I don’t know who you are, Miami compliance staffer, but you have my sympathy.
The busiest week in the history of the transfer portal began on Dec. 5. Thankfully, we did not see a lot of players appearing in the portal right after midnight. Let’s not make that a tradition in the future.
But not everyone waited until the morning. Someone in the compliance office at Miami had the unfortunate duty of logging on at 12:48 a.m. ET and entering five football players into the portal. Whoever they are, hopefully they were able to get some sleep. This time of year is not especially fun for folks in the compliance business.
In the weeks leading up to Dec. 5, I talked with player personnel directors at a number of schools who felt reasonably confident they were ready for the flood. They made their lists of who they’d want if certain players became available. They checked them twice. As one staffer put it: You’re only going to be overwhelmed if you’re unprepared. No matter how ready they were, though, they described their experience Monday as fast-paced, intense chaos.
The fine folks over at SportSource Analytics have been tracking portal data for years and confirmed that Monday shattered the all-time daily record for entries with 780 total players from the FBS, FCS and Division II making the move. The previous high? It was only 270, back on Nov. 21.
Let’s dig into the numbers, the names and a few things to know about the first 24 hours of the transfer window opening.
How wild was it?
Based on how many players announced on social media they intended to transfer, we knew going into the day that more than 200 were going to pop up in the portal on Dec. 5. Here’s the final count for Monday alone: 453 FBS scholarship players entered the portal.
That’s 265 players on Power 5 rosters and another 188 at current Group of 5 schools, all officially hitting the market in one day. The pace slowed down as expected on Tuesday morning, with just 31 entering by noon ET, but they’ll keep steadily rolling in throughout this week and beyond.
We’re fast approaching 800 total FBS transfers and will surpass 1,000 in no time. If you’re curious how this breaks down by position, here’s a look at the 407 Power 5 players currently active in the portal (as of Tuesday at noon ET) and how they sort out:
Quarterbacks: 38
Running backs: 33
Wide receivers: 67
Tight ends: 18
Offensive linemen: 42
Defensive linemen: 58
Linebackers: 51
Defensive backs: 86
Specialists: 14
The trends early on here are holding up to what we saw in 2021-22. There’s definitely not a shortage of defensive backs and wide receivers looking for somewhere to go. If you’re looking to upgrade on the offensive line or at tight end, you better move quickly on the more limited number of players who become available.
Big names on the market
Among those hundreds of free agents, there are certainly a bunch of standouts worth keeping an eye on in the next few weeks. You can find lots of needles in that haystack. The Athletic’s best available rankings will be coming in the near future. But here are just a few of the names to know who went in Monday.
First off, the ACC quarterbacks hitting the portal certainly stood out. Clemson’s DJ Uiagalelei, NC State’s Devin Leary, Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong, Georgia Tech’s Jeff Sims and Pitt’s Kedon Slovis are all on the market now. Boston College’s Phil Jurkovec has already pledged to stay in the conference and move on to Pitt. It’ll be fascinating to see not just where these guys end up but where these ACC schools and others find their next QB1.
Another player in that conference who’s commanding big-time interest in Virginia cornerback Fentrell Cypress II, a second-team All-ACC selection. 247Sports reported Tuesday that Ohio State, Tennessee and Ole Miss are among the many schools battling for the corner after he tied for the ACC lead in pass breakups (13) and ranked No. 1 in the ACC and No. 6 nationally at his position in PFF grading (87.8). Another ACC DB to watch is Wake Forest corner Gavin Holmes, who picked up a dozen offers within 24 hours of entering the portal.
Indiana true freshman Dasan McCullough was one of the more exciting young edge defenders in the country this season, recording 49 tackles, 19 pressures, 6.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and three pass breakups for the Hoosiers. The top-100 recruit is the son of Notre Dame running backs coach Deland McCullough, but the perceived favorite so far is Oklahoma. The Sooners are also working to flip his brother Daeh McCullough, a four-star defensive back in the 2023 class currently committed to Cincinnati.
Arizona State offensive guard LaDarius Henderson hit the portal on Monday, and now we know why. Henderson announced his commitment to Michigan on Tuesday. The Wolverines landed one of the best linemen in the portal last year in Olu Oluwatimi, who had a monster year and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors. They’re hoping to repeat that plug-and-play success with Henderson, a three-year starter for the Sun Devils.
Now that Henderson is off the board, UTEP’s Jeremiah Byers, Purdue’s Spencer Holstege and Wisconsin’s Michael Furtney should be among the more coveted O-linemen on the market based on their experience. All three just went in the portal on Monday.
South Carolina tight end Jaheim Bell was another intriguing entry. The versatility he showed off this season was truly impressive. Bell caught 25 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns on the year. He moved over to running back in November and finished with 261 rushing yards and three TDs. He put up 121 total yards and two scores in the 63-38 blowout of Tennessee. He can do a lot, but what kind of offensive fit is he looking for at his next stop?
Henderson made a quick decision, but the award for fastest commitment goes to Cal transfer linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo and his three-hour recruitment. Oladejo appeared in the portal at 11:51 a.m. EST on Monday and announced his commitment to UCLA at 2:57 p.m. He ranks No. 5 in the Pac-12 in tackles (91) this season and had a career-high 17 against the Bruins on Nov. 25.
Wide receiver is loaded
There has been a ton of speculation around Texas’ Xavier Worthy and Texas A&M’s Evan Stewart entering the portal in recent weeks, and those moves did not happen on Monday. But this growing class of transfer receivers already has some very talented players worth following.
Arizona’s Dorian Singer was a surprise entry. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound sophomore currently leads the Pac-12 in receiving yards (1,105) on 66 catches with six touchdowns. Utah, Arizona State, Miami, Colorado, Penn State and Arkansas have been among the first to offer him.
Missouri’s Dominic Lovett and Mississippi State’s Rara Thomas are commanding a lot of interest as well. UCF’s Ryan O’Keefe is one of the fastest wideouts in the country and is now available as well. There are so many good Group of 5 options out there right now, too, led by Dante Cephas (Kent State), Jimmy Horn Jr. (USF), Ali Jennings (Old Dominion), Tyrese Chambers (FIU), Corey Crooms (Western Michigan) and the Charlotte duo of Elijah Spencer and Grant DuBose.
Austin Peay’s Drae McCray and Texas A&M-Commerce’s Andrew Armstrong were two of the hottest names in the portal when the FCS transfer window opened, and they have a ton of suitors, too. These FCS wideouts would be wise to lock in their commitments soon, because there’s no telling how many more proven wideouts are going to become available in the days and weeks ahead.
Alabama making changes
Guess which Power 5 program has had more players enter the transfer portal in this cycle than anyone? Alabama has seen 19 players go in the portal during the 2022-23 cycle, including 12 scholarship defections.
Those scholarship departures have primarily come at two positions. Five were on the offensive line with Javion Cohen, Damieon George Jr., Tommy Brockermeyer, Amari Kight and Tanner Bowles all electing to enter the portal. Cohen was the only full-time starter from that group. Three more players moving on came from their wide receiver room: Traeshon Holden, JoJo Earle and Christian Leary.
If you watched Alabama this season, it was hard not to arrive at the conclusion that Nick Saban and his staff would be hitting the portal to upgrade at receiver. Their 2021 receiver class, signed to help replace NFL-bound stars DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle, featured Ja’Corey Brooks, Agiye Hall, Earle and Leary. Brooks led the Tide in receiving this season, but he’s now the only one left. Will they hit the portal to bolster their O-line starting lineup or depth as well?
With the way roster rules have changed, more players leaving Alabama just means more blue-chip recruits and coveted transfers coming in to replace them. It’ll be fascinating to see how much more attrition — wanted or unwanted — the Tide deal with this month and what Saban prefers to do with the spots they free up.
(Photo of Dorian Singer: Darren Yamashita / USA Today)
