Transfer Portal Ins and Outs

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Transfer Portal Ins and Outs

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An important date in the world of college football passed quietly this past week.

The first window of the Transfer Portal, which opened on December 4th, closed on January 2nd. Players who wished to put their names into the Portal, looking for a new home, had to make their wishes known during the open window. Over 500 names were entered into the Portal in the first 24 hours, and over 2,100 players overall entered in the past month (players who played in New Year’s Day bowl games the College Football Playoffs have a one week extension).

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Before we talk about the names and numbers involving your Buffs, a short primer on the Portal …

The NCAA shortened the winter Transfer Portal this season from 45 days to 30 days. There will be a second Portal this spring, a 15-day window from April 15-30.

Names are submitted to the Portal through the school’s compliance office. Once a player gives written notification of their intent to transfer, the office puts the player’s name into the database, and they officially become a transfer. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and NCAA rules forbid anyone from refusing that request.

The database includes the player’s name, contact information, info on whether the player was on scholarship, and if he is a graduate student. (Graduate students can enter their name into the Portal at any time, but must submit their names to the Portal before May 1st in order to be eligible this fall).

Once a player’s name appears in the transfer portal database, other schools are free to contact the player, who can change his mind at any point in the process and withdraw from the transfer portal. Notably, once a player enters the portal, his school no longer has to honor the athletic scholarship it gave him.

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While there are strict rules about entering the Transfer Portal, the rules for players who commit to a team from the Transfer Portal are more fluid.

When a player sends in a Letter of Intent to a school, and the school accepts, the school becomes bound to the player, but the player is not bound to the team … until they actually enroll at the school, which can be important.

So, the 18 transfers CU signed on December 20th are still not officially in the fold until school starts this spring (CU’s spring semester starts January 16th, for those scoring at home), or in June, for those players who are completing their studies at their original schools.

Not that there are any of the players who have indicated they are coming to CU are wavering, but we can’t yet fully call these players Buffs. CU fans remember the name of Davis Webb. Webb was a Texas Tech quarterback who indicated in January of 2016 that he was going to transfer to CU for his senior year. Webb was nine credits short of graduating, so he stayed in Lubbock that spring.

After graduating, Webb transferred to … Cal.

Most of the transfer commitments will be enrolling in January, but there are a few Buffs to be, including Vanderbilt wide receiver Will Sheppard, who are staying at their old schools this spring.

So stay tuned …

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Now, back to your Buffs …

A total of 11 players from the 2022 CU roster entered their names into the Transfer Portal during the first window, a surprisingly low number. Considering that CU was basically a completely new team this past fall, it stood to reason that there would be some disgruntled transfers who were not happy with how the 2023 season turned out for them personally. There were bound to be players who felt that they did not get the opportunity to play as much as they thought they might, considering that CU went into the season with no established lineup.

Add in the fact that half of the coaching staff is turning over, including both coordinators, and it would not have been shocking to see more defections.

But only 11 players left the program (I’m including tight end Michael Harrison on my list, who was a walk-on at CU, but joined San Diego State as a scholarship player).

The list, along with those players who have found new homes … 

Quarterbacks … Kasen Weisman (12/4) …

Running backs … Anthony Hankerson (Oregon State) …

Wide receivers … Grant Page (12/4) … Willie Gaines (1/2) …

Tight ends … Caleb Fauria (11/27) … Michael Harrison (San Diego State) …

Offensive linemen … Van Wells (Oregon State) … Gerad Lichtenhan (Oregon State) …

Defensive tackles … none

Edge rushers / Outside linebackers … Eoghan Kerry (12/4) …

Inside linebackers … Marvin Ham II (11/28) …

Defensive backs … Kyndrich Breedlove (Purdue) …

Specialists … none

Now, let’s break down what Coach Prime is losing …

Of the 11, only four have a 247 grade of .88 or above: Marvin Ham (.92), Caleb Fauria (.89), Anthony Hankerson (.88), and Kyndrich Breedlove (.88).

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Now, let’s take a look at the 18 transfers who are coming to Boulder this fall (and the schools they played for in 2023)… 

Quarterbacks … Destin Wade (Kentucky) … Walter Taylor (Vanderbilt) …

Running backs …

Wide receivers … Terrell Timmons, Jr. (North Carolina State) … Will Sheppard (Vanderbilt) … Cordale Russell (TCU) …

Tight ends … Chamon Metayer (Cincinnati) …

Offensive linemen  … Yakiri Walker (UConn) … Tyler Johnson (Houston) … Justin Mayers (UTEP) … Kahlil Benson (Indiana) … Phillip Houston (Florida International) …

Defensive tackles … Quency Wiggins (LSU) … Anquin Barnes (Alabama) … Chidozie Nwankwo (Houston) … Samuel Okunlola (Pitt) …

Edge rushers / Outside linebackers … Keaten Wade (Kentucky) …

Inside linebackers … DJ Lundy (Florida State) …

Defensive backs … Preston Hodge (Liberty) …

Specialists … none

While only four of the departing Buffs were graded at .88 or above, only six new Buffs have a 247 Sports rank below .88: Offensive tackle Phillip Houston (.86), defensive tackle Chidozie Nwankwo (.87), defensive tackle Anquin Barnes (.86), edge rusher Keaten Wade (.87), quarterback Destin Wade (.86), and offensive lineman Kahlil Benson (.87).

Or, to put it another way …

Only one outgoing Buff had a four-star grade (.90 or higher), being Marvin Ham at .92. Meanwhile, six of the new Buffs received four-star status: safety Preston Hodge (.90); defensive lineman Quency Wiggins (.92); offensive lineman Tyler Johnson (.90); defensive lineman Samuel Okunlola (.92); wide receiver Will Sheppard (.91); and tight end Chamon Metayer (.90).

Another way of looking at how much the roster has improved since the Transfer Portal opened is to look at where players are coming from, and where former Buffs have landed.

Of the 11 Buffs who have left the team, to date only five have found new homes, while six remain homeless. While there is certainly time for them to find new scholarship opportunities, the window to find Power Five roster spots is closing, as teams are looking for their new players to join the team for spring practices if at all possible.

Of the five who have found a new team, three are now playing for Oregon State (arguably no longer a Power Five school, with the Beavers playing a Mountain West conference heavy schedule this fall), with tight end Michael Harrison following offensive coordinator Sean Lewis to San Diego State. (Update: Kyndrich Breedlove Sunday committed to Purdue).

Meanwhile, Colorado has focused on picking up players with Power Five conference experience. Fourteen of the 18 new Buffs played at Power Five schools last fall.

And Coach Prime and his staff have attacked positions of need.

In the sixth episode of Deion Sanders’ documentary Coach Prime on Amazon Prime, when chatting with linebackers coach Andre’ Hart, Sanders was discussing what they needed to do to better the roster in 2024.

“You and everybody in the country know what we need to do,” Sanders said to Hart. “You know what the first order of business is.”

Hart quickly replied “O-line, D-line” which Sanders validated by saying “Thank you sir.”

Sanders continued discussing what position groups they needed to prioritize, citing Hart’s position group of linebackers which Hart’ seemed thrilled with. However, Sanders did reveal that they were changing their point of attack in the portal this time around, as he revealed they will be going after players who are starters at the previous stop.

“But you know what,” said Sanders. “This year, we’re going after all starters. Like started. They’ve gotta have been starters.”

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With the Transfer Portal closed for now, and the spring semester about to begin, the Colorado roster for spring is largely in place. There will be additions and subtractions in April, but it’s not a stretch to say that 80-90% of the players who will take the field for Coach Prime this fall are now in the fold.

And, while the Transfer Portal ins and outs this offseason has been quiet when compared to the unprecedented overhaul of the roster from last season, the trades have been a net gain.

— Only 11 players left, a relatively low number considering how little stability there was in the roster year over year, and the loss of half of the coaching staff;

— One four-star player lost … but six gained;

— Nine of the 18 new players being offensive and defensive linemen, the areas of greatest need in the lineup.

Colorado, with either the nation’s No. 1 (Rivals) or No. 2 (247 Sports) transfer ranking, it has been a very successful month in bringing in new players.

But it’s also worthy of note that CU and Coach Prime had a very successful month in retaining talent.

Such are the ins and outs of the Transfer Portal.

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This post, about the Postseason game, from the 2023 Season, is filed under Article.
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