Mid-level recruiting programs winning transfer portal wars

Thanks to the transfer portal, college football recruiting has been transformed.

Gone are the days when schools are just stockpiling high school and junior college recruits. With more than 3,000 NCAA FBS, FCS, D2 and D3 players entering the transfer portal since November, schools are now focused on recruiting the portal more than ever. It’s even gotten to the point where schools like Florida have hired former NFL staffers like Bird Sherrill to “focus on the evaluation of transfer portal and juco players.”

Power recruiting programs LSU, Florida State, USC and Oklahoma have already had success with January transfers. But the portal has also leveled the playing field for everybody else. It’s given schools not named Alabama or Georgia the chance to land impact players that can instantly transform their roster.

On3 takes a look at mid-level recruiting programs that have had success so far through the transfer portal.

Arkansas has top transfer portal class

You can make a strong argument nobody has recruited the transfer portal better this offseason than Arkansas’ Sam Pittman.

The Razorbacks join only Oklahoma as the two programs in the country with at least three committed transfers who ranked as four-star or higher recruits coming out of high school.

In fact, Jadon Haselwood, who ironically transferred from Oklahoma, was a five-star prospect in high school. Alabama linebacker transfer Drew Sanders was also a five-star recruit.

Sanders joins two impact four-star transfers from LSU in EDGE Landon Jackson and cornerback Dwight McGlothern. All three will add immediate talent and compete for starting roles on the Razorbacks’ defense.

Haselwood should also be an immediate impact player for Arkansas’ offense. He registered at least one catch every game for Oklahoma in the 2021 season, finishing with 39 receptions for 399 yards and six touchdowns. Haselwood also averaged 10.2 yards per reception.

Spartans continue transfer portal success

Landing former four-star running back recruit Jalen Berger and four-star cornerback recruit Ameer Speed are just more examples of Mel Tucker’s mastery of the transfer portal.

Tucker reshaped Michigan State’s roster prior to the 2021 season with the biggest addition coming from star running back Kenneth Walker. Some experts believe Berger could have that same type of impact for the Spartans in 2022.

Berger was one of the best available running backs in the transfer market. He appeared in seven career games for the Badgers, rushing 84 times for 389 yards and three touchdowns. Berger also had four receptions for 30 yards. After being dismissed from Wisconsin, Berger entered the transfer portal, which led him to Michigan State.

Speed was a four-star prospect in the class of 2017 out of Jacksonville (Fla.) Sandalwood who committed to Georgia over Alabama, Oregon and North Carolina shortly after Kirby Smart’s first season in Athens ended. At that time, Tucker was the defensive coordinator at UGA.

Speed spent five years in the SEC and started the first three games for Georgia in 2021 before five-star recruit Kelee Ringo took over the starting spot. Now Speed will have a chance to help the Spartans reshape their pass defense.

Gamecocks also have special transfer class

While much of the attention has been focused rightfully so on former five-star Oklahoma transfer quarterback Spencer Rattler, the Gamecocks added quality depth all over the board from the portal.

Along with Rattler, the Gamecocks added four-star Oklahoma transfer tight end Austin Stogner, three-star Wake Forest transfer running back Christian Beal-Smith, James Madison transfer wide receiver Antwane Wells Jr., three-star Central Michigan safety transfer Devonni Reed and three-star NC State defensive end transfer Terrell Dawkins.

It’s the type of haul that will give South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer a good chance to improve on his first season in Columbia.

BYU reshapes offense with portal

While he didn’t have an immediate impact at Oregon because of injuries, Kingsley Suamataia is expected to do big things at BYU. In fact, his transfer is arguably the biggest addition of the cycle, especially since former five-star recruits and franchise offensive tackles are hard to find.

But Suamataia wasn’t the only key offensive addition through the portal for BYU. The Cougars also added fullback Houston Heimuli from Stanford and running back Christopher Brooks from Cal.

Heimuli is the son of former BYU player Lakei Heimuli and played high school football at Bountiful (Utah) Hight. He played at Stanford from 2017-2021 after serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Brooks played 40 games for Cal from 2018-2021. He totaled 1,734 yards rushing with 14 touchdowns. He also had 50 catches for 345 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.

Terps add immediate impact WR

Mike Locksley has won some solid recruiting battles since his arrival at Maryland. But he’s not been able to consistently win enough of them to get the Terps over the hump. That’s why landing Florida receiver transfer Jacob Copeland is about as big as it gets for Maryland.

Coming out of high school, Copeland was ranked No. 75 in the 2018 On3 Consensus. He had a very good 2021 season for the Gators – leading the team in receptions (41), receiving yards (642), and receiving touchdowns (4) while averaging 15.7 yards per grab. Adding Copeland to a quality receiver room is going to give the Terps a number of good options at the position in 2022.

Nebraska adds 4-star QBs

Nebraska coach Scott Frost took a calculated risk when he went light on the 2022 recruiting class and saved scholarships for the transfer portal. The gamble paid off. The Big Red reshaped their quarterbacks’ room, added some much-needed depth at special teams and landed a few other quality players.

At quarterback, the Huskers first landed Texas four-star quarterback transfer Casey Thompson. Then Nebraska picked up Florida State four-star quarterback transfer Chubba Purdy. With the departure of starting quarterback Adrian Martinez to Kansas State, the Huskers badly needed help at the position. And Frost’s additions resulted in the quarterback room going from zero to competitive very quickly.

Both were welcome additions to a recruiting cycle that saw the Huskers’ class rank 50th in the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Ranking.

Arizona, Arizona State also revamping roster

The transfer portal has been kind to both Pac-12 programs in Arizona.

Arizona brought in Jayden de Laura, who was named the Pac-12 offensive player of the year after the 2021 season at Washington State. He threw for 2,796 yards and 23 touchdowns in 12 games for the Cougars. The Wildcats were also able to land former four-star linebacker recruit Anthony Solomon from Michigan during this cycle.

Arizona State added depth at the quarterback spot with Alabama transfer Paul Tyson. Tyson is the great-grandson of legendary Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. The 6-foot-5, 228-pound signal-caller was a four-star recruit and the No. 22 quarterback in the 2019 class, according to the On3 Consensus.

But the biggest addition for the Sun Devils came on Wednesday with news that defensive lineman Nesta Jade Silvera decided to transfer to Arizona State and play for head coach Herm Edwards, rather than enter the 2022 NFL Draft or return to Miami for a fifth season.

In his four years with the Hurricanes, Silvera had 105 tackles and 16 tackles for loss, including 5.5 this year. He was one of Miami’s starters during the 2021 season. That’s why it is such a big loss for the Canes and a big addition for Arizona State. Silvera ranked as the No. 68 player in the country coming out of the 2018 recruiting class.

KU, K-State land playmakers

Kansas and K-State don’t normally win too many high-profile recruiting battles. But the transfer portal has been kind to both the Jayhawks and Wildcats.

After leading Minnesota in rushing last season, star running back Ky Thomas is returning to his home state to play for the Jayhawks. Last season, Thomas saved the Golden Gophers rushing attack after veteran Mohamed Ibrahim went down with an injury in their first game. Thomas, a former four-star recruit, was the unquestioned leader of the backfield by the end of the season with 842 yards and six touchdowns.

But it wasn’t the only big-time transfer addition for KU. The Jayhawks picked up four-star UCF linebacker transfer Eriq Gilyard. He expected to start from day one in Lawrence.

With K-State, Adrian Martinez is expected to be the replacement for graduating senior quarterback Skylar Thompson at K-State.

A former four-star recruit in the On3 Consensus out of the Class of 2018, Martinez threw for 2,863 yards and 14 touchdowns with 10 interceptions in 2021. Over his four years in Lincoln, Martinez tallied 8,491 yards, 45 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. He also recorded 2,301 rushing yards and 35 more scores. He is expected to be a good compliment to K-State All-America running back Deuce Vaughn.

While landing Martinez was big for K-State, getting linebacker Branden Jennings might be bigger for the Wildcats long-term. He was the prized recruit in Maryland’s 2021 recruiting class. He played right away for the Terps before a leg injury caused him to miss much of the second half of the season.

Nonetheless, Jennings ranked as the No. 122 recruit in the 2021 On3 Consensus and one of the top 20 players in Florida. He had a long list of national programs pursuing him when he decided to transfer. And it was a big-time recruiting win for the Wildcats. Given Jennings’ talent level, he should be an immediate impact player for K-State.

UCF lands immediate impact WR

Since Guz Malzhan took over as the head coach of the UCF Knights, the pipeline from Auburn has been strong.

And it continued with the addition of Kobe Hudson, a former four-star recruit, that was one of Auburn’s top receivers last season. Coming out of high school, Hudson ranked as the No. 107 player in the 2020 On3 Consensus.

Hudson had 44 catches for 580 yards and four touchdowns in 2021. Hudson also made an impact for the Tigers in their Birmingham Bowl loss to Houston. He was the team’s leading receiver, going for 57 yards on four catches while scoring the offense’s sole touchdown of the afternoon.

Now he’ll take his four-star talent to Orlando for Malzhan.