What else we learned<\/p>\n
\u2022 SportsSource data from the Class of 2011 indicates that the number of transfers has ballooned in the past decade. In a sample of 1,565 three-, four- and five-star prospects from 2011, only 16.2 percent of players transferred from their original schools. It’s not a perfect comparison: SportsSource data is by star rating, and the 2021 data is built off the top 50 at each position regardless of star rating. But the difference between the two numbers is indicative of the shift in the sport.<\/p>\n
\u2022 At other positions, players who star at big programs and see a clear path to NFL stardom generally aren\u2019t swayed by the portal: Ohio State receiver Emeka Egbuka, Georgia tight end Brock Bowers and Alabama offensive lineman JC Latham are examples of players who stayed at their original schools and became first-round draft picks. Of the top 10 players in the 2021 class regardless of position, only four transferred once, including quarterbacks Ewers and Williams. Defensive lineman Korey Freeman spent three seasons at USC before transferring to Fresno State. And OL Tommy Brockermeyer transferred from Alabama to TCU before medically retiring.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Predictably, the loosened transfer rules have also paved the way for multiple-time transfers. In the 2011 class, out of those 1,565 three-, four- and five-star prospects, only 11 (0.7 percent) transferred more than once. Five of those 11 were quarterbacks. In the 2021 class, among just the 600 we examined, 121 (20.2 percent) transferred more than once.<\/p>\n
\u2022 While quarterbacks led the way with 84 percent of prospects transferring, followed closely by wide receivers at 82 percent, offensive and defensive lines were the only positions at which fewer than half of prospects transferred. Just 48 percent of offensive linemen transferred and 44 percent of defensive linemen transferred.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a closer look at a few of the top 50 players at their position in the Class of 2021 and how the transfer portal worked out for them.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Julien Simon made the best of his first transfer from USC to Tulsa, but called his second transfer one he might regret. (Ric Tapia \/ Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Forced into the portal<\/p>\n
USC was Julien Simon\u2019s dream school, and he joined the Trojans out of high school as the No. 16 linebacker in the 2021 class. But eight months later, USC fired coach Clay Helton. Simon stuck around for Lincoln Riley\u2019s first season but found himself in a meeting with Riley after the 2022 season, having appeared in five games in two years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI already knew I was going into the portal, but it was a kick out the door I was already going out of,\u201d Simon said.<\/p>\n
One of the highest-rated prospects in Helton\u2019s final class, Simon headed to Tulsa to join his older brother Jayden, who transferred there from Colorado before the 2022 season.<\/p>\n
He thrived under first-year coach Kevin Wilson, winning a starting job and finishing second on the team in tackles. But after the season, his brother elected to leave, and Simon followed in search of a bigger program.<\/p>\n
UConn coaches spotted his brother\u2019s film on social media, eventually making an offer.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy decision to leave Tulsa was probably one that I might regret,\u201d Simon said. \u201cI ultimately ended up at UConn because of my brother’s situation and how he landed there, thinking it would be a good spot for me too.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Simon was a sparsely used backup at UConn, making just five tackles and one sack.<\/p>\n
Simon re-entered the portal in December but said it\u2019s likely he won\u2019t be on a roster this fall. Kent State was the only program to show interest in him, he said, but didn\u2019t offer him a roster spot. He graduated from UConn in May with a degree in general studies with a minor in urban and community studies. He said he earned a few hundred dollars in NIL deals, all brokered by him.<\/p>\n
His advice for himself coming out of high school?<\/p>\n
\u201cListen to your heart and your heart only. That’s the one that matters,\u201d he said. \u201cLet yourself guide you, not anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
A career revived by the portal<\/p>\n
Kyle McCord called his exit from Ohio State after his first season as starter a \u201cbusiness decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
The five-star quarterback prospect had waited his turn, and in 2023, threw 24 touchdowns and six interceptions. Two of those picks, though, came in a loss to Michigan with a Big Ten championship game bid and College Football Playoff berth at stake. He topped 3,000 yards passing and was in the top 25 in yards per attempt and completion percentage but hadn\u2019t convinced the Buckeyes he was elite.<\/p>\n
The Columbus Dispatch reported that OSU was unwilling to commit to him as the starter in 2024, and McCord entered the portal, landing at Syracuse.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing from Year 1 to Year 2 as starter, I was going to make a big improvement. It was a combination of a lot of things,\u201d McCord said.<\/p>\n
He had improved his ability to study film. And the game had slowed down for him late in the season. Plus, much of what he\u2019d learned in two seasons behind C.J. Stroud was beginning to set in.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking back on it, that was probably the best thing that could have happened for me as a young quarterback,\u201d McCord said.<\/p>\n
McCord\u2019s connections with offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon and quarterbacks coach Nunzio Campanile brought him to Syracuse and coach Fran Brown.<\/p>\n
In 2024, he led the nation in passing yards with 4,779. He threw 34 touchdowns and 12 interceptions on a nation-leading 592 attempts, up from 348 in 2023. Syracuse won 10 games for just the second time since 2001. McCord was picked in the sixth round of this spring\u2019s NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. He was the seventh quarterback picked, four picks ahead of Will Howard \u2014 the Kansas State transfer who replaced him at Ohio State.<\/p>\n
Of the top 50 quarterback prospects in the Class of 2021, eight have been drafted so far. Others like Garrett Nussmeier, Luke Altmyer, Miller Moss, Sawyer Robertson and Taylen Green could possibly join them next year.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Alton McCaskill has just 21 carries since breaking out as a freshman at Houston. He’s now on his fourth school. (Matt Pendleton \/ Imagn Images)An injury leads to the portal<\/p>\n
Alton McCaskill began the spring of 2022 with limitless promise. The running back was coming off a 1,000-yard, 18-touchdown season as a true freshman at Houston in 2021.<\/p>\n
But in April 2022, he tore the ACL in his left knee. His second season in Houston was over five months before it began.<\/p>\n
Three years later, he\u2019s on his fourth school and has carried the ball 21 times since that breakout season. He\u2019s preparing to reboot his career at Sam Houston State under new coach Phil Longo.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a ride,\u201d McCaskill said. \u201cIt never goes quite like you expect it.\u201d<\/p>\n
A year after his injury, McCaskill shocked Houston by leaving for Colorado and joining Deion Sanders\u2019 program ahead of Sanders\u2019 first season. That offseason, he was even featured in a California Almonds commercial alongside Sanders that aired nationally throughout the fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoach Prime just went in there and turned his movie star on. It was crazy. He aced it,\u201d McCaskill said. \u201cThat was the first time I’d done anything to that magnitude, and it was really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
That fall, he played sparingly, and in October, he went to Sanders and said he wanted to redshirt and intended to continue strengthening his knee.<\/p>\n
But after working with the Buffaloes the following spring, McCaskill elected to re-enter the transfer portal and signed with Arizona State.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just didn\u2019t think they were going to run the ball a lot,\u201d McCaskill said of Colorado.<\/p>\n
After seven carries for 17 yards in the Sun Devils\u2019 opener, McCaskill didn\u2019t record a statistic the rest of the season. After this spring, he didn\u2019t like his place in a crowded group of running backs that added Kanye Udoh from Army to help replace Cam Skattebo. He sought a program where playing time would be more likely.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody’s situation is different. People might think this or that, but they aren\u2019t having the conversations with people in a facility every day and get the same vibes,\u201d he said. \u201cIf somebody does something you don’t like at work, you might think about not going into that job anymore. It’s the same exact thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stuck in the portal<\/p>\n
Christian Pedersen wanted to sign with the biggest and best program that would have him. As the nation\u2019s No. 43 tight end, that meant Louisville. His senior high school season had been canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic, and he felt out of his depth in college.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was on the scout team and had to block Yaya Diaby. He\u2019s with the Bucs now. And I was like, \u2018How am I gonna do this?\u2019\u201d Pedersen said.<\/p>\n
After Pedersen redshirted his freshman season, the coaching staff told him he likely wouldn\u2019t be a major contributor until his junior or senior seasons. He elected to transfer, but didn\u2019t enter the portal until July. His options during the dead period were minimal, and he found himself stuck in the portal during the 2022 season.<\/p>\n
He moved closer to his family, which had relocated to Nashville from California, and spent the fall training on his own and working a construction job in stone care.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot fun, and while it kind of sucked, it was the perfect thing I needed for me mentally and physically,\u201d he said. \u201cI had to re-evaluate myself and be sure this was what I wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n
That December, he landed at Florida International. There, he could compete. His confidence returned, though he played sparingly.<\/p>\n
After the 2023 season, he was nervous for his exit meeting with his coaches, but it went better than expected. Two weeks after the portal opened, though, he got a call from his position coach, who said they were going in another direction at tight end.<\/p>\n
In the days that followed over the Christmas holiday, coaches consistently checked to see if he\u2019d filed to enter the transfer portal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was devastated,\u201d he said. \u201cIt rocked my world. I didn\u2019t even know if I wanted to play football anymore after that. I didn\u2019t know what to do for college.\u201d<\/p>\n
He had just signed a lease for an apartment in Miami and needed help finding a subletter.<\/p>\n
Pedersen said he never earned any money in his career from NIL.<\/p>\n
A friend at Louisville had joined Morehead State\u2019s staff as a graduate assistant and told Pedersen the FCS program in Kentucky would likely have a spot for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI took a visit and was like, \u2018You know what, why not?\u2019\u201d Pedersen said.<\/p>\n
He finished fourth on the team with nine catches for 91 yards last year. He scored his first career touchdown.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s planning on playing a fifth season this fall and is on track to get a degree in communications in December.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall it what you will. You’re getting fired. It’s harsh. But I’m grateful to have experienced it,\u201d Pedersen said of his two trips into the portal. \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve got an edge in the business world because I know what failure is.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Top photos of quarterbacks Miller Moss and Kyle McCord: Steph Chambers, Ian Maule \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the turnstiles of the NCAA transfer portal spinning, it seems a good time to ask: How many…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":52275,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[1607,399,398,396,397,99,1794],"class_list":{"0":"post-52274","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-college-football","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-ncaa","11":"tag-ncaa-football","12":"tag-ncaafootball","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-sports-business"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}