CFB DeptHITS: Thursday, January 9
We'll continue our portal positional check-ins with the tight ends today. We'll get you other portal news and lest we forget it's CFP Semifinal day, so you'll find a quick preview and 'Game Card'.
Today, we’ll continue our transfer portal positional check-ins with the tight ends. If you want to get caught up on the others (QB, RB and WR), look back to the past three articles. Or, better yet, check out the Portal Tracker tool we have up at the site. Speaking of the site, we have our team-by-team portal rankings up there now. We’ll check in on the biggest early portal winners and losers. Finally, check out our official ‘quick preview’ and full ‘Game Card’ for the CFP Semifinal matchup tonight. Enjoy!
|||||| PORTAL SPOTLIGHT: TIGHT ENDS
TE Entered: 148
TE Committed: 64 (43%)
Top 15 Tight Ends:
Notes:
The biggest names are at the top of this list and it starts with Jamari Johnson from Louisville, who is headed to Oregon to help replace the duo of Terrance Ferguson and Patrick Herbert. Johnson rates out as our third-highest rated player in all of the transfer portal despite not putting up big numbers in an injury-shortened season. He was originally recruited by Oregon, so they know him well. He will likely share the role with Kenyon Sadiq in 2025.
The next guy is one that has, in fact, put up some really big numbers in his career thus far. That’s one Tanner Koziol, who is leaving Ball State for his final season of eligibility. In 2024, he managed 94 catches for 840 yards and eight touchdowns. He’ll head to Wisconsin to help bring another dimension to their passing attack that needs to open things up.
Terrance Carter may sneak a bit under-the-radar, but he is a big pickup for the Red Raiders. The now former Ragin’ Cajun put up solid receiving numbers, posting 48 catches for 691 yards and four scores. He’ll team up with the likely returning Jaylin Conyers and he’ll have two years left to play in Lubbock.
Max Klare is moving Big Ten schools - going from the doormat (Purdue) to the CFP semifinalist (Ohio State). He is a receiving tight end and is not asked to do much in the blocking schemes, at least he wasn’t at Purdue. He caught 51 passes this year on a team that struggled to find much consistent offensive contributors. He should continue his upward trend in Columbus and does have two years in case he chooses to use them both.
We are keeping an eye on the top two remaining uncommitted from this group, both with different stories:
Arik Gilbert is much maligned for his off-field incidents, but the talent is not often questioned. The former LSU Tiger and Georgia Bulldog went to Nebraska and never got going. He was a rare 5-star tight end recruit back in 2020. He retains one year of eligibility and while we haven’t heard of any visits happening, it would make some sense for Gilbert to level down and find a place to play before his time runs out. He has caught just two passes since that breakout true freshman season at LSU in 2020 which saw him grab 35 of them for 368 yards and two scores.
Blake Bosma was a relative unknown recruit (0 stars) and landed at Western Michigan. He has improved each year and rose to grab 37 passes for 403 yards and six scores for the Broncos in 2024. No word on where he will land at this point, but it is likely that there are some bigger schools taking a look. He does leave a little to be desired in the blocking game, so that may limit him from getting to the top of the top — but we’ll be tracking his whereabouts for 2025.
|||||| OTHER PORTAL NEWS TO KNOW
SMU ::: This is an interesting move as QB Tyler Van Dyke [15.3] heads from Wisconsin to SMU. Now, we know that the Mustangs have a very impressive quarterback in Kevin Jennings, but is this move a play by head coach Rhett Lashlee to put some pressure on his incumbent to keep him hungry? Or, does Van Dyke have a legitimate shot at stealing this job? Time will tell and we'll be following closely.
Coastal Carolina ::: QB MJ Morris [12.8] is heading to Coastal Carolina to get his shot to see the field and show what he can do. After transferring out of NC State to Maryland in search of that opportunity, it didn't materialize and now he'll level down and look to dominate in the Sun Belt. With Ethan Vasko and Noah Kim both transferring out, this appears to be his shot. Morris retains two years of eligibility.
UCF ::: With star RB R.J. Harvey moving on from the Knights, new head coach Scott Frost is in need of a talent infusion in that running back room in Orlando. He got himself a pretty darn good one as former Oklahoma State/Western Michigan RB Jaden Nixon [15.2] enters the fray for the Knights. He ran for 874 yards (6.5 YPC) and 12 touchdowns for the Broncos in 2024.
RB Scottre Humphrey [14.6] is hitting the portal and looking for a gig at a bigger school. This, after posting a 1,386 yard, 16 touchdown season for FCS Montana State. He grades out as having the ability to perform at a high level just about anywhere and is certainly a name to watch over the coming weeks.
Fresno State ::: RB Elijah Gilliam [13.4] has withdrawn his entry into the portal and will return to Fresno State for his final season. He led the Bulldogs backfield in 2025 but found it tough sledding most of the time. He did chip in on the passing game as well. We will see if this news impacts the recent signing of former Arizona RB Speedy Luke, who now is heading to a relatively full backfield again.
Memphis ::: The Tigers' wide receiver room is losing a lot of talent - including Dane Key, Barion Brown and Hardley Gilmore. In order to build it back up, as is now the custom, they need to hit the portal. They add in former Clemson receiver, the oft-injured Troy Stellato [13.0] to the crew already commited, including Kendrick Law [12.8] (Alabama) and J.J. Hester [11.4] (Oklahoma).
Arizona ::: Arizona has some work to do on the offensive line as starting LT Jonah Savaiinaea (NFL Draft) and starting LG Wendell Moe (tranfer to Tennessee) are out for 2025. They nab Oregon State transfer guard Flavio Gonzalez [13.5] to join up and he is the fifth offensive line recruit that Brent Brennan and his staff have secured. Gonzalez likely takes Moe's spot or redshirt freshman Alexander Doost will move from the right side to fill the void.
Louisville ::: The Cardinals are losing a top offensive lineman as tackle Monroe Mills announced his entry into the portal. He played both left and right tackle for the Cardinals this season and will demand quite a bit of attention (and quickly) from around the biggest programs.
Tulane ::: EDGE Maurice Westmoreland [14.0] is heading to New Orleans to join the Green Wave after building up his resume at UTEP. He came to El Paso from the JUCO ranks and was a force, racking up 32 tackles, 21 hurries and eight sacks this season. He looks to take the next step in his final year in 2025.
Rutgers ::: This Rutgers defensive line is putting up an early running for one of the top portal hauls by a position group. They add in a really good one in Bradley Weaver [15.0] from Ohio. Throw him in with Eric O'Neill from JMU and you add 22 sacks from the 2024 season. Sure, they'll need to do this in the Big Ten, but they both seem primed to make that leap.
Clemson ::: DL/LB Jeremiah Alexander [13.6] was buried in the Crimson Tide's depth chart for some time now. He posted his career-high snap count (21) in the bowl game against Michigan after being a highly touted four-star recruit out of Alabaster, AL in the class of 2022. He's now heading to Clemson to find the field and make an impact. A high-upside (and rare) pickup for Dabo Swinney in the portal.
Northwestern ::: CB Fred Davis II [14.2] has been many places and built up a solid resume at UCF, Clemson and most recently Jacksonville State. He joins David Braun's Northwestern squad for his final year of eligibility and gives the secondary a boost.
UAB ::: By in large, Trent Dilfer's UAB squad has been pillaged by the portal. They got one to come to Birmingham today as S Jalen Cheek is making the move from Boston College. He will likely get a starting role after playing in just one game for the Eagles in 2024. He played a significant role in 2023 and now looks to regain some of that form in 2025, his final year.
|||||| CFP SEMIFINAL PREVIEW AND GAME CARD
Notre Dame vs. Penn State
7:30 PM ET — Hard Rock Stadium — Miami Gardens, FL
Quick Preview: When we’ve made it to the CFP Semifinals, we’ve weeded out most of the excess ‘pretenders’ and have four truly deserving squads. Therefore, finding any mismatches is increasingly unlikely. It is safe to stay that both Notre Dame and Penn State deserve to be here. So, let’s take a closer look and see what we can uncover. The Irish road to this point was a bit more difficult, having to get through both Indiana and Georgia, while Penn State got a road featuring SMU and Boise State. Take that for what it is worth. Both played extremely legit schedules in the regular season. Following the quarterfinal matchups, the concern for the Irish could have been some injuries, including to star RB Jeremiyah Love, S Xavier Watts and DL Howard Cross III. All three appear set to return to the field and that should not play a big role. On the other side, the Nittany Lions do expect star EDGE Abdul Carter to play, though he does remain a ‘game-time’ decision entering Thursday evening.
Notre Dame relies on big plays — not just on offense; but on special teams. They got those in the first two playoff games in the form of a 98-yard run from Love against Indiana and a kickoff return for a touchdown against UGA. Those are game-changers. Can they get them against a Penn State defense that is ranked 9th in limiting such chunk plays and their special teams certainly aren’t prone to allowing much. We are just trying to find something give us a little separation, though maybe we shouldn’t as Vegas agrees this is pretty darn evenly matched as Notre Dame sits as a 1.5 point favorite. Looking at the ‘Trench Report’ on the ‘Game Card’ we to see that both pass rush units may be able to generate some problems in the opposing backfield.
Ultimately, whoever controls the clock, the possession, wins some field position battles and connects on a big play or two, will win this game. Our Model simulation seems to lean the Nittany Lions way…
Model Simulation:
Picks/Plays: The Model suggests a 1-UNIT play taking the 1.5 points with the Nittany Lions and leans slightly to the UNDER 48.5.
Here is a link to our full ‘Game Card’ for this matchup:
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