Transfer portal breakdown: The top offensive players available (right now)

Here’s a look at the top offensive players available in the transfer portal, as per the On3 Transfer Portal Position Rankings.

One important note: These are the current rankings. More players will continue to enter the transfer portal as bowls are played and the FCS playoffs wind down.

Quarterbacks

Remember that 47 percent of the opening-game starting quarterbacks this season in the FBS ranks were transfers, which gives you an idea of how frenzied the recruiting of portal quarterbacks can be. And there’s no question that there are numerous quarterbacks who will start 2023 who are in the portal this cycle; the question is how high that number will be.

1. Devin Leary (6 feet 1, 212 pounds) threw for 3,433 yards and 35 TDs (with just five picks) at NC State in 2021, but injuries and less-than-stellar surrounding talent led to a tough 2022. He played in just six games and threw for 1,265 yards and 11 TDs. Leary can put up big numbers again in the right situation.

2. Like Leary, Brennan Armstrong (6-2, 210) had a big 2021, then struggled this season. In 2021, he threw for 4,449 yards and 31 TDs at Virginia; he also ran for nine touchdowns. But a coaching change led to a philosophy change, and his stats fell off the table this season. He threw for less than half of what he did in ’21 (2,210, with just seven TDs), and while he led the team in rush attempts, he managed just 371 yards and six TDs. In a system that favors the pass but likes its quarterback to be a running threat, Armstrong can put up big numbers again.

3. D.J. Uiagalelei (6-4, 235) looked like a future star for Clemson when he started twice for an injured Trevor Lawrence in 2020, but he struggled as the Tigers’ fulltime starter the past two seasons. He has intriguing tools, and it’ll be interesting to see if his next OC/quarterback coach can get good numbers out of him. His tools and physical traits make him a valuable transfer. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

4. Spencer Sanders (6-1, 210) was a four-year starter at Oklahoma State. He was the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year as a redshirt freshman in 2019 and a first-team All-Big 12 pick in 2021. He finishes his Oklahoma State career No. 2 in school history in total offense at 11,509 yards and second with 9,553 passing yards. Sanders also threw 67 TD passes, which is third in Cowboys history, and accounted for 85 career touchdowns, also third. Sanders is the second-winningest starting quarterback in Oklahoma State history, and his winning ways are appealing, too. But he also threw 40 picks with the Cowboys, and never completed better than 62.8 percent of his passes. His dual-threat ability and nice arm can be put to good use by the right offensive coordinator. He has one year left.

5. In 2021, Austin Reed (6-2, 230) was the starting quarterback for Division II West Florida. This season, he was the starter at Western Kentucky and threw for 4,247 yards, second-most nationally. Next season? He almost certainly will be throwing it around for a Power 5 school. Reed has some running ability; he was second on the team with 87 rushing attempts and led WKU with eight rushing touchdowns. But it’s arm that is appealing. Reed is third nationally with 548 passing attempts and second with 353 completions (64.4 percent); he is fourth nationally with 36 TD passes, one behind tri-leaders C.J. Stroud, Clayton Tune and Caleb Williams. Reed has one season of eligibility left.

Other quarterbacks of interest: Hank Bachmeier (6-1, 210) was a three-year starter Boise State. Bachmeier finished his time at Boise with 6,605 passing yards and 41 TDs but also 19 interceptions from 2019-22. He battled through injuries and played behind an underperforming offensive line. Bachmeier has two seasons left. … Hudson Card (6-2, 201) started early in the 2021 season as a redshirt freshman at Texas, then lost his job to Casey Thompson. Quinn Ewers beat him out this season, but Card did start three games when Ewers was injured. Card has the ability to be a starter – though not a star – at the Power 5 level. He has some running ability that didn’t come to the fore at Texas. Card has two seasons of eligibility remaining. … Collin Schlee (6-3, 213) put up good numbers in his first season as the starter at offense-minded Kent State. He threw for 2,109 yards and 13 TDs. Schlee also rushed for 492 yards and four TDs. He missed one game with an injury and was hampered in three other contests. Schlee has two years remaining. … Jeff Sims (6-4, 219) was inconsistent with Georgia Tech. He started 10 games as a true freshman in 2020 despite not being truly ready to start. Sims started six games in 2021 and the first seven this season before being sidelined by an injury. He is seventh in school history in both passing yards and total offense. Sims has good size (6-4, 219) and is a definite running threat. He suffered at Tech because of the lack of surrounding talent and a lack of cohesion in the offense. Sims has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Running backs

There is nothing close to an elite running back in the transfer portal; there are six 1,000-yard rushers from this season who are transferring, including one from the SEC. The six: Carson Steele (1,556 yards at Ball State), Marquez Cooper (1,331 at Kent State), Ray Davis (1,042 at Vanderbilt), Titus Swen (1,039 at Wyoming, Sean Tyler (1,027 at Western Michigan; he announced Monday he was transferring to Oklahoma State) and Aidan Robbins (1,011 at UNLV). As a whole, though, this is an underwhelming group right now.

1. Blake Watson (5-9, 193) ran for 921 yards and five TDs for Old Dominion, which had one of the worst rushing attacks in the nation. Watson was the only ODU player who rushed for more than 125 yards, so if it was a running play, Watson was the guy. He was a 1,121-yard rusher in 2021, and showed this season that he can be an effective receiver, with 37 receptions. Watson has one year of eligibility remaining.

2. Carson Steele (6-1, 215) had the big season at Ball State. His rushing total is sixth nationally and he had nine 100-yard outings, including four with at least 179. Steele, a former Mr. Indiana Football, rushed for 891 yards in 2021 as a true freshman. He has two years left.

3.  Nathan Carter (5-9, 199) played in just four games for UConn this season because of a shoulder injury; he rushed for 405 yards in those four games. Carter rushed for 478 yards as a freshman in 2021 and has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Other running backs of interest: Dillon Johnson (6-0, 215) started 14 games over the past two seasons at Mississippi State. He rushed for 983 yards in that span, but his receiving ability is eye-opening. He had 65 receptions in 2021 and 48 this season, and leaves MSU tied for fifth in school history with 148 receptions. Johnson has two seasons of eligibility left. … Titus Swen (5-11, 206) was Wyoming’s most important offensive player. He was a 1,000-yard rusher for a team that doesn’t like to throw the ball (Wyoming averages 125.8 passing yards per game). He had three 100-yard games, including an impressive 212-yard effort against Boise State. Swen had six career 100-yard games in three seasons for the Cowboys; he was a reserve in two of those seasons. He has one year of eligibility remaining. … Harrison Waylee (5-10, 192) rushed for 1,929 yards in 22 games over three seasons at Northern Illinois. He has had injury issues, but his production when healthy is noteworthy. He has two seasons of eligibility left.

Wide receivers

This is a deep group that includes two or three guys who could be productive No. 1 receivers. There is one 1,000-yard receiver: Dorian Singer (1,105 yards at Arizona).

1. Ali Jennings III (6-2, 200) is looking for his third school. After spending 2019 and ’20 at West Virginia, Jennings emerged as a star the past two seasons at Old Dominion. He had 115 receptions for 2,022 yards and 14 TDs for ODU; that’s an impressive 17.6 yards per catch. Jennings had 54 catches this season in nine games, and 19 of them – 35 percent – went for at least 20 yards; he also had nine receptions of at least 30 yards. He has one season of eligibility remaining.

2. Dominic Lovett (5-10, 187) emerged as Missouri’s best receiver this season, with 56 catches for 846 yards but just three TDs (Mizzou had just 13 TD passes this season). Lovett was strictly a possession receiver as a true freshman in 2021, averaging just 6.7 yards on his 26 receptions. But he developed into a legit downfield threat and was second in the SEC with nine receptions of at least 30 yards. He has two years of eligibility.

3. Dorian Singer (6-1, 185) was part of one of the nation’s top receiving trios at Arizona with Jacob Cowing and standout true freshman Tetairoa McMillan. Singer had 66 receptions for 1,105 yards (16.7 per catch) and six TDs this season. He was tied for the Pac-12 lead with five receptions of at least 40 yards and with 11 for at least 30; he led the league with 21 receptions of at least 20 yards. Singler has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Other wide receivers of interest: Arland Bruce IV had 44 receptions in two seasons at Iowa but for just 396 yards. Then again, it was at Iowa. He looks to have the skill set to be a productive part of a receiving rotation. … Dante Cephas was one of the most productive receivers in the MAC in each of the past two seasons for Kent State, earning first-team all-conference accolades both seasons. He had 130 receptions for 1,984 yards and 12 TDs in the past two seasons in a prolific version of the spread. … Tre Harris had 106 receptions and 14 TDs in the past two seasons at Louisiana Tech. … Donovan Ollie was a two-year starter at Washington State who had 69 catches in that time frame. He was third on the team with 43 receptions this season. … Kaleb Smith led an anemic Virginia Tech offense with 37 receptions. But those 37 receptions went for 674 yards (18.22 yards per catch). … Kent State’s Cephas was a first-team All-MAC pick this season; so was Devontez Walker, Cephas’ running mate at wide receiver with the Golden Flashes. Walker, who began his career at NC Central, had 58 receptions for 921 yards (15.9 per catch) and 11 TDs. … Kyle Williams was a three-year starter at UNLV and was the Mountain West freshman of the year in 2020. Williams had 117 catches and nine TDs in three seasons at UNLV, averaging 13.4 yards per catch. He had 25 career catches of at least 20 yards.

Tight ends

This is an interesting group; three of the best transfers at the position were lower-division players, including one (McCallan Castles of UC Davis) who already has committed to Tennessee. It’s also a surprisingly good group; there are numerous tight ends who can help a Power 5 program.

1. Jaheim Bell (6-2, 230) had 55 receptions at South Carolina the past two seasons. He can be a flex tight end and play H-back. Want more evidence of his versatility? He saw time at tailback late in the season because of injuries to others. Bell has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

2. Seydou Traore (6-4, 218) entered the transfer portal Monday morning. Traore, a native of London who played his high school ball in the Tampa Bay area, was a first-team All-Sun Belt selection for Arkansas State. He had 50 receptions for 655 yards and four TDs. Traore is a receiving-first tight end and can be split wide. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

3. Kyle Morlock (6-7, 245) is a transfer from Division II Shorter, in Rome, Ga. Morlock had 30 receptions for 446 yards and six touchdowns, and was an important cog in the Hawks’ rushing attack. But forget the stats and focus on the measurables; agile 6-7 tight ends aren’t that prevalent. Morlock is from tiny Blairsville, Ga. (population of about 625), near the Georgia-Tennessee border, and has two years of eligibility left.

Other tight ends of interest: Josh Cuevas (6-5, 245) is coming off a big season – 57 catches, 662 yards, six TDs for a pass-first offense at FCS member Cal Poly. Cuevas has three years of eligibility left. Cal Poly coach Beau Baldwin recently was hired as offensive coordinator at Arizona State. … C.J. Dippre (6-5, 250) had 30 receptions for 314 yards and three TDs this season in a good passing attack at Maryland. Dippre, who had TD catches vs. Michigan and Ohio State this fall, has two years of eligibility remaining. … Rivaldo Fairweather (6-5, 245) was an under-the-radar guy this season at FIU. He had 28 receptions for 426 yards (15.2 yards per catch) and three TDs. Fairweather has two seasons of eligibility left. … Joshua Simon (6-4, 235) wasn’t overly productive for Western Kentucky, with 84 receptions in four seasons with the Hilltoppers. But 16 of those receptions went for TDs; this season, he had 18 catches and seven touchdowns. Simon has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Offensive linemen

Finding experienced linemen in the transfer portal is difficult – they’re extremely valuable commodities – but there are a surprisingly high number of intriguing players available.

1. T Ajani Cornelius (6-5, 310) started each of the past two seasons at right tackle for at FCS member Rhode Island and is one of the hottest transfer commodities on the market. He was a first-team All-Colonial pick this season. Cornelius has two seasons of eligibility left.

2. T Jeremiah Byers (6-4, 331) was a two-year starter for UTEP at right tackle after two seasons as a part-time starter. He has earned some All-Conference USA acclaim and has two seasons of eligibility of remaining. Byers also is a hot portal commodity.

3. G Spencer Holstege (6-5, 320) was a three-year starter for Purdue and has two seasons of eligibility remaining. He leaves Purdue with a string of 30 consecutive starts. Given Purdue’s offensive proclivities, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Holstege is an especially proficient pass blocker.

Other linemen of interest: G Javion Cohen (6-4, 305) was a two-year starter for Alabama. Cohen has two seasons’ eligibility remaining and will be one of the most popular interior linemen in the portal. … Both Kent State starting Ts entered the portal. Marcellus Marshall (6-5, 335) started every game at left tackle for the Golden Flashes this season and was a first-team All-MAC pick; he has two seasons of eligibility remaining. Savion Washington (6-8, 342) started 11 games at right tackle for Kent State. He has a nice upside and two seasons of eligibility left. … Grant Starck (6-5, 292) was the only Nevada offensive lineman to start every game for the Wolf Pack, at left tackle. He was an honorable mention All-Mountain West selection this season, his first as a starter, and has two years of eligibility remaining.