Transfer portal notebook: Hendon Hooker-Will Levis a worthy prime-time matchup

Half of the SEC has started transfer quarterbacks this season, and the two biggest names among the transfer group face off Saturday night when Hendon Hooker and Tennessee play host to Will Levis and Kentucky.

It might be the best matchup of transfer quarterbacks all season, though USC-Utah (i.e., Cameron Rising vs. Caleb Williams) will be hard to top. Utah won that 43-42 on a last-minute TD and two-point conversion. The quarterbacks combined for 913 yards of offense (Rising had 475, Williams 438) and 10 TDs (both had five).

There also will be Oregon-Washington (Bo Nix vs. Michael Penix Jr.) on November 12 and Oregon-Utah (Nix vs. Rising) on November 19.

Still, Saturday’s SEC East matchup features extremely high-caliber quarterbacks. While Hooker unquestionably has had the better season – heck, he’s one of the Heisman favorites – Levis is seen as the possible overall No. 1 pick and figures to be the richer man after the 2023 NFL Draft.

Last season’s UK-UT game certainly was memorable, with the Vols prevailing 45-42. Hooker was 15-of-20 for 316 yards and four TDs, and also rushed for 41 yards as the Vols put up 461 yards and averaged 9.8 yards per play. Levis played perhaps his best game, accounting for 419 yards (372 in the air) and five touchdowns (three in the air). Alas, a 56-yard pick-six by the Vols’ Alontae Taylor midway through the third quarter turned the game in Tennessee’s favor.

The stakes last season weren’t that high; that’s not the case this season with the Vols unbeaten and ranked third. The Hooker-led offense is the reason for the ranking. Tennessee leads the nation in total offense (571.7 yards per game) and scoring offense (50.1 points per game) and is second in yards per play (7.51).

Wildcats coach Mark Stoops acknowledged at his teleconference this week that his defense would have a tough time with Hooker and the Vols, noting that they are “playing at an incredibly high level right now with their tempo, their talent, the way they are playing at quarterback, across the board. Extremely hard to defend. … They’re scoring points on everybody.”

Hooker and Tennessee also lead the nation in plays of at least 20 yards (32) and at least 30 (21). “They’re going to get some explosives,” Stoops said. “You’ve got to try and limit that as best as you can.”

But he said limiting them is easier said than done.

“You can’t just sit back and give them everything in front of you, either, like you can against some other teams,” Stoops said.

For his part, Vols coach Josh Heupel was effusive in his praise of Levis. “Really good decision-maker. Ability to push the ball vertically and horizontally. Accurate with the football. … Everything kind of runs through him,” Heupel said.

Levis told reporters this week that it was vital for UK’s offense to stay on the field.

“I think if we’re able to string together a couple of 10-plus play drives and take a lot of time off the clock, that doesn’t give them as much time on the field,” he said. “It makes it easier on our defense and gives them the rest that they need. It’s going to really tough for them to go against that tempo offense.”

That’s the plan the Wildcats used last season, and it almost worked. They never punted and held the ball for 46:08 – which meant the Vols had it for 13:52 and still scored 45. UT scored quick when it had the ball. And remember that pick-six mentioned earlier?

While UK would prefer to run the ball, that is the Vols’ defensive strength. Definitely not a strength is the secondary, specifically the corners. That means any chance for an upset likely rests on Levis’ arm.

Transfer portal could lead to recruiting change

The transfer portal obviously has changed the way coaches recruit. Now it actually may change when they recruit.

The NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee last week proposed an addition to the recruiting calendar. The proposal would create a four-day dead period that would start the Monday after Thanksgiving. The committee said the proposed dead period would let coaching staffs make in-person conversations with their players a priority after the season ends and before the transfer portal window opens on the Monday after the conference championship games.

The Division I council is set to discuss the proposal Thursday and the changes would take effect immediately if approved.

Transfers in the spotlight

Along with Hooker-Levis, there are some other interesting portal stories with this week’s schedule. Here are five.

+ Illinois RB Chase Brown vs. Nebraska WR Trey Palmer: These are two of the most productive players in the nation at their positions. Brown, who transferred from Western Michigan after the 2018 season, leads the nation with 1,059 rushing yards. Palmer, who transferred from LSU after last season, is sixth nationally with 781 receiving yards and fourth nationally at 111.6 receiving yards per game. Brown will be going against the worst run defense in the Big Ten; Palmer will be going against the No. 2 pass defense in the nation. One positive for Nebraska: Its passing attack will be the best the Illini has seen and Palmer the best receiver.

+ Arizona WR Jacob Cowing vs. USC CB Mekhi Blackmon: Cowing, a transfer from UTEP, is 10^th nationally in receiving yards (737) and eighth in receiving yards per game (105.3). He also is tied for the Pac-12 lead with seven receiving TDs. Blackmon, meanwhile, a transfer from Colorado, is one of the best cornerbacks in the Pac-12; he has two picks and five pass breakups. He also is the leader of a secondary that has 12 picks and has allowed just seven TD passes. The Cowing-Blackmon matchups should be mighty entertaining.

+ Florida EDGE Brenton Cox vs. Georgia: Cox, from the Atlanta suburbs, was a five-star recruit and national top-20 prospect when he signed with Georgia as part of its 2018 class. He played extensively that fall, including making one start, but transferred to Florida after the season. Cox sat out the 2019 season under the old NCAA transfer rules, then has started every game since. He has been steady but certainly not a star. Cox has 31 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks as a Gator. But one-fourth of his TFL have come in two games (he had four TFL in games vs. FSU and UCF last season). Because of the NCAA’s so-called “COVID year,” he technically has one season of eligibility remaining. But he seems likely to turn pro, so this seemingly is his last shot at his old team. In his previous two games against the Bulldogs, he has six tackles and one tackle for loss.

+ Ole Miss RB Zach Evans vs. Texas A&M: Evans, in his first season with the Rebels after transferring from TCU, was a top A&M recruiting target when he was a five-star prospect at Houston North Shore in 2020. Now the Aggies have to hope a former recruiting target doesn’t add to their misery. But they may not have to worry: Evans missed last week’s loss to LSU because of an injured knee, and his health is a question for this week’s matchup. He and true freshman Quinshon Judkins are an excellent 1-2 punch at running back. Ole Miss’ running game faltered last week without Evans.

+ The transfer QBs in Cincinnati-UCF: This is Cincinnati’s Ben Bryant (Eastern Michigan transfer) vs. UCF’s John Rhys Plumlee (Ole Miss transfer). This also is one of the biggest AAC games of the season. UCF lost last week at East Carolina, and another league loss would make it tough to get to the conference title game. Cincinnati is unbeaten in league play. Bryant has been relatively steady all season, throwing for 1,761 yards and 15 TDs. But he also has thrown six picks. Plumlee, meanwhile, has been up and down. The highs have been glorious: 460 yards of offense and three total touchdowns against FAU, 410 yards and seven touchdowns against Temple. But he completed just 48 percent of his passes in UCF’s two games against Power 5 foes (Georgia Tech and Louisville, not exactly ACC powers) and threw three picks last week in the loss to the Pirates. Cincinnati can overcome a mediocre game by its quarterback; UCF can’t.