Friday transfer portal notebook: On transfers who became all-conference players, Georgia Tech losing its top receiver and more

The fifth day of the FBS transfer portal open window saw 29 scholarship players enter the portal as of 4 p.m. ET Friday. That puts the total this week at around 730. Here is Friday’s transfer portal notebook.

From transfer to all-conference

The low number of players entering the portal Friday enabled us to look at transfers who were named first-team all-conference in the FBS ranks this season. The total: 49. That means 22 percent of the 220 first-team all-league players nationally (no specialists, just offense and defense) were transfers.

The league breakdowns, from most to least: The Pac-12 had 10; the AAC and ACC six each; the AAC six; the Mid-American, Mountain West and SEC had five each; the Big 12 had four; Conference USA and the Sun Belt had three each; and the Big Ten had two.

Here’s a league-by-league look at the players.

Pac-12 (10): USC WR Jordan Addison (Pitt), USC CB Mekhi Blackmon (Colorado), UCLA RB Zach Charbonnet (Michigan), Oregon CB Christian Gonzalez (Colorado), Washington State LB Daiyan Henley (Nevada), Utah TE Dalton Kincaid (San Diego), UCLA EDGE Laiatu Latu (Washington), Washington EDGE Jeremiah Martin (Texas A&M), California LB Jackson Sirmon (Washington) and USC QB Caleb Williams (Oklahoma).

AAC (6): UCF DT Ricky Barber (Western Kentucky), Cincinnati DT Jowon Briggs (Virginia), UCF LB Jason Johnson (Eastern Illinois), Cincinnati LB Ivan Pace (Miami of Ohio), Tulane G Prince Pines (Sam Houston State) and UCF OT Ryan Swoboda (Virginia).

ACC (6): Florida State G Dillan Gibbons (Notre Dame), Virginia CB Anthony Johnson (Louisville), Pitt G Marcus Minor (Maryland), Florida State S Jammie Robinson (South Carolina), Florida State EDGE Jared Verse (Albany) and NC State G Chandler Zavala (Fairmont State).

Mid-American (5): Akron WR Alex Adams (LSU), Toledo LB Dallas Gant (Ohio State), Central Michigan EDGE Thomas Incoom (Valdosta State), Kent State WR Devontez Walker (NC Central) and Ohio WR Sam Wiglusz (Ohio State).

Mountain West (5): San Jose State WR Elijah Cooks (Nevada), Fresno State QB Jake Haener (Washington), Colorado State WR Tory Horton (Nevada), Hawaii TE Caleb Phillips (Stanford) and Nevada S Bentlee Sanders (USF).

SEC (5): Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker (Virginia Tech), Arkansas LB Drew Sanders (Alabama), Alabama LB Henry To’oTo’o (Tennessee), Florida G O’Cyrus Torrence (Louisiana) and South Carolina WR Antwane Wells Jr. (James Madison).

Big 12 (4): TCU C Alan Ali (SMU), Kansas State CB Julius Brents (Iowa), Baylor NT Siaki Ika (LSU) and TCU CB Josh Newton (ULM).

Conference USA (3): UTSA DL Brandon Brown (Tulane), UTSA CB Clifford Chattman (Texas A&M) and North Texas CB Ridge Texada (McNeese State).

Sun Belt (3): Old Dominion WR Ali Jennings (West Virginia), Marshall RB Khalan Laborn (Florida State) and James Madison WR Kris Thornton (VMI).

Big Ten (2): Purdue WR Charlie Jones (Iowa) and Michigan C Olusegun Oluwatimi (Virginia).

Georgia Tech’s leading receiver is in portal

Nate McCollum (5-11, 184), who led Georgia Tech with 60 receptions this season, officially entered the transfer portal Friday.

McCollum, who is from the Atlanta area, is the only Yellow Jackets wide receiver who had more than 23 receptions. He was an honorable mention All-ACC selection. McCollum averaged 10.9 yards on his catches and three went for touchdowns. He had three 100-yard games, against Duke, Miami and Virginia Tech.

He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Transfers you may have overlooked

+ Texas State OT Dalton Cooper: Cooper (6-6, 320) was a three-year starter at left tackle for the Bobcats. He earned some freshman All-America mention in 2020 as a redshirt freshman. Cooper has three seasons of eligibility remaining. Cooper is from Prague, Okla., a town of about 2,300 in the middle of the state.

+ New Mexico Ss A.J. Haulcy and Ronald Wilson: Haulcy (5-11, 220) and Wilson (5-10, 185) were two of the Lobos’ three starting safeties in their 3-3-5 defense. Haulcy received some freshman All-America acclaim this season after he had 87 tackles, two interceptions, three pass breakups and two forced fumbles as a true freshman. He also was a second-team All-Mountain West selection. Wilson had 47 tackles, two picks and three pass breakups. He also started in 2021 as a true freshman and had two interceptions and 55 tackles. Both are Texas natives: Haulcy from the Dallas Metroplex, Wilson from the Houston area. Haulcy has three seasons of eligibility left; Wilson has two.

+ Kent State WR Devontez Walker: Walker (6-3, 192) was a first-team All-MAC pick this season, when he had 58 catches for 921 yards (15.9 yards per catch) and eight touchdowns. He was tied for the MAC lead with eight catches of at least 30 yards and was second with five receptions of at least 40 yards. Walker is a Charlotte native who began his career at FCS member North Carolina Central; he transferred from there after the Eagles’ canceled 2020 season. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining. Kent State had four first-team All-MAC offensive players – and all four have entered the portal after coach Sean Lewis left to become offensive coordinator at Colorado. The others: WR Dante Cephas, RB Marquez Cooper and OT Marcellus Marshall.

+ LSU OT Cam Wire: Wire (6-6, 295) opened this season as a starter, then fell way down the depth chart and saw action in just three other games. He started four games at left tackle in 2021 and made six starts – five at left tackle, one at guard – in 2020. Wire, who is from the New Orleans area, has one season of eligibility left after seeing time in 29 games as a Tiger.

+ Others: Georgia Tech S Derrik Allen (6-2, 212) started two games for the Yellow Jackets this season and finished with 29 tackles, an interception and a pass breakup. He signed with Notre Dame in 2019, then transferred to Georgia Tech after that season. Allen, who is from the Atlanta area, has two years of eligibility left. …Bowling Green CB Davon Ferguson (5-10, 190) received some All-MAC acclaim in 2021, when he had 60 tackles and four pass breakups despite missing four games with an injury. He played in just two games this season because of another injury. Ferguson, who is from Baltimore, began his career at Kansas and started nine games in three seasons with the Jayhawks. He has one season of eligibility left. … Indiana S Josh Sanguinetti (6-1, 190) was a key reserve this season and a part-time starter in 2021. He had 48 career tackles at IU, with two picks and six pass breakups. Sanguinetti, from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has two seasons of eligibility remaining. … Tulsa P Lachlan Wilson averaged 43.8 yards per punt, which was third in the AAC. Wilson, an Australian, averaged 45.7 yards in 2021 and 43.0 yards in 2020. He has two seasons of eligibility left.