The 2019 season was headlined by the transfer portal. Specifically, the transfers of standout quarterbacks Joe Burrow, Justin Fields, and Jalen Hurts. These three quarterbacks were in the transfer portal in the prior two years and make up three of the four teams that made the college football playoffs in 2019. Burrow skyrocketed up draft boards all the way to Cincinnati as the number one overall pick in this year’s draft. Fields has a shot to overtake Trevor Lawrence as the 2021 first overall pick. Jalen Hurts led his second team to the college football playoff. If not for Burrow’s legendary season, he would have likely walked away with a Heisman trophy. As more transfer portal players earn opportunities and gain NFL value, the occurrences of high-profile transfers will continue to rise.
There have already been several high-profile transfers in 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic making it more difficult than ever. Jamie Newman headlines this list. He transferred from Wake Forest to perennial powerhouse Georgia. KJ Costello transferred from Stanford to play with former rival coach Mike Leach in the Mississippi State air raid offense. College Football fantasy darling D’Eriq King has taken his talents to South Beach. Finally, Taulia left Tuscaloosa to play in Maryland with five-star commit Rakim Jarrett.
Quarterback Transfers
Jamie Newman
Jamie is a 6’4”, 230-pound dual-threat quarterback with proven success at Wake Forest. Newman has been granted immediate eligibility at Georgia behind a significantly better offensive line and likely better receiving options, though he had a great connection with Sage Surratt at WF. Newman’s stats in his junior year did not pop off the page. He threw for 2,868-yards and 26 TDs with 11 INTs, along with adding over 500-yards and 6 TDs rushing. Newman is being projected as a late-first round pick now. This is based on Newman’s dual-threat abilities combined with his ball placement ability on plays like the one below.
KJ Costello
He was a former four-star prospect who had an incredibly strong junior season. He posted 3,540-yards and 29 TDs and led the PAC-12 in passing efficiency at 155. An injury-plagued senior season in which he suffered a concussion and came back to a thumb injury limited the Cardinals quarterback to just five games. Mike Leach’s offense has led to back to back seasons of above 70% completions and over 4,500-yards in the PAC-12. The SEC is arguably the most competitive conference in the nation. However, LSU and Alabama have shown that powerful offenses can prevail. As a grad transfer, Costello is eligible immediately, expect him to thrive with Leach and potentially work his way into a day two draft pick.
D’Eriq King
D’Eriq accounted for a combined 50 TDs in 2018. In his last full season in Houston, he also threw only six INTs: only 1.7% of his total attempts. King shut his season down after Houston started 1-3 which made him eligible immediately in the 2020 transfer portal. Standing at 5’11” and 195 lbs. King has a build that will make NFL teams hesitant to draft him as a franchise quarterback. However, a strong season in Miami could sway his value significantly at the next level. King also has the athleticism to play in an offensive threat position this year at Miami and progress as a slot receiver or running back at the NFL level like Randall Cobb or Antwaan Randle El.
Taulia Tagovioloa
Taulia left the Crimson Tide quarterback battle with Mac Jones and Bryce Young to a clearer path to starting in College Park where he hopes to emerge from under the huge shadow cast by his older brother. Maryland in 2019 was just 3-9 in the Big10 East, and their quarterbacks combined for just a 32.9 QBR per ESPN, this was the second-worst among power five schools. Tagovioloa should bring an instant impact to their quarterback room and may play himself into an NFL prospect as a starter.
Skill Position Transfers
This year, we also saw the movement of some high-value skill positions outside of quarterback, headlined by Trey Sermon transferring from Oklahoma to Ohio State. This has major implications for three high-end devy running backs in Master Teague, Kennedy Brooks, and Trey Sermon.
Master Teague
Reportedly suffering a torn Achilles this spring, Master Teague is making this the third consecutive season that Ohio State has suffered a spring Achilles tear. He was the clear RB2 behind JK Dobbins last season, accounting for 955-yards from scrimmage and four TDs. Teague looked the part to take over the Dobbins role this season, so this injury is a major setback. It is worth noting that linebackers Tuf Borland (2018) and Justin Hilliard (2019) were both able to return by week 2 of their rehab seasons. With Kennedy Brooks now in the backfield, Teague is a risky investment in devy leagues as he will no longer have a workhorse role in Columbus as many projected.
Trey Sermon
Sermon was coming off a 1,128-yard and 13 TD season in 2018 and came into 2019 as the starting running back in Norman. By week six, Kennedy Brooks had overtaken Sermon for the starting running job. Only limited opportunities were available with Jalen Hurts rushing at least 14 times per game to that point. Injury was then added to insult for Sermon as a week 11 knee injury ended his season. The opportunity in Columbus with Teague’s injury gives Sermon the best chance to grow his value as an NFL prospect.
Kennedy Brooks
The big winner in this running back trilogy is Kennedy Brooks. He beat out Trey Sermon in 2019 and with Spencer Rattler poised to be under center the Sooners will rely on Brooks to be the primary rusher. It is worth noting that Oklahoma has not had a running back go over 200 rushes in a season since 2015–before the Lincoln Riley era began. Brooks should still get the lion’s share of the work. He came on late last season and rushed for over 100-yards in three of the final six games.
Justin Shorter
Former five-star receiver Justin Shorter will also be on the move this season, going from Penn State down to Florida. Shorter was the top-ranked receiver coming out of high school in 2018 but accounted for only 15 receptions in his two seasons as a Nittany Lion. Shorter has the body of the prototypical NFL alpha wide receiver standing at 6’4” and 226 pounds. He also had the speed to match, having run a 4.52-second 40-yard dash in his high school combine. A great season at Florida could get Shorter back in the day-two conversation come the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Aftermath
While all these transfers appear to be increasing the opportunities for the players, apart from Master Teague, this does not mean all will be buys in your devy leagues. Many of these players transferred because they were ousted from their starting job. Of the listed transfers, at this point, I would insist on fading D’Eriq King, Taulia Tagovioloa, Trey Sermon, and Kennedy Brooks. I still believe that Master Teague is the best talent in the Ohio State backfield, it is just a matter of if and when he is able to get healthy. An Achilles injury is one of the most brutal injuries to rehabilitate.
I would buy the players that were not beat out yet changed teams by their own choosing: such as Jamie Newman, KJ Costello, and Justin Shorter. You could even take a flier on JT Daniels, who missed the season after an opening night ACL tear at USC. Kedon Slovis will be the starter in Pasadena in 2020, but Daniels entered the transfer portal and is yet to enroll elsewhere.
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