Ranking the Top 10 transfers that will shape Big Ten title chase in 2024

There’s a new-look Big Ten in 2024 — hello, Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA — complete with a host of new faces, even on the rosters of the original 14 teams, thanks to a booming transfer portal.

Several of those transfer additions will influence the Big Ten table this season. It’s a more interesting hunt for the league championship than in years past now that divisions are gone.

So that brings up the question: What are the top 10 transfers that will shape the Big Ten title chase in 2024? I’m breaking it down (plus, I got greedy and aded a few wild cards to make things fun).

1. WILL HOWARD, QB (KANSAS STATE to OHIO STATE)

Will Howard said it himself: One of the biggest differences between Kansas State and Ohio State is that he doesn’t have to be the “hero” with the Buckeyes. The analogy’s overused, but it’s true: The grad transfer has the keys to a sports car, and he just needs to keep it on the road. Howard has to do enough of the off-script, dual-threat playmaking that made him occasionally great at K-State while cutting down on his mistakes, such as last season’s 10 interceptions, that held back his development as an NFL prospect.

It’s easier said than done, however, he’s equipped with better weapons than he’s ever had. In fact, Howard didn’t have a wideout with more than 725 single-season receiving yards in his four years with the Wildcats. Now he’s throwing to the likes of senior Emeka Egbuka — who is 78 receptions and 1,042 receiving yards away from becoming the Buckeyes’ all-time leader in those categories — and true freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith, the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2024 class.

2. DILLON GABRIEL, QB (OKLAHOMA to OREGON)

Howard’s No. 1 on this list because he’s the most importance piece for the Big Ten favorite Buckeyes. But, per FanDuel, Dillon Gabriel currently has the top Heisman Trophy odds of any quarterback, period, and for good reason. He enters the season as the best signal caller in the Big Ten after completing the most prolific of his four 3,000-yard passing seasons in what’s now a six-year, three-stop career, which started at UCF.

Last year at Oklahoma, Gabriel hit on 69.3% of his passes and threw for 3,660 yards, in addition to posting a 30:6 touchdown-to-interception ratio and shattering his single-season career high with 12 rushing scores. The southpaw has a chance to conduct the best passing offense in the country this season at Oregon, where offensive coordinator Will Stein worked magic with Bo Nix last season. Like Howard, Gabriel’s got a lot around him, including an elite receiving corps and a sturdy offensive line.

3. QUINSHON JUDKINS, RB (OLE MISS to OHIO STATE)

Quinshon Judkins was one of the biggest names in the transfer portal this offseason. He left Ole Miss, where he was the bell cow, for Ohio State, where he’ll split carries with senior Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson. With an eye toward the NFL, Judkins is happy to divvy up the workload. Plus, now he has a chance to form a two-headed monster for a national title contender.

Judkins is hard to bring down, so much so that he forced 78 missed tackles last season, at least 27 more than every other SEC back in 2023, according to PFF. Granted Judkins’ breakaway percentage (27.5%) and yards after contact per attempt (3.21) from last season aren’t particularly high, per PFF, but his sheer volume of carries (271) is a contributing factor there. The two-time first-team All-SEC running back is the epitome of productive. He moves the chains, and he has two 1,000-yard rushing seasons to his name.

4. CALEB DOWNS, S (ALABAMA to OHIO STATE)

Ohio State returned most of its vaunted 2023 defense that allowed 11.2 points per game. But the Buckeyes’ best defensive player in 2024 might just be sophomore safety Caleb Downs, who transferred in after earning second-team AP All-American honors in his lone season at Alabama. Downs became the first true freshman to lead the Crimson Tide in total tackles (107) since at least 1970.

He also recorded 3.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, four pass break-ups and one forced fumble. Downs will start at free safety for the Buckeyes, except he can line up anywhere. Last season as Alabama’s starting strong safety, he spent 265-plus snaps at each of these spots: deep safety, in the box and in the slot. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day even floated the idea of Downs getting some offensive touches, plus he’s in the running to return punts for the Buckeyes.

5. EVAN STEWART, WR (TEXAS A&M to OREGON)

Tez Johnson is the Oregon wide receiver in the spotlight, but Evan Stewart is a welcome addition for head coach Dan Lanning. In his two seasons at Texas A&M, Stewart piled up 11 receptions on throws traveling 20-plus yards downfield, according to PFF. Last year alone, had six such catches on 14 targets in that depth, despite playing in only eight games due to injury issues.

Even though he missed about a third of the 2023 season, the 6-foot, 175-pound wideout still managed 38 receptions for 514 receiving yards and four touchdown grabs. The year before, he earned freshman All-American honors while leading all SEC players in his class with an average of 64.9 receiving yards per game.

6. JAISHAWN BARHAM, LB (MARYLAND to MICHIGAN)

Michigan has won three straight Big Ten titles, and don’t count out the Wolverines this year, either. They’re still loaded defensively, and one area they reloaded is linebacker. Jaishawn Barham has softened the blow from the NFL departures of Junior Colson and Michael Barrett. Barham could be a force in the second level for new defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.

Barham is a physical linebacker who is expected to play alongside junior Ernest Hausmann this season. Hausmann played in a backup role for the Wolverines last year after transferring in from Nebraska. Barham, on the other hand, started all 23 of the games he suited up for in two seasons at Maryland. Along the way, he combined for seven sacks. In his 2023 meeting with Michigan, Barham even intercepted now-former Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

7. JABBAR MUHAMMAD, CB (WASHINGTON to OREGON)

After transferring in from Oklahoma State last offseason, Jabbar Muhammad was part of a 2023 Washington team that beat Oregon twice en route to a Pac-12 title and, ultimately, a national runner-up finish. Now he’s playing for the Ducks. Muhammad led all cornerbacks with 19 forced incompletions last season, including 17 in single coverage, according to PFF.

At 5-foot-10, 185 pounds, the DeSoto, Texas, native isn’t the biggest or longest corner. That said, his competitive fervor makes up for what he lacks in size. Although Muhammad missed 13 tackles last year, per PFF, he made 46 tackles — not to mention five for loss and two sacks — while also picking off three passes, one of which he took back 42 yards against Cal.

8. JULIAN FLEMING, WR (OHIO STATE to PENN STATE)

If Penn State’s going to contend for its first Big Ten title since 2016, third-year quarterback Drew Allar is going to need some more help from his receivers. Ohio State transfer wideout Julian Fleming is part of that equation. Fleming, a native of Catawissa, Pennsylvania, returned to his home state to play for a Nittany Lions program that badly wanted him when Fleming was the On3 Industry Ranking’s top receiver prospect in the 2020 class.

Fleming hasn’t lived up to his recruiting ranking his first four years of his college career — and a slew of shoulder complications didn’t help his cause — although he did end up being a two-year starter for the Buckeyes. Especially after KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Penn State’s top receiver from 2023, transferred to Auburn in the spring, there’s an onus on Fleming to deliver in the final year of his college career.

9. A.J. HARRIS & JALEN KIMBER, CB (GEORGIA, FLORIDA to PENN STATE)

OK, I’m kind of cheating with these next two sets of picks, but sticking these defensive backs together makes sense. Penn State lost Kalen King to the NFL Draft this year and Joey Porter Jr. to the NFL Draft the year before. The Nittany Lions had a big question mark surrounding the outside cornerback position this offseason, so they went out and brought in A.J. Harris from Georgia and Jalen Kimber from Florida.

Harris was the No. 3 corner in the 2023 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, but he played only 89 defensive snaps in his lone year with Georgia. Kimber, who actually started his career at Georgia as well, was an everyday starter for the Gators last year and allowed 21 receptions on 36 targets for 389 yards and three scores, per PFF. Penn State’s defense could be dominant this season but only if Harris and Kimber rise to the occasion.

10. KAMARI RAMSEY & AKILI ARNOLD, S (UCLA, OREGON STATE to USC)

Yeah, USC lost one-time Heisman winner Caleb Williams to the NFL, but it should be fine offensively. The question remains, can a Lincoln Riley-coached Trojans squad get it together on the other side of the ball? He hired D’Anton Lynn from UCLA to be his new defensive coordinator. Lynn will have two transfer safeties to use, including one from his previous stop, Kamari Ramsey. The other is sixth-year veteran Akili Arnold.

They will be key in helping USC try to fix a passing defense that ranked 103rd nationally with 246.4 yards per game allowed through the air in 2023. Ramsey was the higher rated of the two coming out of high school, but Arnold has done well for himself in the collegiate ranks and is coming off a 62-tackle season, during which he also defended six passes and notched two interceptions.

WILD CARD: TYLER VAN DYKE, QB (MIAMI to WISCONSIN)

It was hard to predict what Wisconsin was going to look like in the first year of the Luke Fickell era. It’s kind of tricky to pinpoint where the Badgers will go in 2024, too. The “Air Raid” transfer quarterback experiment with Tanner Mordecai didn’t pan out — he had nine passing touchdowns in 10 games after back-to-back seasons with 33 or more at SMU — but Fickell’s Wisconsin is rolling the dice again, this time with Tyler Van Dyke.

Van Dyke’s Miami career got off to a blistering start, with him winning ACC Rookie of the Year as a redshirt freshman in 2021. Neither of his last two seasons have been nearly as prolific. His 2022 campaign was injury riddled, and his 2023 season saw him post a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 19:12 — all but two of those picks came in a brutal 1-4, midseason stretch. If Wisconsin gets the best version of Van Dyke, the Badgers could be a Big Ten dark horse. Anything less, and a schedule with Alabama in September and Iowa, Penn State, Oregon and USC later on could be a headache.

WILD CARD: JAHMAL BANKS, WR (WAKE FOREST to NEBRASKA)

Nebraska hasn’t made a bowl game since the 2016 season. The Cornhuskers should, at the very least, end the drought this year, thanks to a favorable schedule and a revamped offense. That revamped offense includes transfer wide receiver Jahmal Banks, who spent the last four seasons at Wake Forest. He’s an imposing 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, giving expected starter Dylan Raiola a big target to throw to down the sideline and in the red zone.

Banks tallied more than 40 catches and more than 630 receiving yards in both 2022 and 2023. During the 2022 campaign, when Sam Hartman was still quarterbacking the Demon Deacons, he reeled in nine touchdowns.

WILD CARD: WILL ROGERS, QB (MISSISSIPPI STATE to WASHINGTON)

The 2024 Washington roster looks like a shell of the 2023 Washington roster. The Huskies are 125th in ESPN’s post-spring returning production rankings. That’s what happens when the head coach of a veteran team leaves. And this head coach, Kalen DeBoer, just so happened to be leaving for one of the most storied programs in college football, Alabama.

But, during the roller coaster that was the beginning of Washington’s offseason, the Huskies ultimately held onto Mississippi State transfer quarterback Will Rogers, despite him initially re-entering the portal after DeBoer’s departure. Expectations aren’t high for Jedd Fisch in Year 1, but Rogers makes the Huskies intriguing. Rogers is the SEC’s No. 2 all-time leading passer (12,315 passing yards), and he’s made 38 career starts. That’s notable.