Tag: college football

As compared to other positions such as QB, the transfer WRs feel lesser in quantity that could have a significant impact this year, but here are some recent transfers to keep an eye on, listed in loosely descending order of potential impact this season:

• Rico Bussey, Hawaii (from North Texas) – only played in 2 games due to injury last year, but in 2018 had a huge 68/1017-12 line. Could put up similar numbers in the Hawaii offense.
• JD Spielman, TCU (from Nebraska) – Spielman had 800+ yards receiving in each of the past 3 seasons at Nebraska. He becomes WR1 at TCU
• Theo Howard, Oklahoma (from UCLA) – sat out in 2019 but had similar production in 2017 & 2018, going for 51/677-4 in 2018. The issue will be to see if he can stand out amongst a talented group of WRs including Charleston Rambo, Jadon Haselwood, and more. Oklahoma certainly has enough stats to go around.
• Damon Hazelton, Missouri (from Virginia Tech) – started his career at Ball State then had two productive seasons at VT with his best being 51/802-8 in 2018. Could emerge as WR1 but Missouri’s unsettled QB situation is worth watching.
• Changa Hodge, Virginia Tech (from Villanova) – can sometimes be hard to measure the transition of moving up from FCS, but had a huge 2019 with 65/1118-13
• Obi Obialo, Oklahoma (from Marshall) – began his career at Oklahoma State then spent 3 seasons at Marshall. Only played 4 games in 2019, best year was 2018 with 42/505-4. Joins a crowded group of WR talent at Oklahoma.
• Tarik Black, Texas (from Michigan) – mostly a backup at Michigan, best season was 2019 with 25/323-1. Texas is sure to throw the ball a lot this season, and their top WRs left for the NFL other than Brennan Eagles, so there is a lot of opportunity if Black rises up.
• Ben Skowronek, Notre Dame (from Northwestern) – only played 3 games in 2019 due to injury but had 45 catches in both 2017 & ’18, going for 644 & 562 yards. Notre Dame returns a lot of young but unproven WRs, so Skowronek could add veteran presence as he tries to stand out at a higher level.
• Jordan Jones, Cincy (from Arkansas) – sat out 2019, best year was 2017 with 21/401-3 for an impressive 19.1 average.
• Aaron Young, Florida Atlantic (from Duke) – Young’s best year at Duke was 2019 with 29/367-3, other than John Mitchell FAU doesn’t return much production, so Young should get his chances.
• Dee Anderson, Oklahoma St (from LSU) – sat out 2019, had 20/274-1 in 2018. Tylan Wallace is the clear WR1 at Oklahoma St, Anderson will likely come behind other returners such as Dillon Stoner to try to get playing time
• Velus Jones, Tennessee (from USC) – a very quiet body of work at USC other than going 24/266-1 in 2018, but other than Josh Palmer Tennessee doesn’t return a lot of proven performers.
• Aron Cruickshank, Rutgers (from Wisconsin) – known for his returning skills, could try to emerge in the offense as well after going for a modest 13/138-1 in 2019.
• Jaelen Gill, Boston College (from Ohio State) – Struggled for playing time in 2019 going 6/51-1. Better chance to see the field at BC.
• Justin Shorter, Florida (from Penn State) – (no update yet on waiver for immediate eligiblity) – Shorter was 12/137-0 last season

There are a handful of recent grad transfer/immediately eligible transfer TEs who should be considered for fantasy purposes this season, listed below in loosely descending order based upon potential impact:

• Tre McKitty, Georgia (from Florida St) – last season was 23/241-0, very similar to his 2018 production.
• Tony Poljan Virginia (from Central Michigan) – a former QB who full time to TE in 2019 and had 33/496-4, for a strong 15.0 yards per reception average.
• Mitchell Brinkman, South Florida (from Northern Illinois) – breakout performance in 2019 going 34/445-3. USF doesn’t return many receivers, so Brinkman could emerge as a top target.
• John Raine, Northwestern (from Florida Atlantic) – Raine was 38/343-6 last year at FAU. Northwestern will likely have Peyton Ramsey at QB, who utilized his TEs well in the Indiana offense.
• Kenny Yeboah, Ole Miss (from Temple) – briefly committed to Baylor before landing at Ole Miss, was 19/233-5 last season which was a slight uptick from his 2017 & 2018 stats.
• Jordan Wilson, Florida St (from UCLA) – best season was 2017 with 16/155-2, last season in 6 games went for 7/72-0 – *Aug 17 update – Wilson is out for the season with an undisclosed injury, team will apply for a medical waiver for next season.
• Daniel Imatorbhebhe, Illinois (from USC) – joins his brother Josh at Illinois. An interesting case as he last suited up in the 2016 & 2017 seasons for a total of 25/394-4 combined.

While QB transfers tend to get the most publicity, every year there are RBs who are immediately eligible after transfer (usually grad transfers) ready to make an impact. Following are recent transfer names to know, loosely listed in descending order of their potential for impact this season:

• Tre Harbison, Charlotte (from Northern Illinois) – Harbison had over 1000 yards in 2018 & 2019, and certainly could reach those numbers again as the featured back at Charlotte
• Jashaun Corbin, Florida St (from Texas A&M) – in 2018 went for 61/346 and last season had 35/137. With Cam Akers to the NFL and Khalan Laborn in the transfer portal there is every shot for Corbin to be RB1.
• Trey Sermon, Ohio St (from Oklahoma) – Sermon only played in 10 games last year, but in 2018 rushed for 947 yards and 13 TDs. While Ohio St also returns Master Teague (assuming fully healthy), there is plenty of room for big stats for both backs.
• Khalil Herbert, Virginia Tech (from Kansas) – rushed for 384 yards in only 4 games for Kansas last season before redshirting. Has never had more than 120 carries in a season and joins Keshawn King and possibly Raheem Blackshear (if eligible) in a talented backfield.
• Lorenzo Lingard, Florida (from Miami) – in 2018 rushed for 17/136 (8.0) before sitting out last season, should compete with UF’s top returner Dameon Pierce for carries.
• Jerome Ford, Cincy (from Alabama) – 24/114-3 at Alabama last season behind a talented group of backs including Najee Harris. Should compete with Gerrid Doaks at Cincy to be RB1.
• Ricky Slade, Old Dominion (from Penn State) – Slade was 47/214 behind a mix of backs at Penn State last season. Should have every chance to be RB1 at ODU.
• Ta’Zhawn Henry, Houston (from Texas Tech) – in 2019 rushed for 75/340-3 and caught 22/138-0, with very similar stats in 2018. Joins a Houston backfield with returners Kyle Porter & Mulbah Car.
• Martell Pettaway, MTSU (from West Virginia) – over the past 4 seasons Pettaway only had more than 50 carries once (2018 – 98/623 yards) – so while there certainly is opportunity at MTSU there isn’t yet a proven track record
• Brittain Brown, UCLA (from Duke) – Brown went from 701 yards in 2017, to 369 in 2018, to only 56 in 3 games in 2019 due to injuries. Demetric Felton returns for UCLA as sort of a hybrid RB/WR, but Brown could certainly earn his share of carries.
• Chase Hayden, East Carolina (from Arkansas) – after 57 rushes in 2018 Hayden only got 12 in 2019. ECU also returns D. Pinnix & D. Mauney, so may be a shared backfield situation.
• Devonta’e Henry-Cole, Utah State (from Utah) – after briefly committing to BYU, landed at Utah St. 34/188-2 last season, should compete with Jaylen Warren for carries.
• Darrian Felix, South Florida (from Oregon) – in 2019 had 34/197-2 in a crowded Oregon backfield, along with 6/78 receiving. Should compete with Kelley Joiner at USF.
• Jaxson Kincaide, Western Michigan (from Nevada) – each of the past 4 seasons Kincaide had anywhere from 26-78 carries and 119-334 yards in a supporting role at Nevada. Potential to be RB1, but based on past history a shared role may be more likely
• Bradrick Shaw, Cal (from Wisconsin) – in 2016 had 88/457 & 2017 was 96/365 before sitting out 2018 and then getting limited carries in 2019 (18/116). There is potential here, but Cal returns starter Chris Brown as well as Marcel Dancy.
• Raheem Blackshear, Virginia Tech (from Rutgers) – waiver for eligibility was denied, team plans to appeal (Aug 15 update)

With grad transfers becoming more common, and more commonly approved, who are the recent transfer QBs who may have an impact this season (whenever football is played)? Listed in descending order (loosely) based upon potential impact this season:

• D’Eriq King, Miami (from Houston) – only played 4 games in 2019 before redshirting, but was a top fantasy player in 2018 throwing for 2982-36 and rushing for 674-14. Will start at Miami.
• KJ Costello, Mississippi St (from Stanford) – expected to be the likely starter in Mike Leach’s high-powered offense, although Garrett Shrader, more of a dual-threat, is also in the conversation. Costello only played in 5 games last season due to injury but in 2018 was 3540-29
• Jamie Newman, Georgia (from Wake Forest) – was a star in 2019 at Wake despite battling injury, 2868-26 passing and 574-6 rushing. The Georgia offense hasn’t traditionally offered much rushing from the QB spot. Expected to start, but fellow transfer JT Daniels in the mix as well.
• Feleipe Franks, Arkansas (from Florida) – expectations are that Franks will be the Arkansas starter. Franks threw for 698-5 in 4 games last season before getting injured and in 2018 was 2457-24 in 13 games.
• Peyton Ramsey, Northwestern (from Indiana) – in 11 games last year threw for 2454-13, but backup Michael Penix looked good and was the likely starter for Indiana this year. Ramsey should start for NW, although the offense’s potential is in question.
• Jake Bentley, Utah (from South Carolina) – only played 1 game before getting injured in 2019, but threw for 3171-27 in 2018. Strong contender to start at Utah.
• JT Daniels, Georgia (from USC) – started for USC last season before getting injured and the emergence of Kedon Slovis. Jamie Newman appears to be the starter at Georgia, but Daniels should compete, although has not yet been cleared.
• Phil Jurkovec, Boston College (from Notre Dame) – in limited time off the bench threw for 130-0 at Notre Dame in 2019. Likely to compete with Dennis Grosel for QB1, with good chance of being the starter.
• Anthony Brown, Oregon (from Boston College) – in 6 games at BC last year Brown passed for 1250-9 and rushed 33/128-2 in BC’s run-heavy offense. Brown can be expected to compete with Tyler Shough for QB1.
• Chase Brice, Duke (from Clemson) – appeared in 11 games in 2019 throwing for 581-4. The favorite to start at Duke.
• Nick Starkel, San Jose St (from Arkansas) – began his career at Texas A&M then spent last season at Arkansas throwing for 1152-7 in 8 games ultimately splitting time with several others at QB1 before falling out of favor. Should be favorite to start at SJSU.
• Armani Rogers, Ohio (from UNLV) – a late transfer who was a dual-threat in shared time over the past few seasons at UNLV. Rogers and Kurtis Rourke should compete to start.
• Jason Shelley, Utah State (from Utah) – in 2018 Shelley passed for 1162-5 in 9 games but was moved away from QB in 2019. The transfer was likely about getting a shot at QB again, good chance to be QB1 replacing the departed Jordan Love.
• Austin Burton, Purdue (from UCLA) – backup to Thompson-Robinson at UCLA last season, threw for 365-1 in 6 games. Crowded QB room at Purdue between Burton, Jack Plummer, & Aiden O’Connell.
• Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland (from Alabama) – played sparingly at Bama, but since Josh Jackson opted out at Maryland, Tagovailoa & Lance LeGendre should compete to start.
• Michael Collins, Rice (from TCU) – played in 8 games in 2018 but only 2 in 2019, should be a strong competitor for QB1
• Tyrrel Pigrome, Western Kentucky (from Maryland) – Pigrome got limited split time at Maryland due to his dual-threat skills, had issues staying healthy. WKU QB1 is up for grabs.
• Justin Rogers, UNLV (from TCU) – essentially never saw the field for TCU, Kenyon Oblad likely starter at UNLV.
• Collin Hill, South Carolina (from Colorado St) – Hill played in 3 games last season due to injury then followed coach Mike Bobo to South Carolina. Will likely backup Ryan Hilinski.
• Noah Vedral, Rutgers (from Nebraska) – limited time at Nebraska as the backup to Adrian Martinez, could compete for QB1 at Rutgers with Artur Sitkowski.
• Keytaon Thompson, Virginia (from Miss St) – dual-threat who last got real time in 2018, wasn’t a fit in new Mike Leach system at Miss St. Brennan Armstrong likely starter for UVA.
• Josh Adkins, UTSA (from New Mexico St) – threw for 2500+ yards in 2018 & 2019 in an anemic NMSU offense. Frank Harris & Lowell Narcisse also return for UTSA.
• Lucas Johnson, San Diego St (from Ga Tech) – Tech simply didn’t offer much in the way of passing experience, could compete to start as not a clear starter at SDSU, but good chance will begin on the bench.
• Grant Loy, Auburn (from Bowling Green) – Loy is expected to backup Bo Nix
• Jake Constantine, Washington St (from Weber St) – crowded QB room in Pullman for the FCS transfer.
• Max Bortenschlager, FIU (from Maryland) – threw for 1313-10 in 2017, FIU’s QB situation is unsettled, so could be in the mix.
• Mo Hasan, USC (from Vanderbilt) – bench depth plus a good learning experience for Hasan after limited playing time at Vandy. Perhaps prep for coaching career?
• Henry Colombi, Texas Tech (from Utah St) – has applied for waiver for eligiblity
• Isaiah Green, Marshall – Green announced he was transferring in mid-July but on August 14th was reported to have removed his name from the transfer portal
• Jett Duffey, Hampton (from Texas Tech) – for those who lost track, Duffey unsuccessfully tried to transfer to Tulane as well as Central Michigan before apparently ending up at FCS Hampton

The biggest news of the week was players began to opt out of the season due to the coronavirus, with the biggest names being WRs Rashod Bateman of Minnesota and Rondale Moore from Purdue, along with QB Josh Jackson from Maryland. Following are all the updates from the week…

QBs: