The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: The Transfer Portal

As the recruiting season officially winds down, we are going to spend the next few weeks looking at how each team has addressed their needs through recruiting. This week, we are going to take a look at the wide world of the transfer portal. Let’s take a look at how each Mountain West team has done.

The Good

UNLV

The Rebels were exposed on the defensive side of the ball, and they made massive efforts to address their weaknesses in the secondary. The additions of LaDarrius Bishop (Arkansas), Tony Grimes (Texas A&M), Jeremiah Vessel (New Mexico State), Malik Chavis (Arkansas), Jalen Catalon (Texas) made it pretty clear that coach Barry Odom was not content. The Rebels are adding 12 transfers and they all have a realistic chance to contribute. I love the addition of an experienced quarterback like Matthew Sluka. His skill set is built for UNLV’s Go-Go offense.

Boise State

The Broncos don’t have a strong history in the transfer portal. Hopefully that changes under Spencer Danielson. Danielson has made it very clear that player retention is the number one priority for the Broncos. The result of that is a very small transfer class. The Broncos are only bringing in four players via the transfer portal, but one of them is the biggest recruit in program history. USC five-star transfer Malachi Nelson spurned big programs to come to Boise State. If Nelson lands the starting job, he will have the help of Cam Camper (Indiana) , a dynamic receiver that was plagued by injuries during his time with the Hoosiers. Tavion Woodard (Ball State) brings quality depth to the EDGE position, and Jeremiah Earby (Cal) will likely start at corner for the Broncos.

Fresno State

The Bulldogs only have two commitments through the transfer portal, but both should help strengthen the biggest weakness of the 2023 squad: the defensive line. USC transfer Korey Foreman has the potential to be an elite pass rusher at the EDGE position and Jairus Steele (San Jose State) will help anchor the interior defensive line. Tedford has always taken a conservative approach with the portal; it has proved fruitful to this point.

San Diego State

The Aztecs were ravaged by portal departures, and some very talented players left the program. But new head coach Sean Lewis has done a nice job of finding quality players that should be immediate contributors. It was pretty clear that the offensive side of the ball needed to be addressed. The Aztecs added a quarterback in AJ Duffy (Florida State) and a ton of wide receivers who have high ceilings: Jerry McClure (UCLA), Louis Brown IV (Colorado State), Ja’Shaun Poke (West Virginia), and Nate Bennett (Portland State). I like what Lewis did on the offensive side of the ball, but I’m not sure this group of transfers fills the issues on the defensive side. It will be interesting to see how this class shapes up.

New Mexico

When I was looking through this class, I was pleasantly surprised. It is pretty clear that Mendenhall wants to be able to run the ball effectively with the additions of Eli Sanders (Iowa State) and Javen Jacobs (Arizona State). They also landed some quality help on the offensive line in Wallace Unamba (FAU), James Bailey (Texas A&M), and Richard Pearce (ECU). The biggest addition in this class is a super talented cornerback in Noah Avinger (San Diego State). I’m not sure there is enough depth in this class to propel this team to a bowl, but it is a solid start.

The Bad

Nevada

The Wolf Pack currently has the largest transfer class in the conference with 16 additions. The only hope this team has at contending immediately is by having transfers that can make an immediate impact. I’m a big believer in Nevada’s new coach, Jeff Choate, but this class doesn’t really stand out to me. I do like the addition of Chubba Purdy (Nebraska) at quarterback. He has a solid arm and will surprise some people. The big question is whether or not Purdy will have enough talent around him. This team needed to make a big splash on the offensive side of the ball; I don’t think they did that with this group of transfers.

Utah State

The Aggies have two additions that I really like. Offensive lineman George Maile (Baylor) returns to his home state of Utah and should bring some stability to an offensive line that struggled mightily last fall. Wide receiver DJ Graham (Oklahoma) has the size and skill set to be a huge play-maker for the Aggies. Outside of that, there were some puzzling additions. I’m not really sure what Blake Anderson has in store at the quarterback position. Spencer Petras (Iowa) and Bryson Barnes (Utah) aren’t going to help this team contend for a Mountain West Championship.

Wyoming

The Cowboys are a difficult team to evaluate. They currently have only two additions in the portal with wide receiver Tyler King (Texas Tech) and linebacker Evan Eller (VMI). King is a really nice addition, but it feels like the Cowboys needed more despite losing only five players to the portal. I really thought the Cowboys would look at adding an experienced quarterback, but they must feel confident with what they currently have on their roster.

The Ugly

San Jose State

I would imagine the Spartans will be very active in the portal later this spring after losing Brent Brennan so late in the coaching cycle. There isn’t much to say about the five guys the Spartans currently have. I’m intrigued by the addition of quarterback Emmett Brown (Washington State). It seemed like Butterfield was the heir apparent to Chevan Cordeiro, but it is looking like that might not be the case. Running back Floyd Chalk IV (Georgia) is a bruising running back that should fit in nicely to the system new head coach Ken Niumatalolo is putting in place.

Hawaii

For a team that has a larger number of holes that need to be filled, the Rainbow Warriors have not been very active in the transfer portal. Maybe this is Timmy Chang being confident in his current roster, or maybe it is Hawaii’s lack of NIL resources. Whatever it is, it needs to be addressed. Hawaii only has four portal additions. I like the potential of cornerback Fabian Ross (USC) and wide receiver Dekel Crowdus (Kentucky), but this class doesn’t address the issues that Hawaii has in the trenches.

Colorado State

Jay Norvell’s well of Nevada transfers is now dry. He must feel really confident in what he has brought to Fort Collins, because the Rams only have two portal additions at the moment. I do like the addition of cornerback Elias Larry (Navy). I think he will help to fill a void in the secondary. But this team needed to add some more experienced depth in the trenches; they need to be more effective at running the ball this fall.

Not Evaluated

Air Force

Air Force cannot add players via the transfer portal.

How has your team done in the transfer portal? Has it changed how you feel about them heading into spring ball? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.