Diving into the portal: Key FCS transfers into the FBS ranks

There will be another spate of transfers after spring practices are over, but for now the transfer portal is relatively quiet, which gives us an opportunity to look at key transfers for the 2022 season.

We finish off our look at key transfers with 11 players — an elite 11, as it were — making the jump from the FCS ranks to FBS this season. “Key” is a relative term, but you can expect each of these players to make an appreciable impact this fall for their new teams.

Last week, we looked at transfers into the Big Ten, the Big 12, the SEC, the ACC, the Pac-12 and the Group of 5/independent ranks.

Rutgers OT J.D. DiRenzo

From: Sacred Heart
The buzz: DiRenzo (6 feet 6, 315 pounds) was a three-year starter and earned some All-America notice in 2021. Sacred Heart has had some of the most potent rushing attacks in the FCS ranks the past few seasons, and DiRenzo’s physical nature should put him in good stead along Rutgers’ front, which needs an infusion of talent. DiRenzo is a New Jersey native who is returning “home” to play for the Scarlet Knights.

West Virginia CB Marcis Floyd

From: Murray State
The buzz: Floyd (6-0, 188) was a three-season starter for the Racers and a two-time All-Ohio Valley selection; he also received some All-America mention in 2020 and ’21. He had seven interceptions and 20 pass breakups in his three seasons as a starter. Floyd, from Louisville, fills a need for WVU, which had two corners transfer out and doesn’t have much experience at the position.

Louisville WR Tyler Hudson

From: Central Arkansas
The buzz: Louisville lacked a difference-maker at wide receiver in 2021 (TE Marshon Ford was the leading receiver), and while that might be a big ask of Hudson (6-2, 195) for 2022, he was an established standout at the FCS level. He was a three-year starter in a prolific passing attack for the Bears, with 167 receptions for 3,062 yards and 27 TDs. Hudson, from the Houston area, was the Southland Conference freshman of the Year in 2019.

FIU LB Donovan Manuel

From: East Tennessee State
The buzz: Manuel (6-1, 230), who has added 35 pounds since high school in the Atlanta suburbs, runs wells and delivers a blow. He was a three-year starter for ETSU and earned some All-America notice in 2021, when he had 124 tackles, three sacks, 9.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. Manuel was a two-time All-Southern Conference pick and had three interceptions in his time with the Bucs. New FIU coach Mike MacIntyre is a former defensive coordinator, and Manuel figures to be a guy MacIntyre leans on in 2022 to start a program turnaround.

East Carolina DT Shaundre Mims

From: Charleston Southern
The buzz: Mims, who is squatty (6-0, 278) but quick, was a disruptive force for the Bucs. He was a three-year starter and earned first-team All-Big South honors all three seasons; he also earned some All-America acclaim in 2021. In his four seasons at Charleston Southern, Mims had 39 tackles for loss and 20.5 sacks. He should slide right in as a starter for an ECU program that appears to be on the rise in the AAC. No, the Pirates aren’t going to win the league in 2022. But they won seven games in 2021 and should improve on that total this fall. Mims played at Vanceboro (N.C.) West Craven, whose campus is about 25 miles from ECU’s in Greenville.

Penn State OT Hunter Nourzad

From: Cornell
The buzz: If you watched Penn State at all in 2021, you saw a team whose offensive line was a weakness. Nourzad’s arrival should help a bit in that regard. Nourzad (6-4, 298), an Atlanta-area native, was a two-time All-Ivy selection for the Big Red and the Ivy League’s offensive lineman of the year in 2021; he also received some All-America mention in ’21. He played right tackle for Cornell but could play guard for the Nittany Lions if needed. Nourzad will graduate in May with an engineering degree; he was a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy, the so-called “Academic Heisman,” in 2021.

LSU G Tre’Mond Shorts

From: East Tennessee State
The buzz: Shorts (6-4, 326) received some All-America mention in 2021, when he helped pave the way for All-American RB Quay Holmes (1,553 yards). Shorts, from the Atlanta area, was a four-year starter for the Bucs and won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the Southern Conference’s best offensive lineman during the spring season in 2021. His road-grading ways will be a boon for an LSU line that struggled for much of the 2021 season.

Wake Forest DT Kobie Turner

From: Richmond
The buzz: Turner (6-3, 298) fills a need for a Wake Forest defensive line that too often was pushed around in 2021. Turner, from Centreville, Va., in the D.C. suburbs, was a three-year starter for the Spiders and a two-time first-team All-Colonial selection. He was the league’s co-defensive player of the year for the 2021 spring season, becoming the first interior lineman to win the award since 2011. In 37 career games, Turner had 158 tackles, 35.5 tackles for loss, 15 sacks and three forced fumbles. His brother, A.J., is a running back at South Carolina.

Florida State EDGE Jared Verse

From: Albany
The buzz: Verse (6-4, 247) played only one year of FCS football, but that encompassed two seasons because Albany played both in the spring and fall in 2021. Verse, from Berwick, Pa., played in 15 games and had 74 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 21.5 tackles for loss and 13 quarterback hurries. He earned all sorts of All-America honors for his fall campaign and was one of the hottest EDGE transfers on the market. FSU struck gold in the transfer portal with EDGE Jermaine Johnson (11.5 sacks) in 2021, but he’s off to the NFL. FSU needs Verse, who was part of a state-champion 4×400 relay team in high school, to come through as a pass rusher this fall.

Washington State QB Cam Ward

From: Incarnate Word
The buzz: Ward starred last season at Incarnate Word, in San Antonio. He threw for 4,648 yards and 46 TDs in 2021 for UIW, which went 10-3 and lost in the second round of the FCS playoffs to top-seeded Sam Houston State. Ward threw 70 TD passes in 19 games with the Cardinals. He did all that with Eric Morris as coach. Morris now is Washington State’s offensive coordinator, and the coach/quarterback relationship should continue to flourish.

South Carolina WR Antwane Wells Jr.

From: James Madison
The buzz: Wells (6-1, 204) played just two seasons at James Madison and was a fulltime starter for one, but he left JMU as one of the most productive receivers in school history. In his two seasons, Wells had 116 receptions (ninth in school history) for 1,853 yards (ninth) and 21 TDs (third). Wells, from the Richmond, Va., area, was a first-team All-Colonial pick in 2021, when he also received some All-America notice after a season in which he had 83 catches, 1,250 yards and 15 touchdowns. Wells’ addition means all of a sudden, South Carolina looks as if it could have a dangerous passing attack. Leading receiver Josh Vann decided to stay for one more season, TE Jaheim Bell came on strong at the end of the season and the Gamecocks also added QB Spencer Rattler and TE Austin Stogner from Oklahoma via the transfer portal.