick Saban’s retirement in January.
Penn State WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith
One of the top receivers in the Big Ten is on the move. Lambert-Smith is reportedly entering the transfer portal after not playing in Penn State’s spring game on April 13. The fifth-year wideout has 126 career receptions for 1,721 yards and 11 touchdowns, recording 53 receptions for 673 yards and four touchdowns last year.
Boone is on the move again. The fifth-year running back is reportedly entering the transfer portal for the second time in four months. Boone, who began his college career at Maryland before playing the last two seasons at Toledo, transferred to Louisville earlier in the offseason. His 1,400 rushing yards was the eighth-best mark in the FBS last season, winning the MAC Offensive Player of the Year.
Another Aggie isn’t entering the portal, with Mathews joining the group of several players to seek a transfer since Mike Elko became Texas A&M’s head coach earlier in the offseason. Considered a top-100 recruit in the Class of 2022 by 247 Spots, Mathews had 42 combined tackles and an interception last season.
The rising junior is reportedly entering the transfer portal. Hayden, who rushed for 553 yards and five touchdowns in 2022, didn’t get many opportunities to produce in 2023 as he only had 19 carries. The Class of 2022 four-star recruit would’ve likely seen his number of carries dwindle further as Tre’Veyon Henderson returned to Columbus, while former Ole Miss star Quinshon Judkins transferred to the school earlier this offseason.
The former four-star recruit is entering the portal after one season in Ann Arbor, according to multiple reports. English only had one reception, a 4-yard touchdown catch, during his freshman season with Michigan.
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