A portal fairy tale: Division II QB turned WR lands Miami offer, says "I don't blame any of the programs that didn't recruit me" in high school

When Isaac TeSlaa was a high school senior at Hudsonville (Mich.) Unity Christian School in the Class of 2020, no major college programs were knocking on his door. Heck, there weren’t even many lower level programs that inquired about him. Miami? Nowhere near the radar.

None of that was a surprise for TeSlaa, a transfer portal WR who landed a Miami Hurricanes scholarship offer today.

“I don’t blame any of the programs that didn’t recruit me in high school – if I was them I wouldn’t have recruited me either,” he says without a hint of irony.

The reason? Well TeSlaa (which thankfully for him is pronounced “TUH-slah” and not “Tesla”) was a 6-4 high school quarterback prospect who barely threw the ball at a small private school running a Wing T offense. His senior season he threw for 448 yards while running for 1,139 yards.

He knew his best opportunity at the next level was as a wide receiver, but he’d never played the position. So when he showed up at camps he had no technical skill or route running experience.

“Getting recruited was extremely difficult because all my tape was at quarterback,” he says. “I didn’t know how to play the receiver position. Coaches would have been taking a chance by offering me just on my athleticism.”

In retrospect, a lot more offers should have come TeSlaa’s way. And, despite the lack of WR experience, it doesn’t mean there weren’t programs that took notice of his potential at the position. One was Division II Hillsdale College, which was the lone school to offer him a full tuition scholarship. He enrolled there in 2020, was a backup receiver that season in the four-game shortened COVID year, then last year began as a backup in Game 1 before emerging as a starter and finishing with 698 receiving yards and seven TDs despite missing two games with injury. He broke out as a sophomore this season as the GMAC Offensive Player of the Year. The 6-3 1/2, 210-pound wide receiver had 68 catches for 1,325 yards and 13 TDs. He tested at 4.55 seconds in the 40 in high school and thinks he runs around that speed now as well.

.@Hillsdale_FB's Isaac TeSlaa is unreal. Six catches and 111 yards in Hillsdale's 36-20 upset of @NCAADII #6 Ashland today, including this impossible grab! #ChargeOn @GreatMidwestAC @SportsCenter @espn #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/QKBxx2ilsp

— Hillsdale College Chargers (@HCChargers) October 29, 2022

After entering the transfer portal following his season, TeSlaa landed offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Houston and Oklahoma State, taking visits to Iowa and Iowa State. Baylor, Minnesota and Wisconsin are also expressing interest.

And today you can add a new scholarship offer to his list: Miami.

“I talked to all the Miami coaches, they were passing the phone around, told me I had an offer,” TeSlaa said. “They were really excited about me, think I can have a big role over there. We talked a good 20, 25 minutes.

“They said they have a need and really feel like not only do I fill that need but have a big place on the offense where I can be the guy.”

Everyone's been asking for it, and we finally managed to get our hands on it — here's Keller to TeSlaa for the go-ahead TD this past Saturday! Saturday can't come soon enough — see you at Muddy Waters Stadium! @Hillsdale_FB #ChargeOn pic.twitter.com/uAffNtL6Gf

— Hillsdale College Chargers (@HCChargers) September 6, 2022

Transfer portal visitors follow the same rules as high school recruits, i.e. the dead period hits Sunday at midnight. So if TeSlaa is going to visit Miami it has to be in the next six days. The good news for the Canes? He’s in Stuart, Fla., right now visiting his girlfriend. So he’s just a couple of hours up the road.

“I’m going to see what I can do, I can just take a trip over there,” he says. “Miami definitely has a chance with me.”

TeSlaa’s high school coach, Craig Tibbe, says he’s not surprised that his former QB has emerged as a highly sought WR.

“He is one of these freak kind of athletes that comes through and just athletically does things that are hard to imagine,” Tibbe said. “I watched him play this year and he had a few really long slants where he’s just running by people. They couldn’t catch him, and he’s also really strong. He’s getting some serious action here from major schools. He can go on the field and compete with anybody right now. He’s that physical and that athletic.”

A January enrollee, TeSlaa plans to have a decision in place around the start of next month. With Miami very much in the mix, he has a lot to think about.

And he can reflect back on a unique journey that’s taken him from being barely recruited in high school to an initial role as a backup at a Division II program to where he is now.

It’s not your everyday story.

It’s a real life portal fairy tale.

“Entering the transfer portal I expected some interest, but the amount I’ve gotten is surreal,” TeSlaa says. “Notre Dame just asked for my transcripts, so they may be interested, too.”