Transfer portal breakdown: Key departures for independents, Group of 5 leagues

This is a slow period in the transfer portal, and the current portal lull has been a good time to do a re-examination of the transfer portal comings and goings. Today, we end our 18-part series by examining key departures among independents and Group of 5 leagues.

We’ve already looked at the key incoming and outgoing transfers in the ACC Atlantic, the important incoming and outgoing transfers in the ACC Coastal, the key incoming and outgoing transfers for SEC East teams, the key incoming and outgoing transfers in the SEC West, the key incoming and outgoing transfers in the Big Ten East, the key comings and goings in the Big Ten West, the most important incoming and outgoing transfers in the Big 12, the key arrivals and departures in the Pac-12 and important incoming transfers among independents and in the Group of 5 leagues.

AAC

Temple
Player: S M.J. Griffin, to Louisville
The skinny: This one hurts in the present and in the long term. Griffin started down the stretch last season as a redshirt freshman and was the Owls’ second-leading tackler with 65. He added three tackles for loss and four pass breakups. Still, the Owls look OK at safety with DaeSean Winston, Jalen Ware, Alex Odom and Kwantel Raines, though none have as high a ceiling as Griffin. Winston will start if he is healthy (he missed nine games last season after opting out in 2020).

Tulane
Player: DT Jeffery Johnson, to Oklahoma
The skinny: Johnson was a fulltime starter for three seasons and a part-time starter another season for the Green Wave. He had 44 tackles last season, along with five tackles for loss. Johnson had 33 tackles and six TFL in 2020. The hope is TCU transfer Patrick Jenkins, who had a good spring, can step in to replace Johnson. Adonis Friloux, Eric Hicks Jr. and Noah Taliancich are others expected to be key rotation players at the tackle spots.

Tulsa
Player: DT Jaxon Player, to Baylor
The skinny: Player was a huge loss; he was a three-year starter and two-time All-AAC honoree. Player was a first-team All-AAC pick in 2020 and a second-team selection in 2021, when he was second in the league with 15 tackles for loss. He had 32 TFL in his Tulsa career. His departure means Tulsa lost its four top interior linemen from last season. Holdover Joseph Anderson, a former walk-on, is the frontrunner to take over Player’s old spot, and Colorado transfer Jayden Simon can play nose or “regular” tackle. Still to be sorted out is the pecking order beyond those two.

UCF
Player: LB Tatum Bethune, to Florida State
The skinny: Bethune was second in the AAC with 108 tackles last season and earned honorable mention all-conference notice. He was a spot starter in his first two seasons with the Knights before emerging as a steadying force in 2021, when he also had two interceptions and 5.5 tackles for loss as the defense made tremendous improvement under new coordinator Travis Williams. Linebacker is UCF’s biggest issue this season. The key holdover is Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste, while transfers Jason Johnson (from Eastern Illinois), Branden Jennings (Kansas State), Terrence Lewis (Maryland) and Walter Yates (Savannah State) need to produce. Lewis already has some off-field issues in his brief time in Orlando. Jennings also played last season at Maryland, was at Kansas State for a short time, then moved on to UCF. Yates committed to Middle Tennessee State in January out of the transfer portal, then changed his mind and chose UCF.

UCF
Player: QB Dillon Gabriel, to Oklahoma
The skinny: Gabriel led the nation in passing in 2020 (357.0 yards per game), when he threw 32 TD passes.He threw for 814 yards and nine touchdowns in UCF’s first three games last season before suffering a broken collarbone that caused him to miss the final 10 games. Gabriel entered the transfer portal because he was not truly a fit in coach Gus Malzahn’s offense. After his injury, he was replaced by Mikey Keene, and Keene and Ole Miss transfer John Rhys Plumlee will vie for this season’s starting job in summer camp. If Keene wins out, expect to see special packages for Plumlee because of his running ability. Neither is close to Gabriel as a passer.

Conference USA

UTEP
Player: WR Jacob Cowing, to Arizona
The skinny: Cowing was a big-time weapon for the Miners on the outside; he was ninth nationally last season in receiving yards and one of the best deep threats in the nation. He finished 2021 with 69 receptions for 1,367 yards and seven TDs, and was a first-team All-Conference USA selection. His average of 19.8 yards per catch was second nationally among the 77 players who had at least 60 receptions this season, behind only Alabama’s Jameson Williams (21.3). The Miners’ returning wide receivers had a combined 36 receptions last season, and Tyrin Smith had 34 of those. Junior college transfer Kelly Akharaiyi figures to start alongside Smith, but the other starter remains unclear. Seventh-year senior Walter Dawn Jr. figures to be in the mix, as well as Jeremiah Ballard, Jostein Clarke and the Flores brothers, Reynaldo and Lucas.

Western Kentucky
Player: WR Mitchell Tinsley, to Penn State
The skinny: Tinsley was one of the most productive receivers in the nation last season despite being the No. 2 receiver in the Hilltoppers’ pass-happy attack. He had 87 receptions for 1,402 yards and 14 TDs; the receptions total was 16^th nationally, while he was eighth in receiving yards and fifth in TD receptions. Holdovers Malachi Corley, Daewood Davis (who began his career at Oregon) and Dalvin Smith should be a productive trio at receiver for the Hilltoppers, and depth looks fine, too.

Western Kentucky
Player: OTs Mason Brooks (to Ole Miss) and Cole Spencer (to Texas Tech)
The skinny: Losing one all-conference tackle is bad enough. Losing two? Yikes. Brooks was a two-year starter at right tackle who was a first-team All-Conference USA pick in 2021 after being an honorable mention selection in 2020. Spencer, meanwhile, was a three-year starter at left tackle who also was a first-team all-league pick in 2021. He started 46 career games for the Hilltoppers. Gunner Britton, who started a combined four games in 2019 and ’20, likely will be the left tackle, with Mark Goode on the right side. But the backups still are to be determined.

Independents

New Mexico State
Player: RB Juwaun Price, to Syracuse
The skinny: Price led the Aggies with 693 yards and 10 rushing TDs last season, and seemingly would’ve been a good fit for new coach Jerry Kill’s run-based offense. Junior college transfer Jahmoni Jones and TCU transfer Ahmonte Watkins are the leading contenders for the starting job. Kill was a special assistant to then-TCU coach Gary Patterson last season, so he is familiar with Watkins. The leading returning rusher is O’Maury Samuels, but he averaged just 3.1 yards on 65 carries last season.

UConn
Player: DT Lwal Uguak, to TCU
The skinny: Uguak lined up next to NFL second-round pick Travis Jones for the Huskies last season, and now both are gone. Uguak had 34 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and seen quarterback hurries in 2021. The Huskies seem likely to use more of a 3-4 scheme, with Old Dominion transfer Sokoya McDuffie and holdovers Dal’mont Gourdine and Eric Watts the key non-edge pieces up front.

UMass
Player: DB Cody Jones, to Georgia State
The skinny: Expect a defensive makeover with blitz-happy Don Brown as the new coach, but Jones still will be missed. Jones started at corner and safety in his time with the Minutemen, and he had 43 tackles and two pass breakups last season at safety. Te’Rai Powell will move from nickelback to take over at one of the safety spots; the other starting spot likely goes to Penn State transfer Tyler Rudolph. Depth is unproven.

Mid-American

Central Michigan
Player: LB Troy Brown, to Ole Miss
The skinny: Man, this transfer portal departure hurts. Brown was a three-time first-team All-MAC selection. He had 199 tackles, 31.5 tackles for loss, four interceptions, 11 pass breakups and two forced fumbles over the past three seasons. Kyle Moretti made his first college start in CMU’s Sun Bowl upset of Washington State and had eight tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss. He and Justin Whiteside are expected to be a productive duo lining up next to each other. The third linebacker is the question.

Miami
Player: DE Kameron Butler, to Virginia
The skinny: Butler was a three-year starter who was a first-team All-MAC selection last season, when he had 53 tackles, eight sacks, 13 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and an interception. He also was a two-time second-team All-MAC pick who had 31.5 tackles for loss in his RedHawks career. Butler’s departure means Miami loses its top four ends from last season. The RedHawks need Iowa State transfer Corey Suttle to come through at one end spot; the other could go to Caiden Woullard or Nasir Washington.

Northern Illinois
Player: RB Jay Ducker, to Memphis
The skinny: Ducker rushed for 1,184 yards last season for the MAC champs and was named conference freshman of the year. He finished the season with seven 100-yard games in his final eight outings after beginning the season as a reserve. NIU should be OK at running back. Harrison Waylee led the Huskies in rushing in 2020 and opened last season as the starter; he rushed for 574 yards in the first five games – including three 100-yard outings – before being injured and missing the rest of the season. Antario Brown had a solid true freshman season in 2021, rushing for 538 yards in a reserve role. And the backs will run behind a line that returns four starters.

Mountain West

Hawaii
Player: LB Darius Muasau, to UCLA
The skinny: Muasau was a two-time first-team All-Mountain West Conference selection for the Rainbow Warriors, who lost a number of key players to the transfer portal at the end of the ill-fated Todd Graham coaching regime. Muasau was a spot starter as a true freshman in 2019, then a fulltime starter for the Rainbow Warriors the past two seasons. He was fifth in the league with 109 tackles this season and led the conference with 104 tackles in 2020. Muasau also had 23.5 tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hurries and five forced fumbles the past two seasons. He is basically going to be impossible to replace. Hawaii returns one starter on defense: LB Penei Pavihi, who needs to step it up. Isaiah Tufaga and Nebraska transfer Wynden Ho’ohuli also are expected to play key roles at linebacker. (Of note: Muasau and Dillon Gabriel were high school teammates in Hawaii.)

Nevada
Player: LB Daiyan Henley, to Washington State
The skinny: Henley was the Wolf Pack’s leading tackler last season, with 103, and earned second-team All-Mountain West honors. He played wide receiver in his first two seasons at Nevada before switching to linebacker in 2019. Nevada ran a 4-2-5 set last season, and the top four linebackers are gone. New coach Ken Wilson is a longtime linebacker coach, and he and his staff have some work to do at the position. Josiah Bradley (20 tackles in two seasons) is the most experienced ’backer on the roster and is expected to be the position leader. Holdovers Naki Mateialona, Jonathan Thomas and Marcel Walker should vie for the other starting job.

San Diego State
Player: G Chris Martinez, to Arizona State
The skinny: Martinez didn’t play at all in his first three seasons at SDSU, then started four (of six) games in 2020 and 13 games last season. His departure means the Aztecs, who pride themselves on their physicality up front, are looking for two new starting guards. Redshirt freshman Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli, a 340-pounder, should grab one of the spots. Oklahoma State transfer Cade Bennett is expected to nab the other, with junior Kyle Trombley also in the mix. And keep an eye on massive redshirt freshman Christian Jones (6-9, 350).

Wyoming
Player: WR Isaiah Neyor, to Texas
The skinny: Wyoming was hit hard in the transfer portal, and Neyor’s departure is an example. He was the team’s leading receiver in 2021, when he was a second-team All-Mountain West selection after a big season that saw him catch 44 passes for 878 yards (19.95 yards per reception) and 12 TDs (tied for eighth nationally). Only one returning receiver, Joshua Cobbs, had more than four receptions last season; Cobbs should take over the go-to receiver role, but he is not near as explosive as Neyor. The bigger question is who else will be dependable at receiver. Wyatt Wieland, Jaylen Sargent, Alex Brown, Gunner Gentry and Tyrese Grant look to be the main possibilities. Sargent, a redshirt freshman, now is wearing No. 5, Neyor’s old number. Gentry has talent but missed the past two seasons with injuries.

Wyoming
Player: RB Xazavian Valladay, to Arizona State
The skinny: Valladay was the second-leading rusher in school history with 3,274 career yards. He was a two-time 1,000-yard rusher who was the Cowboys’ leading rusher in each of the past three seasons. Valladay rushed for 1,070 yards and six TDs in 2021, when he was a second-team All-Mountain West Conference selection, and was a first-team All-MWC pick in 2019, when he rushed for 1,265 yards and six TDs. As productive as Valladay was, though, the Cowboys should be fine at running back with Titus Swen, who has rushed for 1,122 yards in two seasons as a backup. The pecking order behind him is to be determined.

Sun Belt

Arkansas State
Player: WR Corey Rucker, to South Carolina
The skinny: Rucker was the Red Wolves’ leading receiver (59 receptions, nine TDs) and a second-team all-conference selection as a redshirt freshman last season. He had 14 TD catches in his two seasons at Arkansas State. Te’Vailance Hunt will be Arkansas State’s go-to guy, and Jeff Foreman is another returning starter at receiver. The third starting spot may go to Reagan Ealy, who played extensively as a true freshman walk-on last season and earned a scholarship this spring.

Louisiana
Player: RB Montrell Johnson, to Florida
The skinny: Johnson was the Sun Belt freshman of the year in 2021, when he rushed for 838 yards and a team-high 12 touchdowns. He also was a second-team all-conference selection. Johnson was one of three Louisiana running backs with at least 600 rushing yards last season, but the only one who returns is Chris Smith, who will be one of the best backs in the league. While there is no proven depth, there appears to be talent behind Smith: Dre’lyn Washington, Kendrell Williams and Terrence Williams. Louisiana again is going to have a share-the-wealth philosophy at running back, and establishing a pecking order behind Smith will be a key in summer camp.

Louisiana
Player: G O’Cyrus Torrence, to Florida
The skinny: Torrence was a three-year starter who was a first-team all-league pick in 2021; he was a second-team All-SBC pick in 2020 and would’ve been the best offensive lineman in the league this season had he not entered the transfer portal. The Ragin’ Cajuns have just one returning starter up front (G A.J. Gillie); Torrence’s replacement seems likely to be holdover David Hudson (who missed spring practice because of an injury) or Michigan State transfer James Ohonba.