The five most important transfers joining the Big 12 in 2023
The transfer portal is becoming one of the key factors in every college football season, not least of all in the Big 12. Lincoln Riley was the first to unlock the potential of the portal in keeping Oklahoma well stocked every season with the talent they’d need to maintain their place atop the conference but it’s now become standard operating procedure across the league.
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Last season TCU transformed their roster with the portal and went to the National Championship while K-State won the conference with a secondary patched together from poorly known transfers from the lower levels.
It’ll have another major role in this coming season and I’ve identified five transfers I think could be particularly impactful in the conference championship race. These aren’t the highest rated guys but five players who’ve shown at their previous schools they can produce and now slide into key roles for Big 12 contenders.
No. 5: Justin Kirkland, nose tackle. Utah Tech –> Oklahoma State
The Oklahoma State Cowboys did a major makeover in the transfer portal this offseason, losing several talented athletes and replacing them with veterans from lower level squads. Because of the relative obscurity from which they pulled many of their new prospective starters, there’s a chance they surprise teams in 2023.
Defense is an obvious area where OSU has some new tricks up their sleeves. Mike Gundy hired a fellow named Bryan Nardo from an FCS program to install the Flyover 3-3-5 defense in Stillwater and they found a 6-foot-4, 346 pound, 21-year old sophomore (took a two-year LDS mission) from Utah Tech to come anchor the 3-down front as the new nose tackle in Justin Kirkland.
Here’s Kirkland in action last season against BYU:
OSU’s Flyover will include star pass-rusher Collin Oliver working on the perimeter, Kirkland up the middle, and former blue chip safety Kendal Daniels roaming in the middle. Their defense could be one of the key stories of the 2023 Big 12 season.
No. 4: Keagan Johnson, wide receiver. Iowa –> Kansas State
Keagan Johnson was rated as an 89.93 recruit out of Nebraska in 2021 when he signed with Iowa but he looked even better than his rating when catching 18 balls for 352 yards and two touchdowns as a true freshman playing outside receiver.
In 2022 he was injured and took a redshirt after only playing in two games. The offseason began with Iowa retaining offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz (head coach’s son) despite averaging only 17.7 points per game and continued with the addition of Michigan transfer quarterback Cade McNamara, who isn’t known for slinging the ball down the field. Keagan entered the transfer portal and elected to play in K-State’s offense with now proven passer Will Howard.
K-State is losing Deuce Vaughn, Kade Warner, and Malik Knowles from their skill room. One of the biggest roadblocks to defending their Big 12 Championship will be reloading with new weapons on offense. If Johnson can be a deep threat outside it gives them a chance.
No. 3: Dasan McCullough, ???. Indiana –> Oklahoma
Dasan McCullough played as a Sam linebacker in a 3-4 defense last year as a true freshman at Indiana. He’d played safety in high school but spun down to the edge in college as 6-foot-5, 222 pounders often do and totaled 49 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and four sacks.
Then he transferred to Oklahoma who transitioned him into their nebulous “Cheetah” position, which in the spring game meant he played as an apex linebacker in space split between the offensive tackle and the slot receiver. In the event Oklahoma plays a 4-3 in the season like they did in the spring game, this would put McCullough into some tough spots having to carry vertical routes.
If they bring back the 3-down Flyover defense they routinely used in 2022 it would shield him over the top with a safety, but perhaps demand more from Oklahoma’s unproven and desperately cobbled together D-line. An alternative would be to slide him inside to Mike linebacker so they could play a 4-2-5 and get a real defensive back across from the slot. Each choice would carry different trade-offs and trickle downs for the rest of the defense, which needs a big year for Brent Venables.
McCullough has the length and explosiveness to be an impact player, but Venables and his staff have to figure out how to deploy him and his utilization will essentially define Oklahoma’s defensive identity and determine whether they can improve enough to get the Sooners back into real contention.
No. 2: Steve Linton, Edge. Syracuse –> Texas Tech
Last year Steve Linton was a 6-foot-4, 225 pound defensive end playing as a 3-down D-lineman in a 3-3-5 stack at Syracuse. That’s a tough gig for anyone but certainly for an athlete with so little heft or weight to handle offensive linemen blocking down on him.
Imagine if DeMarvion Overshown had played as a 4i for Todd Orlando and produced 22 tackles, six tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks. The takeaway would have been “imagine what this guy could do if he could play a natural position!” Evidently that’s what Tech saw in Linton’s 2022 film.
Now Linton is sliding into the Red Raider equivalent of Texas’ “Buck” position in their own 2-4-5 defense and he’s also filled out to 235 pounds. If you watch him at Syracuse he has some real burst off the ball and could cause problems stunting into inside gaps as a 4i. Now he’ll be able to work from space to blow by offensive linemen and work in an aggressive scheme designed to attack from different angles. This scheme did wonders for Tyree Wilson last year in Lubbock and Linton is next in line to be the primary beneficiary.
No. 1: AD Mitchell, wide receiver. Georgia –> Texas
When Wyoming transfer receiver Isaiah Neyor went down in fall camp it made a world of difference to the Texas offense which no longer had a big target outside to target at the chains on 3rd down. Redshirt freshman Quinn Ewers was clearly uncomfortable in those situations and struggled all year to find the range on speedster Xavier Worthy.
Steve Sarkisian didn’t take any chances for 2023, adding AD Mitchell from Georgia to give the ‘Horns a potential star outside receiver aside from the recovering Neyor. Mitchell’s resume is truly unique, he’s caught seven touchdowns in his two-year career and four of them came in Georgia’s four playoff games over those two seasons. What’s more, they were dispersed with Mitchell securing a touchdown catch in every single Georgia playoff win during their back-to-back National Championships.
He was due for a big season in 2023 after getting healthy and proving himself again on the biggest stage but elected to have that season in Texas’ offense alongside Worthy, Jordan Whittington, and Ja’Tavion Sanders. Don’t sleep on this having a big impact on Worthy, who can now get back to working on slants and “run after catch” plays underneath with Mitchell holding down the role of X receiver on the line. Mitchell’s addition gives Texas arguably the most talented and well-rounded wide receiver room in the country and is likely to be the dominant feature within the Big 12 this season.
