CFB DeptHITS: Friday, December 6
Get caught up on the latest news from portal entries, to coaching moves and prep for those nine Conference Championship games we have starting tonight. It's all here.
We have college football again tonight as three Conferences will crown their champion at the end of the night. We’ll start there. We have all nine (9) game previews and ‘Game Cards’ posted over at CFBDepth.com — you should give them a gander:
On to some of the hits for today…
Liberty ::: Jamey Chadwell says the Liberty players who are already in the portal won’t play in the upcoming Bowl game. He also says there will be some more that opt out. Those players include RB James Jointer Jr. and DT Bryce Dixon. That list is expected to grow.
Auburn ::: Auburn TE Brandon Frazier will return to the team in 2025, per head coach Hugh Freeze. Frazier is working on a medical redshirt for this past season after a broken foot ended it after week three.
|||||| TRANSFER PORTAL BUZZ
Names are flowing in at a high rate and we’re keeping up with all of them. The official opening of the window is Sunday, but we’re getting ahead of it. You’ll be seeing more with the launch of our full-on “Portal Tracker” coming to the site this weekend. Here are some of the names that will garner a lot of attention:
Washington State ::: RB Wayshawn Parker burst on the scene in Pullman as a true freshman, earne the starting job and ran for over 700 yards in his first season on campus. He has announced he is entering the portal and will will be a target for quite a few schools.
San Diego State ::: WR Jordan Napier had a breakout redshirt freshman season in 2024, grabbing 43 passes for 440 yards and four touchdowns for an Aztec offense that never really clicked on all cylinders under new head coach Sean Lewis. Napier enters the portal with three yeas of eligibility remaining.
New Mexico ::: QB Devon Dampier emerged as one of the more productive and exciting quarterbacks in college football, account for over 3,900 total yards and 31 touchdowns for the suddenly exciting Lobos. He will take his talents elsewhere in 2024 and is likely to garner attention from some of the top programs in the country, and is linked to Utah where his offensive coordinator, Jason Beck, just took the job to run the Utes offense in 2025.
Coastal Carolina ::: QB Ethan Vasko won the job over Michigan State transfer-in Noah Kim and took off as the starting quarterback for the Chants. He played in 11 games, throwing for 1,913 yards, 11 touchdowns, seven interceptions and added 389 rushing yards and four scores. He's a redshirt sophomore with two years of eligibility remaining and is reportedly entering the portal.
Central Michigan ::: QB Joe Labas came to the Chips via Iowa and showed out early in 2024 before struggling and then suffering a season-ending injury after week seven. He finished with 1,114 yards and a 7:7 TD:INT ratio before the injury. With a new head coach coming to Mount Pleasant, Labas is entering the portal with one more year of eligiblity.
UAB ::: RB Lee Beebe Jr. had a big year for the Blazers, taking 168 totes for 872 yards (5.2 average) and seven touchdowns as the primary back in Birmingham. He also chipped in with 30 catches in the passing game. He announced he is leaving the program via the portal.
Also, the Blazers leading receiver, Amare Thomas, is headed to the portal. He took 95 targets and turned them into 64 catches for 685 yards and eight touchdowns. He developed a solid 1-2 punch with fellow receiver Kam Shanks, but that partnership appears to come to an end. Thomas has two years remaining.
Nebraska ::: RB Emmett Johnson ended up splitting carries with Dante Dowdell for the Cornhuskers this year and he outperformed on a per carry basis (5.1 average). He also chipped in a lot more in the passing game, getting 35 passes (of 38 targets!) for another 263 yards. He is leaving Lincoln in search of a full-time, bellcow role somewhere. And, he should get it.
Sam Houston State ::: Here is an underrated name to watch in portal circles, Bearkats CB David Fisher is a really solid cover corner who played over 730 snaps, had a couple of picks and five pass breakups this season. He graded out high at PFF and may find himself with a few offers to level-up in 2025. Fisher is the third member of the Bearkat secondary that will draw interest, along with Isaiah Cash and Caleb Weaver.
Rice ::: QB E.J. Warner is headed out and seeks a new home. He thew for 2,710 yards, 17 touchdowns and 13 picks, which is a step back numbers-wise from his previous role at Temple. Kurt's son will look to find the best landing spot to show what he can do in that final year of eligibility.
Stanford ::: QB Ashton Daniels is entering the portal and now Troy Taylor is without both of his top quarterbacks with Justin Lamson also in the portal. Daniels was the starter and did most of his damage on the ground with 802 yards. He struggled through the air with 10 touchdowns compared to 12 interceptions.
Cincinnati ::: QB Brendan Sorsby is leaving Cincinnati after one season. He had a pretty good one for the Bearcats as a dual-threat quarterback. He threw for 2,653 yards, 18 touchdowns to six interceptions. He also ran for 424 yards and six more scores. He came from Indiana and now will be on the move again.
New Mexico ::: WR Luke Wysong is entering the portal. He was a big part of the rejuvenated Lobos offense getting 111 targets, catching 69 of those for 836 yards and just one touchdown. He will be a name to track this off-season.
Kentucky ::: The hits keep coming to the Wildcats as WR Barion Brown has announced he's joining Dane Key and Anthony Brown-Stephens in the portal and is looking for a new home in 2025. Brown is an electric player and after shaking off some injuries that slowed him, he finished as the second-leading receiver. He's looking for more volume (46 targets in 11 games). He's also a kick/punt returner and will bring a lot on special teams at his new home.
Arkansas ::: LG Patrick Kutas had an injury-riddled 2024 campaign in Fayetteville. He played 230 snaps but missed a good chunk of time. The staff at Arkansas worked with him to get a redshirt and he reportedly told them that he would return. He reneged on that promise and entered the portal two years of eligibility remaining.
Wake Forest ::: WR Horatio Fields is hitting the portal and joining full wide receiver market there. He finished with 39 grabs for 463 yards and four touchdowns. He came on late as well and should be servieable for whoever lands him for his final season of eligibility.
|||||| COACHING CAROUSEL
Yeah, this is popping off too. Plenty of news, notes and movement as administrations and head coaches look to set themselves up for success in 2025 and beyond. You can track all of the openings, hiring, firings and more at our official “Coaching Carousel” page over at the site:
North Carolina ::: Bill Belechick has been confirmed to have interest and already completed an interview for the open North Carolina head coach job. The legitimacy of his candidacy isn't confirmed, but it is certainly worth monitoring. One thing is for sure, he could run circles around some of these other coaches in-game, but he'll need to hire a solid GM to keep the talent around and happy.
Utah ::: Kyle Whittingham gets his offensive coordinator and it's Jason Beck from New Mexico. Beck made a lot happen with the Lobos this year and exciting quarterback Devon Dampier (who also entered the portal and may be following Beck to Salt Lake City). Beck came to UNM from Syracuse where he was the OC and QB coach in 2022 and 2023.
UCLA ::: Eric Bienemy has been fired as UCLA's offensive coordinator. The Bruins offense struggled mightily all season and there really is a solid amount of talent on that roster. He was given just one year with Deshaun Foster in LA. He has had quite the fall since being credited for some of the success with the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bruins are expected to quickly hire Indiana QB coach Tino Sunseri for the job.
Texas Tech ::: Texas Tech head coach Joey Maguire moved quickly to grab a very worthy replacement at offensive coordinator, nabbing Mack Leftwich from Texas State. Leftwich replaces Zach Kittley, who took the FAU head coaching role just a few days ago.
Massachusetts ::: New head coach Joe Harasymiak wasted no time in setting the tone of a new sherrif in town in Amherst. He announced he is letting go the entire standing assistant coaching staff and will start anew. He will begin building his first staff at UMass right away and we'll keep track of who is headed there.
Kennesaw State ::: New head coach Jerry Mack has released all members of Brian Bohannon's staff and will start anew in Kennesaw bringing in his own staffers.
That’s our show for today. Of course, due to the voluminous nature of this news cycle, we do have some sicko notes below if you just can’t get enough…
Thank you for following along and please consider sharing our work. If fuels us everyday (and night. and early morning).
|||||| SICKO SECTION
New Rice head coach Scott Abell has retained defensive coordinator Brian Smith and linebackers coach Jon Kay.
We do track play callers for each school as best we can. One head coach that will relinquish offensive play calling duties in 2025 is ULM’s Bryant Vincent. He will hire an offensive coordinator going forward.
Other UAB staffers have been let go by head coach Trent Dilfer. That includes receivers coach Austin Appleby, defensive line coach Miguel Patrick and linebackers coach Kenwick Thompson are looking for new jobs (or professions).
In addition to the move to part ways with OC Eric Bieniemy, the Bruins are letting offensive line coach Juan Castillo go as well.
Stanford head coach Troy Taylor is parting ways with linebackers coach Mark D’Onofrio.
MORE PORTAL ENTRIES:
Maryland DB Lionell Whitaker (12.2) - 1 YER
Colorado DL Rayyan Buell (12.9) - 1 YER
Louisville QB Brady Allen (11.6) - 2 YER
Toledo WR Larry Stephens (10.8) - 1 YER
Mississippi State WR Antonio Harmon (9.0) - 1 YER
Sam Houston LB Trey Fields (9.8) - 1 YER
UVA OL Charlie Patterson (10.2) - 1 YER
USF QB Israel Carter (11.7) - 3 YER
Charlotte DB Elijah Culp (11.6) - 1 YER
Louisville RB Keyjuan Brown (13.5) - 3 YER
Texas A&M EDGE Malick Sylla (13.7) - 3 YER
Purdue QB Marcos Davila (10.4) - 4 YER
Kansas EDGE DJ Warner (9.4) - 3 YER
Florida TE Arlis Boardingham (9.23) - 2 YER
LSU WR Shelton Sampson Jr. (10.0) - 3 YER
San Diego State QB Javance Tupou’ata-Johnson (10.2) - 3 YER
LSU S Kylin Jackson (12.8) - 3 YER
Oklahoma WR Nic Anderson (13.8) - 2 YER
Tennessee WR Kaleb Webb (12.4) - 2 YER
Kentucky TE Jordan Dingle (11.3) - 1 YER
Purdue WR Jaron Tibbs (12.8) - 2 YER
Pittsburgh WR Daejon Reynolds (11.7) - 1 YER
Charlotte LB Cam Burden (11.9) - 1 YER
USC WR Kyron Hudson (13.7) - 1 YER
Southern Miss QB Tate Rodemaker (11.1) - 1 YER
Texas DL Jaray Bledsoe (11.0) - 2 YER
Utah RB Anthony Woods (12.3) - 2 YER
Kansas State LB Terry Kirksey Jr. (8.8) - 3 YER
Oklahoma RB Emeka Megwa (10.5) - 1 YER