Transfer portal breakdown: On3 transfer power rankings after Week 3

Here is our third set of rankings of college football’s most impactful transfers, by position. This considers all four-year transfers, not just those who changed teams this offseason.

This is not simply a list of the most talented players out of the transfer portal. Talent and potential certainly are considered. But so are past performance and current production.

First is an overall transfer ranking; following that are position-by-position breakdowns. These rankings fluctuate weekly.

USC quarterback Caleb Williams remains atop the list; he has guided the Trojans to at least 41 points in all three games, which is noteworthy because they scored more than 40 just twice last season. And his go-to receiver, Jordan Addison, remains second.

Among the big movers this week:

+ Arkansas linebacker Drew Sanders is living up to his five-star recruiting ranking. Sanders, an Alabama transfer, lines up at linebacker for the Hogs. But defensive coordinator Barry Odom moves him around and Sanders has flashed his big-play potential coming off the edge, with six tackles for loss through three games. He had 11 tackles, two tackles for loss and a pass breakup as Arkansas had to work hard to fend off Missouri State; he previously came up big against two “better” opponents, Cincinnati and South Carolina.

+ Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is off to a fast start with the Huskies. Penix, a transfer from Indiana, put up big numbers in the first two games, but that was against Kent State and FCS Portland State. Then he shredded Michigan State on Saturday, throwing for 397 yards and four TDs. Penix got off to fast starts at Indiana, but injuries ended his year early in each of the past four seasons.

+ Florida State wide receiver Johnny Wilson came up huge in the Seminoles’ victory over Louisville. Wilson, who is 6 feet 7 and 235 pounds, had seven receptions for 149 yards and two touchdowns. The second was a 2-yard fade midway through the fourth quarter that gave FSU the eventual winning margin. The question is whether Wilson, a transfer from Arizona State, can keep it going: In two seasons at Arizona State, he had a total of 18 receptions for 243 yards.

+ Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader continues with his, well, makeover. He struggled last season when the Orange finished 5-7, especially at the end of the year during a three-game losing streak. But he has Syracuse at 3-0, thanks to some late-game heroics against Purdue. Shrader threw three TD passes in the second half against the Boilermakers, including one with seven seconds left for the win. He has eight TD passes after throwing just nine last season.

+ Washington State linebacker Daiyan Henley, a transfer from Nevada, continues to make a big impact for the Cougars. He had 13 tackles, three tackles for loss and two forced fumbles in a rout of Colorado State; coincidentally, the Rams now are coached by Jay Norvell, who was coach at Nevada while Henley was there.

On to the rankings.

TOP 25 TRANSFERS

Player, school	Former school
1. QB Caleb Williams, USC	Oklahoma (left after 2021 season)
2. WR Jordan Addison, USC	Pitt (2021)
3. QB Hendon Hooker, Tennessee	Virginia Tech (2020)
4. RB Chase Brown, Illinois	Western Michigan (2018)
5. LB Drew Sanders, Arkansas	Alabama (2021)
6. QB Will Levis, Kentucky	Penn State (2020)
7. QB Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma	UCF (2021)
8. WR Jacob Cowing, Arizona	UTEP (2021)
9. QB Michael Penix Jr., Washington	Indiana (2021)
10. WR Charlie Jones, Purdue	Iowa (2021)
11. WR Johnny Wilson, Florida State	Arizona State (2021)
12. C Olusegun Oluwatimi, Michigan	Virginia (2021)
13. QB Garrett Shrader, Syracuse	Mississippi State (2020)
14. RB Zach Evans, Ole Miss	TCU (2021)
15. QB Tanner Mordecai, SMU	Oklahoma (2020)
16. WR Mitchell Tinsley, Penn State	Western Kentucky (2021)
17. LB Henry To’oTo’o, Alabama	Tennessee (2020)
18. G O’Cyrus Torrence, Florida	Louisiana (2021)
19. EDGE Jared Verse, Florida State	Albany (2021)
20. EDGE Jacoby Windmon, Michigan State	UNLV (2021)
21. LB Eric Gentry, USC	Arizona State (2021)
22. S Brandon Joseph, Notre Dame	Northwestern (2021)
23. LB Daiyan Henley, Washington State	Nevada (2021)
24. RB Zach Charbonnet, UCLA	Michigan (2020)
25. S Jammie Robinson, Florida State	South Carolina (2020)

QUARTERBACKS

Player, school	Former school
1. Caleb Williams, USC	Oklahoma (left after 2021 season)
2. Hendon Hooker, Tennessee	Virginia Tech (2020)
3. Will Levis, Kentucky	Penn State (2020)
4. Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma	UCF (2021)
5. Michael Penix Jr., Washington	Indiana (2021)
6. Garrett Shrader, Syracuse	Mississippi State (2020)
7. Tanner Mordecai, SMU	Oklahoma (2020)
8. Cameron Rising, Utah	Texas (2018)
9. Jayden Daniels, LSU	Arizona State (2021)
10. Jake Haener, Fresno State	Washington (2019)
11. Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland	Alabama (2019)
12. Quinn Ewers, Texas	Ohio State (2021)
13. Jayden de Laura, Arizona	Washington State (2021)
14. Cameron Ward, Washington State	Incarnate Word (2021)
15. JT Daniels, West Virginia	Georgia (2021)

RUNNING BACKS

Player, school	Former school
1. Chase Brown, Illinois	Western Michigan (2018)
2. Zach Evans, Ole Miss	TCU (2021)
3. Zach Charbonnet, UCLA	Michigan (2020)
4. Jahmyr Gibbs, Alabama	Georgia Tech (2021)
5. Travis Dye, USC	Oregon (2021)
6. Eric Gray, Oklahoma	Tennessee (2020)
7. Xazavian Valladay, Arizona State	Wyoming (2021)
8. Tavion Thomas, Utah	Cincinnati (2019)
9. Montrell Johnson, Florida	Louisiana (2021)
10. Henry Parrish, Miami	Ole Miss (2021)
11. Khalan Laborn, Marshall	Florida State (2021)
12. Jalen Berger, Michigan State	Wisconsin (2021)
13. Tiyon Evans, Louisville	Tennessee (2021)
14. Nakia Watson, Washington State	Wisconsin (2020)
15. Re’Mahn Davis, Vanderbilt	Temple (2020)

WIDE RECEIVERS

Player, school	Former school
1. Jordan Addison, USC	Pitt (2021)
2. Jacob Cowing, Arizona	UTEP (2021)
3. Charlie Jones, Purdue	Iowa (2021)
4. Johnny Wilson, Florida State	Arizona State (2021)
5. Mitchell Tinsley, Penn State	Western Kentucky (2021)
6. Jayden Reed, Michigan State	Western Michigan (2018)
7. Keytaon Thompson, Virginia	Mississippi State (2019)
8. Antwane Wells Jr., South Carolina	James Madison (2021)
9. Tayvion Robinson, Kentucky	Virginia Tech (2021)
10. Ali Jennings, Old Dominion	West Virginia (2020)
11. Trey Palmer, Nebraska	LSU (2021)
12. Kris Thornton, James Madison	VMI (2018)
13. Tory Horton, Colorado State	Nevada (2021)
14. Javon Baker, UCF	Alabama (2021)
15. Tyler Hudson, Louisville	Central Arkansas (2021)

TIGHT ENDS

Player, school	Former school
1. Dalton Kincaid, Utah	San Diego (2019)
2. Michael Trigg, Ole Miss	USC (2021)
3. Zack Kuntz, Old Dominion	Penn State (2019)
4. George Takacs, Boston College	Notre Dame (2021)
5. Tanner McLachlan, Arizona	Southern Utah (2021)

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN

Player, school	Former school
1. C Olusegun Oluwatimi, Michigan	Virginia (2021)
2. G O’Cyrus Torrence, Florida	Louisiana (2021)
3. C Jacob Gall, Baylor	Buffalo (2020)
4. G Doug Nester, West Virginia	Virginia Tech (2020)
5. T Raiqwon O’Neal, UCLA	Rutgers (2021)
6. T Mason Brooks, Ole Miss	Western Kentucky (2021)
7. T Tyler Steen, Alabama	Vanderbilt (2021)
8. G Dillan Gibbons, Florida State	Notre Dame (2020)
9. G McKade Mettauer, Oklahoma	California (2021)
10. T James Tunstall, Cincinnati	Stony Brook (2020)

EDGE RUSHERS

Player, school	Former school
1. Jared Verse, Florida State	Albany (2021)
2. Jacoby Windmon, Michigan State	UNLV (2021)
3. Brenton Cox, Florida	Georgia (2018)
4. Hunter Echols, Arizona	USC (2021)
5. Eku Leota, Auburn	Northwestern (2020)
6. Ochaun Mathis, Nebraska	TCU (2021)
7. Solomon Byrd, USC	Wyoming (2021)
8. Lonnie Phelps, Kansas	Miami of Ohio (2021)
9. Grayson Murphy, UCLA	North Texas (2021)
10. Jordan Domineck, Arkansas	Georgia Tech (2021)

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN

Player, school	Former school
1. Siaki Ika, Baylor	LSU (2020)
2. Cory Durden, NC State	Florida State (2020)
3. Jeffery Johnson, Oklahoma	Tulane (2021)
4. Akheem Mesidor, Miami	West Virginia (2021)
5. Mekhi Wingo, LSU	Missouri (2021)
6. Landon Jackson, Arkansas	LSU (2021)
7. Kyler Baugh, Minnesota	Houston Baptist (2021)
8. JH Tevis, Indiana	California (2021)
9. Jowon Briggs, Cincinnati	Virginia (2020)
10. Randy Charlton, Mississippi State	UCF (2020)

LINEBACKERS

Player, school	Former school
1. Drew Sanders, Arkansas	Alabama (2021)
2. Henry To’oTo’o, Alabama	Tennessee (2020)
3. Eric Gentry, USC	Arizona State (2021)
4. Daiyan Henley, Washington State	Nevada (2021)
5. Troy Brown, Ole Miss	Central Michigan (2021)
6. Jacquez Jones, Kentucky	Ole Miss (2020)
7. Dillon Doyle, Baylor	Iowa (2019)
8. Shane Lee, USC	Alabama (2021)
9. Ivan Pace Jr., Cincinnati	Miami of Ohio (2021)
10. Tatum Bethune, Florida State	UCF (2021)
11. Ty’Ron Hopper, Missouri	Florida (2021)
12. Ayinde Eley, Georgia Tech	Maryland (2020)
13. Darius Muasau, UCLA	Hawaii (2021)
14. Johnny Hodges, TCU	Navy (2021)
15. Mohamoud Diabate, Utah	Florida (2021)

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Player, school	Former school
1. S Brandon Joseph, Notre Dame	Northwestern (2021)
2. S Jammie Robinson, Florida State	South Carolina (2020)
3. NB Tanner McCalister, Ohio State	Oklahoma State (2021)
4. CB Dwight McGlothern, Arkansas	LSU (2021)
5. S Mark Perry, TCU	Colorado (2021)
6. S Greg Brooks Jr., LSU	Arkansas (2021)
7. CB Mekhi Blackmon, USC	Colorado (2021)
8. S Otis Reese, Ole Miss	Georgia (2019)
9. CB Christian Gonzalez, Oregon	Colorado (2021)
10. CB Tyrique Stevenson, Miami	Georgia (2020)
11. CB Jay Shaw, Wisconsin	UCLA (2021)
12. S Bentlee Sanders, Nevada	USF (2020)
13. S Jalen Green, Mississippi State	Texas (2020)
14. CB Eli Ricks, Alabama	LSU (2021)
15. CB Jarrick Bernard-Converse, LSU	Oklahoma State (2021)