The 23 Most Impactful Players in the Transfer Portal

The transfer portal erupted Monday, as hundreds of FBS players formally began the process of finding new college football homes. More will follow in the days and weeks to come, but as of Dec. 4, these were Sports Illustrated’s top portal entrants:

Quarterbacks

• Aiden Chiles: While Chiles was a backup at Oregon State, his jump into the portal likely means one thing: new Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith has his signal-caller picked out. It should be of no surprise if he ends up in green and white next season, and Smith has proven that he can get the best out of whoever is at QB. Chiles was a four-star prospect, in the same tier as Arizona State’s Jaden Rashada and Kansas State’s Avery Johnson coming out of high school.
  
  
• Riley Leonard: A two-year starter at Duke with NFL potential, Leonard hit the portal after Blue Devils head coach Mike Elko hit the bricks for Texas A&M. Leonard had a 13–4 record as a starter before injuring his ankle at the end of a loss to Notre Dame, then hobbled through a couple more starts before shutting it down for the season. When healthy he is a dangerous dual threat, having thrown for more than 4,400 yards and run for more than 1,000 in his college career. There is heavy expectation that Leonard will follow Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman out of the ACC and into the starting role at Notre Dame.
  

Leonard led Duke to a 9–4 record, their most wins since 2014, last year.

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• Dillon Gabriel: With Jeff Lebby heading to Mississippi State, and an Oklahoma fan base clamoring for Jackson Arnold at points during last season, it’s easy to see why Gabriel would head for a third landing spot out of the portal.
  
  
• Will Howard: This one certainly qualified as a surprise, but the emergence of Avery Johnson could have something to do with the fact that Howard felt the writing was on the wall for him at Kansas State.
  
  
• M.J. Morris: Morris’s transfer away from North Carolina State follows one of the oddest quarterback situations this year. Transfer Brennan Armstrong was benched in October, allowing Morris to assume starting duties. But after four games, Morris elected to go back on the bench himself in order to preserve his redshirt to the surprise of head coach Dave Doeren. Now he’s in the portal looking for a new home.
  
  
• Dante Moore: A five-star quarterback will have a ton of suitors, but Moore is still a raw talent in need of development. He felt he’d get that somewhere other than UCLA.
  
  
• Kyle McCord: He was 11–1 as the starter at Ohio State, which wasn’t good enough for much of the fan base—or, perhaps, his coaches. McCord’s curse is that he wasn’t as good as the stars who preceded him at the position in Columbus: C.J. Stroud, Justin Fields, Dwayne Haskins, J.T. Barrett, etc. Whether McCord jumped into the portal or was pushed there isn’t yet known. While he might have had competition at Ohio State to remain the starter, he still should be in demand at many Power 5 programs after posting the second-highest pass efficiency rating in the Big Ten this season (161.64, trailing only Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy).
  
  
• Will Rogers: One of the SEC’s all-time leading passers is leaving Mississippi State for greener pastures. This season was interesting for Rogers as Zac Arnett took over and the Bulldogs began to stray away from the air raid system they ran under the late Mike Leach, in which Rogers threw for 4,739 yards in during the 2021 season.
  
  
• Tyler Van Dyke: At one point, Van Dyke was penciled in as a future NFL draft darling. He hasn’t quite met that potential yet, struggling through an up-and-down campaign at Miami this season and being benched late in the year.
  

Cameron Ward proved himself at the FBS level this season with Washington State after being named the best FCS player in the country for a prolific 2021 season.

James Snook/USA TODAY Sports

• Cameron Ward: The Washington State/Incarnate Word transfer is seen as a crown jewel quarterback in this transfer class with many schools, including Ohio State, hoping to land his services. With McCord out of the picture, the Buckeyes could use a player like him to get over the hump against Michigan.
  
  
• DJ Uiagalelei: Uiagalelei is on the move again after Jonathan Smith left Oregon State for Michigan State. His options include Oregon, where his brother has played as a defensive lineman, and Florida State, which is looking for a short-term answer at QB to bridge the gap between Jordan Travis and freshman Brock Glenn.
  
  
• Jordan McCloud: The well-traveled McCloud is looking for a fourth school after playing at James Madison, Arizona and South Florida. McCloud developed into a star this season with the 11–1 Dukes, passing for 3,400 yards, 32 touchdowns and nine interceptions while also rushing for 311 yards and eight more TDs.
  
  
• Grayson McCall: The FBS single-season record holder for pass efficiency rating is finally pulling up stakes at Coastal Carolina after helping put the program on the map. The three-time Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year was done no favors by the coaching change from Jamey Chadwell to Tim Beck and will need to find an offensive attack that fits his skill set.

Non-quarterbacks

• Raymond Cottrell: Another piece of the vaunted 2023 Texas A&M recruiting class is headed elsewhere. Cottrell only had one catch this season for the Aggies, but was a highly coveted receiver as a recruit and should be an in-demand transfer.
  
  
• Julian Fleming: At Ohio State, phenom Jeremiah Smith is on the way in, and freshman Carnell Tate has shown early glimpses that he’s another in the pipeline of wideouts. Both are likely to compete for the soon-to-be vacated No. 1 receiver role if Marvin Harrison Jr. goes to the NFL draft. The wideout competition is always fierce in Columbus. But Jameson Williams showed two years ago leaving for greener pastures can work out just fine.
  
  
• Juice Wells: The South Carolina wideout did not have the season he’d hoped for as he was hampered severely by injuries. He made his mark early on in the Georgia game and we didn’t see much else from him, but as long as his foot injury has properly healed he’ll be a difference maker for someone else next year.

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Walter Nolen could be the most impactful pass rusher in the transfer portal.

Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports

• Walter Nolen: The nation’s No. 2 recruit in 2022 according to Rivals.com, the defensive tackle was the centerpiece of the celebrated—and controversial—top-ranked class at Texas A&M. Two years later, Jimbo Fisher is out and Nolen is moving on as well. Nolen upped his production as a sophomore, recording 8.5 tackles for loss and four sacks, although none of the sacks came in the latter half of the season..
  
  
• Justice Ellison: A 1,900-yard career rusher at Wake Forest, Ellison will look to follow former teammate Kenneth Walker III as a high-impact transfer out of Winston-Salem.
  
  
• Beaux Collins: A four-star receiver prospect out of California, Collins was one of many wideouts who were supposed to energize the Clemson passing game since Trevor Lawrence left school. Whether it was scheme, QB play or receivers, that hans’t happened. Collins posted solid stats in three seasons—91 receptions for nearly 1,300 yards and 11 touchdowns—and should garner plenty of attention.
  
  
• Josh Kelly: A career 2,000-yard receiver at Washington State and Fresno State, Kelly is probably wise to look at other options with the demise of the Pac-12 and departure of Wazzu quarterback Cam Ward. With a career average of 15 yards per catch, Kelly is a big-play threat.
  
  
• DeShawn Pace: The younger brother of instant-impact NFL rookie free agent Ivan Pace is moving on from Cincinnati after nearly 250 career tackles. Pace is a do-it-all hybrid linebacker/defensive back who can cover in space, blitz, force turnovers and block kicks. (The Bearcats are losing both their top two tacklers to the portal.)
  
  
• Will Sheppard: The 6’3” receiver is a key part of a portal mass exodus at Vanderbilt. The Mandeville, La., product led the Commodores in receptions (47), receiving yards (684) and receiving touchdowns (eight).
  
  
• Kyle Kennard: The Georgia Tech edge rusher led the Yellow Jackets in tackles for loss (11.5) and sacks (six). The Atlanta product also had an interception and two forced fumbles.

Best of the Rest

Tyler Shough, Texas Tech quarterback. Blake Shapen, Baylor quarterback. R.J. Oben, Duke defensive end. Frank Ladson, Miami wide receiver; Corey Dyches, Maryland tight end; Key Lawrence, Oklahoma safety. 

Ed. Note: This post has been updated to reflect Michigan State defensive tackle Simeon Barrow withdrawing his name from the portal.