Transfer portal breakdown: The key departure for each SEC West team

This is a slow period in the transfer portal, and the current portal lull is a good time to do a league-by-league re-examination of the transfer portal comings and goings. Today, we’ll examine the key departure for each SEC West team (some hurt more than others) and how the team will compensate.

We already have looked at the key incoming and outgoing transfers for SEC East teams, as well as the key incoming transfer for each SEC West team. Over the next three weeks, we’ll continue the series with division-by-division looks for the ACC and Big Ten and overall league looks at the Big 12 and Pac-12 (since it did away with divisions), as well as overviews of the Group of 5 leagues and independents.

Alabama

Player: TE Jahleel Billingsley, to Texas
The skinny: This probably has to make a lot of coaches grit their teeth: The Tide got a lot more from the portal than it lost. Billingsley is talented but also seemed live in the coaches’ doghouse (the same goes for WR Agiye Hall, another guy headed to Texas who is immensely talented but …). Billingsley shared time with Cameron Latu last season, and Latu figures to take on a much bigger role this season. But where the loss of Billingsley hurts is that there is little proven talent beyond Latu. There are high hopes for sophomore Robbie Ouzts, and you have to figure at least one (and maybe two) of the three tight ends Alabama signed in the 2022 class see the field. As long as Latu remains healthy, tight end won’t be a problem position.

Arkansas

Player: CB Greg Brooks, to LSU
The skinny: Brooks, a New Orleans-area native who hasn’t redshirted, was a productive three-year starter at nickelback for the Hogs. He had 112 tackles, four interceptions and eight pass breakups while at Arkansas. His departure, along with that of starting S Joe Foucha (also a Louisiana native who now is at LSU) and standout CB Montaric Brown (a first-team All-SEC performer last season who now is in the NFL), means that the Hogs have to rebuild their secondary. The return of S Jalen Catalon from injury (he missed the final seven games in 2021) is big and means Myles Slusher can move to nickel to replace Brooks. But Arkansas needs transfers Dwight McGlothern (a corner, coincidentally, from LSU) and Latavious Brini (a safety/nickel from Georgia) to produce immediately, either as starters or key reserves.

Auburn

Player: QB Bo Nix, to Oregon
The skinny: Nix never lived up to his five-star recruiting ranking, but he was a three-year starter for the Tigers who accounted for 57 touchdowns and 8,120 yards of total offense. For all of his inconsistency, he will be missed. Auburn doesn’t figure to name a starter until late in summer camp. Holdover T.J. Finley and transfers Zach Calzada (Texas A&M) and Robby Ashford (Oregon) are the contenders. While Ashford looked good in the spring, he hasn’t played in a real game. Finley is limited. And while Calzada helped A&M beat Alabama last season, he also was the quarterback when the Aggies lost four games, including to Mississippi State and LSU. In short, while Nix certainly left Auburn fans wanting more during his Tigers career, chances are Tigers fans will miss him this fall.

LSU

Player: CB Eli Ricks, to Alabama
The skinny: Man, this one hurts. Not only is Ricks a talented player with first-round NFL draft potential, he left for a hated division foe. Ooof. Ricks missed the last seven games last season with a shoulder injury, so the Tigers are used to playing without him. But his transfer means that all four corners who started a game for the Tigers last season are gone (the others are Derek Stingley Jr., Cardale Flott and Dwight McGlothern), which led to the new staff bringing in four transfer corners. Oklahoma State transfer Jarrick Bernard-Converse figures to be the Tigers’ star corner this fall, while the aforementioned Brooks is extremely important, as well. Mekhi Garner (from Louisiana) and Sevyn Banks (Ohio State) also figure to see a ton of time.

Mississippi State

Player: LB Aaron Brule, to Michigan State
The skinny: Brule was a two-year starter for the Bulldogs who had a combined 130 tackles the past two seasons, and he should be a nice addition for Michigan State. Mississippi State still should be OK at linebacker without him, though his departure definitely hurts from an experience standpoint. Jett Johnson, Nathaniel Watson and Tyrus Wheat should be a solid starting trio, and fourth-year junior DaShawn Page had a good spring. Page, from Knoxville, Tenn., originally signed with Marshall but didn’t enroll, instead spending two years at East Mississippi CC before signing with the Bulldogs as part of the 2021 class. He saw extensive action in just one game last season, a 55-10 rout of Tennessee State, but should be (needs to be?) part of the rotation this fall.

Ole Miss

Player: RB Henry Parrish, to Miami
The skinny: The Rebels were one of two teams in the nation last season (Arkansas was the other) with four players who rushed for at least 550 yards – and all four are gone. Parrish was the least-heralded of the four (the others were Matt Corral, Snoop Conner and Jerrion Ealy), but had he stayed, he again would’ve been an important part of the rotation. Instead, he transferred home to Miami. Ole Miss did excellent work in the transfer portal, including bringing in RBs Zach Evans (from TCU) and Ulysses Bentley IV (SMU). Evans is immensely talented, and if he’s fully invested, he will put up huge numbers. Bentley should be a solid complement to Evans. And holdover Kentrel Bullock figures to get opportunities, too.

Texas A&M

Player: WR Caleb Chapman, to Oregon
The skinny: The Aggies weren’t that active in the transfer portal, bringing in just one player, and they’re also not really going to miss anyone who left. Chapman is an intriguing talent, but he can’t stay healthy. He played in 22 games in four seasons; 10 of those came in 2019, when he was a redshirt freshman and made just one reception. He finished his A&M career with 28 receptions. Still, receiver is a question for coach Jimbo Fisher. A&M has talent at receiver; that talent just needs to show itself this season.