Transfer Portal: Top 10 portal departures by school

Now officially two weeks into the 30-day transfer portal window, dominoes are starting to fall. That also means a handful of programs have seen attrition, losing talent to college football’s transfer portal.

Some of the nation’s top programs including Ohio State, Georgia, USC and Florida have all seen large numbers head for the portal. Nobody has come within reach of hitting Colorado’s 56 departures from a year ago, though.

As transfer portal commitment season picks up, On3 is breaking down the top 10 transfer portal departures by school:

22 – Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State

Indiana and Michigan State both made coaching changes this offseason, a main factor in the roster attrition. Both programs have been able to convince a few athletes to withdraw from the portal and return. The Spartans’ losses have been headlined by their entire quarterback room entering free agency, along with a handful of offensive linemen including Spencer Brown and Keyshawn Blackstock. Defensive lineman Derrick Harmon, considered one of the best available players at his position, has yet to make a decision.

Indiana’s losses have been highlighted by safety Phillip Dunnam, offensive lineman Matthew Bedford and wide receiver Jaquez Smith. Possibly the biggest win for new head coach Curt Cignetti, however, was convincing wide receiver Donaven McCulley to withdraw – he had picked up offers from Michigan and Texas A&M.

Purdue’s roster has been gashed at the wideout position, losing Deion Burks, Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen and TJ Sheffield.

21 – Cincinnati

Just a year after the Bearcats hired Louisville coach Scott Satterfield, they’ve seen a mass exodus. Tight end Chamon Metayer has since committed to Colorado, while safety Bryon Threats is headed to UCF. Cincinnati has been aggressive in rebuilding its roster, however, adding a pair of Ohio State transfers in running back Evan Pryor and safety Kye Stokes. Former Indiana quarterback Brendan Sorsby has committed to the Bearcats, too, giving them an experienced starter with three years of eligibility remaining.

19 – Arkansas

Arkansas has seen significant turnover on its roster, headlined by quarterback KJ Jefferson officially entering the portal on Monday afternoon. With five years of experience with the Razorbacks, he’s one of the most established names at his position in the sport. He’s thrown for 7,923 yards and 67 touchdowns with just 18 interceptions. A four-star recruit in the class of 2019, he’s made 39 career starts, touting a 20-19 overall record.

Running back Rocket Sanders has also transferred, landing at South Carolina with former Arkansas tight ends coach Dowell Loggains. Sam Pittman will have to rebuild his backfield this offseason. While Sanders did deal with an injury this season and played in only six games, he’s rushed for 2,230 career yards.

18 – NC State

The Wolfpack have seen 18 players enter the transfer portal, arguably the biggest loss coming in quarterback MJ Morris. Morris decided in November to shut down his sophomore season and redshirt after playing in four games, preserving another year of eligibility. With three years of eligibility remaining, he committed to Maryland last week. He completed 58 percent of his passes while throwing for more than 1,300 yards and 14 touchdowns in two seasons with the Wolfpack. He played in five games as a true freshman and four as a sophomore. MJ Morris went 3-1 as a starter this season for NC State.

17 – Vanderbilt, Georgia, Florida

Vanderbilt has arguably lost the most talent of any program in the last 15 days, losing playmakers in wide receivers Will Sheppard and Jayden McGowan. The Commodores also had its top two quarterbacks, AJ Swann (LSU) and Walter Taylor (Colorado), leave the program. The losses continued on defense, with safety Savion Riley now a Miami Hurricane.

Georgia has had a few surprises, too. The Bulldogs saw former four-star true freshman A.J. Harris enter this past Friday – Auburn has emerged as the favorite. Former five-star EDGE Marvin Jones Jr. committed to Florida State on Monday afternoon. Backup quarterback Brock Vandagriff is headed to Kentucky, Plus, Jamon Dumas-Johnson, a key linebacker, is currently being courted by a string of SEC schools.

Florida has also seen some major losses in the past two weeks, none bigger than running back Trevor Etienne. Georgia is the clear-cut favorite to land the four-star prospect from the 2022 recruiting class. EDGE Princely Umanmielen has also left Gainesville, announcing his commitment to Ole Miss over the weekend.

16 – Ohio State, South Carolina, USC, Florida State

The transfer portal opened its 30-day December window with a stunner. The Buckeyes lost starting quarterback Kyle McCord to free agency after he led Ohio State to an 11-1 regular season, the only loss coming to Michigan. Since then, there’s been a trickle of names leaving Columbus, the only other major headliner coming in grad transfer receiver Julian Fleming, who was the top-ranked receiver in the 2020 recruiting class.

USC has also been hit with a wave of departures, headlined on Monday night with true freshman five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson, true freshman linebacker Tackett Curtis and former five-star cornerback Domani Jackson all officially hitting the portal. Florida State’s biggest name on the move this offseason has been defensive lineman Bless Harris, who has since transferred to TCU.

South Carolina has lost a handful of talent on the offensive side of the ball. The Gamecocks lost lead rusher Mario Anderson to Memphis. Juice Wells was the biggest name to hit the portal; the wide receiver announced his transfer to Ole Miss over the weekend.