CFB DeptHITS: Friday, January 10
We continue our portal spotlight series with a closer look at the offensive linemen moving around. Plus, we'll get you a 'quick preview' and 'Game Card' for tonight's CFP Semifinal #2...
Today, let’s continue our spotlight series on the positions in the portal thus far. With entry numbers that continue to rise each year, some of these offensive lines have completely changed without our 2024-25 season even coming to a close. It’s quite intense and quick. We are big on the importance of winning the line of scrimmage, in the trenches, if you will. We’ll get you the other portal news you should know and then finish up with our ‘quick preview’ and link to the full-on ‘Game Card’ for the second CFP Semifinal matchup this evening…enjoy!
Note: [ Numbers in the brackets are the exclusive CFBDepth player rating out of 20 ]
As always, we invite you to check out our ‘2025 Portal Tracker’ with over 2,700 rated players loaded in, sortable, filterable and up-to-date.
|||||| PORTAL SPOTLIGHT: OFFENSIVE LINE
OL Players Tracking: 382
OL Committed: 212 (55%)
Top 20 Portal Offensive Linemen:
Notes:
The offensive line group his the highest current rate of commitments at 55%. The next closest to that is defensive line at 50%. Again, this is a direct confirmation of the focus on the line of scrimmage (trenches) as the most important part of building a roster.
The top rated offensive lineman comes from Texas State and is heading to Eugene, Oregon. Alex Harkey has one more year remaining and will spend it with the Ducks. He started at right tackle (moving to right guard sparingly) and projects as a starter quality player who may move to guard if the two tackles choose to return for their final years (unlikely).
Virginia got to work early in the portal with a big offensive line addition in UAB transfer C Brady Wilson [15.5]. Current center Brian Stevens is graduating and this appears to be an upgrade at the position.
Louisville’s Monroe Mills [15.5] just entered the portal two days ago and is reportedly taking a quick visit to Charlottesville and Virginia. It would be another big pickup on the line to improve Tony Elliott’s squad.
Liberty OL Jordan White [15.2] heads to Vanderbilt for 2025. He plays left guard and grades out as one of the best run blockers in the game. He'll be asked to play both guard positions in Nashville (as all are) and we're sure he can handle that. This is an underrated solid pickup in the trenches.
Thomas Rimac [14.9] is the best of the trio of Mountaineers making the move from West Virginia to Virginia Tech. He’s primarily a left guard, but could slide over to the other side and make a big impact right away for the Hokies.
»Best Remaining Uncommitted OL:
And, finally, now that we have more team-level insights (soon to be released at the site) — we can get you the top five and bottom five performers in the portal for the offensive line unit:
TOP FIVE OL PORTAL PERFORMERS:
Wake Forest Demon Deacons: +56.4
Southern Miss Golden Eagles: +43.2
Ole Miss Rebels: +37.6
UCLA Bruins: +34.1
California Bears: +33.5
BOTTOM FIVE OL PORTAL PERFORMERS:
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers: -71.0
Marshall Thundering Herd: -72.5
Nebraska Cornhuskers: -73.5
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs: -74.0
|||||| MORE PORTAL NEWS AND NOTES
Georgia ::: You may have heard that a rather well known quarterback just announced he would enter the portal instead of entering the NFL Draft. Yes, Carson Beck [16.3] has decided to play more more year of college football and all signs point to him playing 2025 in Miami with the Hurricanes. They need a replacement for Cam Ward, who will be selected in April.
Coastal Carolina ::: QB Emmett Brown [14.4] is moving from San Jose State, where he had a solid campaign when called upon (8 games), throwing for 1,625 yards, 16 TD and five interceptions. He added 457 yards and five more scores on the ground. He was behind Walker Eget on the depth chart and now moves to Coastal Carolina, who recently also signed former NC State and Maryland QB MJ Morris [12.8]. There appears to be a battle brewing here. We're leaning towards Brown because of the experience (and higher rating).
Louisville ::: RB Keyjuan Brown [13.9] is sticking around at Louisville after all. The Cardinals have what looks like a historic true freshman class of running backs with Isaac Brown [16.7] and Duke Watson [16.6] also in that room. Brown has removed his name from the portal and will give it another year with the Cardinals.
Charlotte ::: The Charlotte roster is in shambles. New head coach Tim Albin has been a bit slow to bring in reinforcements from his previous gig at Ohio. In particular, the top six running backs from the last regime are gone. Albin got his first replacement as RB Donald Chaney [13.2] (former Louisville and Miami FL) has committed to Charlotte and (for now) appears to be in line to get a healthy share of carries.
Connecticut ::: LB Tyquan King [13.9] must just like new scenery. He is on the move again, joining his fourth school as he commits to Jim Mora's UConn Huskies for 2025. He started his career at FCS North Carolina A&T before going to East Carolina for a year and spent 2024 at Temple. He adds a solid presence to the Huskies linebacking corps.
West Virginia ::: A nice pickup in the secondary for Rich Rod and the Mountaineers as Nevada CB Michael Coats Jr. [14.9] commits to join up in Morgantown for 2025. He had four picks and played a big role for the Wolfpack and should slot right into the WVU starting lineup.
Houston ::: S Marc Stampley II [13.9] is headed from Georgia Southern to Houston. This is the third safety that Willie Fritz and company has lured to the Cougars this portal season. He joins C.J. Douglas [13.6] (Samford) and Jordan Allen [13.2] (LSU) to help rebuild the secondary.
|||||| CFP SEMIFINAL PREVIEW & GAME CARD
Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Texas Longhorns
7:30 PM ET at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX
Quick Preview: Both squads come into this CFP Semifinal with differing levels of confidence based on how their quarterfinal matchups went. Texas was rolling all over Arizona State and looked like they would cruise to a spot in this game; but needed a fourth-and-long conversion in overtime just to stay alive before ultimately taking it home. Meanwhile, Ohio State dominated the Oregon Ducks from start to finish. The Vegas line indicates about a touchdown advantage for the Buckeyes, but would that be the case had these games went slightly differently? Of course. That’s the recency bias we see so often. Let’s look at the larger body of work and some of our talent level comparisons to see where this line really should be.
Both played top ten schedules according to our SOS+ metric. Both also earned each of those wins that they have (12 for Ohio State; 13 for Texas). Ryan Day’s Buckeyes come in as our #1 most talented team on the field according to our player ratings + projected playing time. So, let’s dive a little deeper in where they stand now.
Both teams are healthy. The Longhorns even get news that they are likely to get their starting RT Cameron Williams back for this one after missing a week ago. He’s an upgrade over Trevor Goosby, who did perform admirably in the Arizona State game (especially in pass pro). One of the obvious keys to this game is going to be the Longhorns’ focus on limiting the big plays from WR Jeremiah Smith. Even if they keep him locked down; that opens other options like Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate. However, those guys are not Jeremiah Smith. The Longhorns have the players and scheme in the secondary to ensure he doesn’t get behind them. In fact, based on our “Explosives” ratings, both of these defenses are #1 and #2 in the nation in limiting chunk plays.
Okay, okay, so they are evenly matched. We get it. Let’s go to the Model to see where we can find some separation…
Model Simulation:
Ummm. Okay. That didn’t work. Or…did it?
Plays: The Model calls for a very close game (we know they can’t tie). So, we’ll take the six points that Vegas is giving the Longhorns. We are a bit surprised that the Model still sees them each getting to nearly four touchdowns each with the defenses on the field; but we don’t ask questions. We blindly and faithfully follow the Model wherever it leads us…
Not really. But, you can see where we’d lean in this one.
That’s our show for today. Enjoy the game and hopefully win some money or take down some contests, etc. Please consider subscribing and sharing our work — after tonight we’ll be down to one game remaining and then our work really begins. Thanks for following along.