2023 On3 All-Transfer Team: Colorado, Miami, Michigan, Florida State and Oregon dominate with multiple representatives

The 2024 Transfer Portal is booming, with each new day bringing a dizzying amount of entrees, intentions and decisions. 

But while we continue to evaluate the moves this cycle, what about how the best of the best from the 2023 cycle performed on the field this season?

Throughout each week, I ranked the Top 10 Transfer Portal Players for the season.

Now that we’ve reached the end of the college football regular season, it’s the optimal time to take stock of the entire board of last year’s transfers and put together On3’s 2023 All-Transfer Portal Team. 

With an absurd amount of movement in the last cycle, there were all sorts of tough omissions and last-minute cuts, but here’s how I settled on the Postseason 2023 squad:

ALL-TRANSFER OFFENSE TEAM

QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado

While Colorado’s season fell off the tracks after an impressive first month, Sanders still finished the year as the best quarterback out of the transfer portal in an otherwise fairly shaky field (Other contenders included Sam Hartman, Graham Mertz, Hayes King, TJ Finley).

He threw for 3,230 yards with 27 touchdowns to just three interceptions. He also rushed for four scores. Sanders faced constant pressure from a Buffs OL that allowed 56 sacks — some of which was also Sanders’ fault for holding onto the ball too long. Still, he displayed toughness all season and did lead Colorado to a pair of comeback wins against TCU and Colorado State.

RB Ray Davis, Kentucky

The ex-Vandy tailback made good use of his one season in Lexington, finishing No. 3 in the SEC in rushing with 1,066 yards.

Davis helped the Wildcats upset Louisville in its season-finale with three touchdowns — giving him 20 total scores on the season which is tied for third-most nationally among all players. 

WR Keon Coleman, Florida State

WR Malik Washington, Virginia 

WR Tez Johnson, Oregon

TE Dallin Holker, Colorado State

Washington set records in his lone season at UVA, capping his career with seven straight 100-yard games to end the season as No. 1 nationally in receptions (110) and No. 2 in yards (1,426). Fellow ACC wideout

Keon Coleman did have quite the gaudy stats but his impact was as important as any receiver in the country. The Michigan State transfer led the ACC with 11 touchdowns and Coleman made key plays in FSU’s biggest wins over LSU, Clemson and Miami.

Johnson set career-highs playing with his close friend Bo Nix, hauling in 75 catches for 1,010 yards and nine touchdowns. The Troy transfer really caught fire the last month of the year.

Hooker’s numbers tailed off a bit in the second half but he still led all transfer tight ends with 64 catches for 767 yards and six touchdowns — the biggest being his Hail Mary snag to upset the eventual Mountain West champs Boise State.

OL Walter Rouse, Oklahoma

OL Luke Kandra, Cincinnati

OL Matt Lee, Miami

OL Drake Nugent, Michigan

OL Ajani Cornelius, Oregon

It’s really hard to land quality offensive linemen in the transfer portal. Just ask Deion Sanders at Colorado. But several programs did manage to mine a key starter up front, with Michigan and Miami having multiple potential candidates. 

Lee wasn’t just the best transfer center but is a contender for All-American Teams, same for Nugent, who transferred to Michigan from Stanford. 

Fellow Cardinal Walter Rouse went viral for his double-block in Oklahoma’s upset over Texas in the Red River Rivalry, and the super senior left tackle finished the season allowing just one sack and six pressures all year.

Cornelius went from a no-star recruit from FCS Rhode Island into a legitimate NFL prospect, and the Oregon right tackle didn’t allow a single sack all season, per PFF. 

Finally, Louisville transfer Luke Kandra followed head coach Scott Satterfield to Cincy, and although the Bearcats had a rough year, the the 320-pound guard was a mauler as both a run and pass-blocker.

Kandra graded out as the No. 3 overall lineman in the Big 12, per PFF.

All-Purpose Ismail Mahdi, Texas State

The FCS Houston Christian transfer thrived in G.J. Kinne’s offense, doing a little bit of everything for the Bobcats.

Mahdi had 1,200 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns at 6.1 per carry and added 18 receptions for 276 yards and a score. He also averaged nearly 27 yards per kickoff return, with a 100-yard touchdown on his ledger, too.

ALL-TRANSFER DEFENSE TEAM

DL Elijah Roberts, SMU

DL Javontae Jean-Baptiste, Notre Dame

DL Braden Fiske, Florida State

DL Antwaun Powell-Ryland, Virgina Tech

With apologies to the likes of Jordan Burch, Andre Carter and others, there were some really quality transfer defensive linemen this year. 

Roberts, a Miami transfer who helped the Mustangs produce a Top 10 defense in 2023, had 9.5 sacks and 42 pressures, fourth-most nationally per PFF. 

Powell-Ryland spent three seasons at Florida with minimal production but with an increased role at Va. Tech, the edge rusher finished No. 2 in the ACC in sacks (9.5) and forced fumbles (3). He also had 13.5 tackles for loss. 

Fiske was a part of a FSU DL rotation that mauled opposing OLs, and the Western Michigan transfer finished his season with a bang recording five sacks across the final three games — including a trio of sacks in the ACC Championship. 

Jean-Baptiste was a versatile cog on Notre Dame’s defense, as the Ohio State transfer finished the year with career highs in sacks (4.5), tackles for loss (9.5) and pressures. 

LB Nick Jackson, Iowa

LB Francisco Mauigoa, Miami

Jackson was the exact type of plug-and-play addition Iowa envisioned when it was seeking a replacement for Jack Campbell out of the transfer portal last offseason.

The Virginia transfer finished No. 2 on the Hawkeyes in tackles (and in the Top 10 in the Big Ten) with 99, also stuffing the staff sheet with 8.0 TFLs, 4.0 sacks and four PBUs. 

Mauigoa transferred to Miami to play with his brother Francis Mauigoa, a 5-star freshman tackle, and his move was a rounding success as he finished No. 2 in the ACC with 17 tackles for loss. He had 70 tackles, 7.5 sacks and one interception.

DB Khyree Jackson, Oregon 

DB Jabbar Muhammad, Washington

DB Josh Wallace, Michigan

DB Evan Williams, Oregon

DB John Saunders Jr., Ole Miss 

With the addition of multiple transfers this offseason, Oregon’s pass defense went from 58th nationally in 2022 to a fringe Top 10 unit (and No. 1 in the Pac-12) this fall. Jackson, a former blue-chip corner from Alabama, and Williams, a transfer safety from Fresno State, helped lead the way. 

Jackson had three picks, five tackles for loss and eight PBUs, while Williams provided a presence in both coverage (just one TD allowed, per PFF) and in pass rush support (five sacks).

Muhammad was boom or bust at times for Washington, but the Oklahoma State grad transfer showcased a nose for the ball, logging three interceptions (including two clutch picks in the close win over Oregon State), 5.0 tackles for loss and 12 PBUs.

Wallace transferred to Michigan from UMass and the senior locked down one half of the field for the Wolverines in 2023, ranking as Top 20 corner on the salon per PFF. He allowed just 17 catches on 34 targets (impressive 50% rate) and zero touchdowns. 

Lastly, Saunders graded out as one of the better safeties in 2023, per PFF, finishing the year with three picks and four PBUs.

Flex Travis Hunter, Colorado

Hunter was recently honored with the Paul Hornung Award for the nation’s most versatile player, as the two-way standout was a top performer for the Buffs on both sides of the ball in 2023. 

The nation’s No. 1 overall prospect in 2023 struggled at times at cornerback, but he still showcased elite instincts and ball skills. Had played 592 defensive snaps and had three picks and five PBUs. Offensively, Hunter emerged as Colorado’s most dependable receiver the last six weeks of the season. Despite missing three games with a lacerated liver, the still finished the year with 57 catches for 721 yards and five touchdowns in 452 snaps.