Top Rated Incoming Players Heading to the SEC West Via Transfer Portal
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG
The value of the NCAA Transfer Portal for college football players and respective programs is a wait and see affair. Much like any part of the recruiting process, until a signee gets on the field, all the hype is just hope and hot air. Regardless of the outcome, the need is there for both player and team. In the SEC West, programs need to fill starting spots while adding depth and NFL hopefuls want to prove their value in the nation’s best college football division.
Of the seven SEC West teams, much of the portal activity, both coming and going, centers around three programs; Mississippi State, Texas A&M, and Auburn. Auburn, and perhaps Mississippi State to a lesser degree, fall under the same category with an adjustment of coaches and staff with a new roster. At Mississippi State, head coach Mike Leach is still formatting his team to his likeness going into Year 2. At Auburn, former Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin is implementing his schemes with a mass exodus of players wanting out after Gus Malzahn was let go. At A&M, we’ll see if there are red flags waiving or if it is just one of those years.
The SEC West Breakdown
Mississippi State has watched 20 leave the program over the past year, the most in the West, but Mike Leach’s staff is doing their best to replace the empty roster spots. So far, six incoming players have been signed including two former 4-Stars, receiver Jamire Calvin from Washington State and defensive back Jalen Green from Texas.
Another program hard hit by the portal has been Texas A&M. In all, 18 are gone which includes eight former 4-Stars. The heaviest loss was in the secondary and receiving corps with three 4-Stars packing up in each position group. The stunner was losing Class of 2021 early enrollee receiver Shadrach Banks after spring practices to TCU.
At Auburn, Harsin’s job was made more difficult seeing 18 players leave, including 12 former 4-Stars. For perspective, the 2021 recruiting haul had 18 signees of which five were 4-Star prospects. The 2020 recruiting class had 17 heading to The Plains. Battling against the new holes on the roster, the Tigers have five incoming signees all set to line up in Derek Mason’s defense.
In Fayetteville, the Hogs have lost 11 former 4- and/or 3-Star recruits. The headline grabber was seeing starting receiver Mike Woods head to Oklahoma. A sore spot was seeing key contributor Julius Coates depart. The Razorbacks were short in the defensive trenches during the 2020 season, but that departure of Coates may have come out in the wash bringing on former Houston Cougars defensive end Tre Williams. A big win for the Hogs was bringing on Missouri Tigers starting defensive tackle Markell Utsey, a former player for coordinator Barry Odom.
If the primary source of recruited talent in a given class is 5- and 4-Star players, that’s what a team will lose in the portal, and that is what fans at Alabama and LSU are suffering through. Of the two, the Tigers are arguably the hardest hit with starters quarterback TJ Finley, tight end Arik Gilbert, and defensive tackle Siaki Ika gone. In all, LSU has seen 12 going out including nine former players rated as a 4-Star or better. LSU has mitigated some losses bringing in two key defenders, Mike Jones Jr. from Clemson and safety Major Burns from Georgia. While Alabama is losing eight 4-Star players, they are getting two top players including Tennessee leading tackler Henry To’o To’o.
The program least impacted by the transfer portal has been Mississippi. The Rebels have had a natural attrition off the roster losing eight adding a pair of 3-Stars in the swap.
The SEC West has welcomed 24 new players thus far, with five matriculating from East programs.
Top Incoming Transfer to SEC West (24)
Alabama (2)
4-Star WR Jameson Williams – from Ohio State
4-Star LB Henry To’o To’o – from Tennessee
Arkansas (6)
3-Star QB Kade Renfro – from Ole Miss
4-Star OL Ty’kieast Crawford – from Charlotte
3-Star DE Tre Williams – from Houston
3-Star DT Markell Utsey – from Missouri
2-Star DT John Ridgeway – from Illinois State
3-Star CB Trent Gordon – from Penn State
Auburn (5)
3-Star DE Marcus Harris – from Kansas
3-Star DE Andrew Leota – from Northwestern
3-Star DT Tony Fair – from UAB
4-Star CB Dreshun Miller – from West Virginia
3-Star DB Donovan Kaufman – from Vanderbilt
LSU (2)
4-Star LB Mike Jones Jr. – from Clemson
4-Star DB Major Burns – from Georgia
Mississippi State (6)
3-Star QB Jack Abraham – from Southern Miss
3-Star QB Chance Lovertich – from South Alabama
3-Star WR Makai Polk – from Cal
4-Star WR Jamire Calvin – from Washington State
3-Star DE Randy Charlton – from Central Florida
4-Star CB Jalen Green – from Texas
Ole Miss (2)
3-Star WR Jahcour Pearson – from Western Kentucky
3-Star LB Chance Campbell – from Maryland
Texas A&M (1)
3-Star OT Jahmir Johnson – from Tennessee
Photo credit: atozsportsnashville.com; No. 11 Henry To’o To’o