CFB DeptHITS: Wednesday, January 8
Let's get caught up on more portal news as we enter the eve of the first CFP semi-final game. We'll shine a spotlight on the wide receiver position today as we continue our spotlight series...
Today, let’s get caught up on what’s happening in the busy wide receiver market in the portal this early off-season. We’ve seen quite a bit of movement and we’ll catch up on the biggest moves that have happened, and the biggest names yet to commit. We’ll finish up with the rest of the big portal moves over the last 24 hours and call it a day. The preview and ‘Game Card’ for the first CFP Semi-final game will be out later today…
Remember, you can always head over to our “Portal Tracker” to view all 2,700+ players we are tracking, their ratings, experience and other information. It’s fully sortable and filterable for your needs. Check it out:
|||||| PORTAL SPOTLIGHT: WIDE RECEIVER
WR Entries: 431
WR Commits: 166 (39%)
Top 20 Wide Receivers:
While former Kentucky WR Dane Key’s numbers may have not been super impressive (47 catches for 715 yards and two touchdowns), his overall game is just that. Impressive. Enough so, that he’s the top rated of this group with one year left. He’ll join the uprising in Lincoln as the Cornhuskers are reinventing their offense under OC Dana Holgorsen and Key should be right in the mix to make an impact.
Eric Rivers may not be a household name now, but he should certainly be more front-and-center after this move to Georgia Tech, who is losing two of their top receivers. Rivers caught 62 passes for 1,166 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Panthers this year. He’ll spend his final season with the Yellow Jackets.
The Ole Miss Rebels continue to hoard some of the top receivers in the game. They add to that with De'Zhaun Stribling coming in from Oklahoma State (via Washington State). He has 161 career catches for 2,153 and 17 scores at both schools. It’s scary to think what he could do at the top of this even more explosive passing attack in 2025.
Omari Hayes doesn’t jump to any of the power four schools, instead his move is to join the Tulane Green Wave and set himself up for quite a few looks in a proven offense. He’ll need to develop some rapport with new QB TJ Finley, but if they hit it off, this could be the makings of big things to continue in New Orleans.
It’s difficult to imagine that Mississippi State is the producer of two of the top rated wide receivers in this transfer portal class, considering the state of that passing attack in 2024. Well, Trent Hudson (New Mexico State) never saw the field for the Bulldogs and Kevin Coleman Jr. (Louisville) struggled to get anything going in Starkville. They possess their ratings for past work and both head to other SEC schools to showcase those skills with Coleman heading to Mizzou and Hudson going to Vanderbilt.
The top remaining uncommitted from this group is:
Simeon Evans - Sam Houston - 14.7
Jacob DeJesus - UNLV - 14.6
Easton Messer - WKU - 14.5
Malik Rutherford - Georgia Tech - 14.5
Donaven McCulley - Indiana - 14.0
Ryan Davis - New Mexico - 13.9
Tru Edwards - Louisiana Tech - 13.9
Oran Singleton - Eastern Michigan - 13.8
Josiah Freeman - Fresno State - 13.8
Kaedin Robinson - Appalachian State - 13.6
Here is the latest news surrounding the wide receivers from the portal:
Mississippi State ::: Jeff Lebby's raid on the wide receiver market in the portal continues as he adds former Wisconsin/Eastern Michigan pass catcher, Markus Allen. Allen showed great promise as a true freshman for the Badgers and leveled down in 2024, catching 43 passes for 651 yards and three scores for the Eagles. Allen is the fourth pickup from the position in the portal this cycle.
Georgia ::: The Dawgs grab WR Noah Thomas [13.5] from Texas A&M as their second big-upside receiver pick-up of the portal season. Thomas has two years of eligibility left after grabbing 34 passes for 545 yards and six touchdowns in 2024. If he can improve on his 54% catch rate, he will be on the verge of a major breakout in 2025.
|||||| OTHER PORTAL MOVEMENT TO KNOW
Iowa ::: The Hawkeyes land another quaterback in the portal and it's former South Dakota State signal caller Mark Gronowski [12.8]. He will battle Brendan Sullivan for the starting job as Sullivan retains one more year of eligibility. Gronowski put up solid, if not unspectacular numbers for the Jackrabbits in 2024, throwing for 2,339 yards, 19 TD to 6 interceptions, adding 348 yards and seven more scores on the ground. The Hawkeyes also brought in Hank Brown from Auburn, but he has three years of eligibility remaining and is a future play.
Tulane ::: Ty Thompson entered the portal looking for a place to showcase his once highly touted skills as a quarterback. He started for the Green Wave under center in the bowl game and, well, it didn't go well. Now, Thompson has decided to stay at Tulane -- but as a tight end. He will move positions for the 2025 season. A similar move was made by New Mexico State/Vanderbilt QB/TE Eli Stowers and it has paid off. We'll be tracking.
Massachusetts ::: QB Grant Jordan is moving to the FBS and joins the Minutemen from FCS Yale. He will battle with AJ Hairston, who was thrust into duty after injuries and inconsistencies plagued the end of Taisun Phommachanh's career in Amherst. Hairston performed admirably under the circumstances, but new head coach Joe Harasymiak is likely looking for a more veteran presence under center. Jordan's numbers in 2024 looked like this: 1,942 yards, 22 TD, 3 interceptions passing with 364 yards and five scores rushing.
Oregon ::: As we noted in our running back portal deep dive yesterday in the HITS, it became official that top RB Makhi Hughes [17.2] is becoming a Duck. He'll take over the Jordan James role as the lead back, working with Noah Whittington to keep up a dynamic duo in the backfield for Oregon. James announced he's heading to the NFL following this season.
Oregon ::: The Ducks also add a wide receiver via the portal as Malik Benson [11.8] makes his rounds through the biggest programs in college football. Starting at Alabama, moving to Florida State and now finishing up at Oregon. He hasn't quite made a big impact on the field anywhere yet with 38 total catches for 473 yards and two touchdowns.
South Carolina ::: RB Rahsul Faison [15.2] joins the Gamecocks from Utah State and is in line for a big role with so many departing this running back room. Rocket Sanders, Oscar Adaway III and Juju McDowell were the top three backs for the Shane Beamer this season and all three appear (barring waivers) to be moving on. That opens the door for the very talented Faison to make a name for himself in the SEC.
UAB ::: RB Jevon Jackson [14.0] is heading to UAB from UTEP. After a season that saw him run for 750+ yards for the Miners, the Blazers were in need of a fresh face with Lee Beebe Jr. heading to Indiana and Lee Witherspoon running out of eligibility. Another name in this room to keep an eye on is a healthy, former LSU RB Armoni Goodwin, who received only 14 carries in 2024.
UTEP ::: On the same day that Jackson signed on with UAB, the Miners get their replacement and it's a really good one in former K-State and North Texas RB Shane Porter [14.2]. Porter is looking for a bellcow role, something he didn't quite achieve with the Mean Green, though he was their leading rusher. He has a hard-running style and joins recently signed QB Malachi Nelson in this new look offense in El Paso.
Wake Forest ::: Wake Forest continues its raid on the Colorado State defensive line as DE Gabe Kirschke [14.4] is joining Nuer Gatkuoth in Winston-Salem. Kirschke made a big impact with seven sacks, while spending plenty of time in opposing backfields. He'll continue that work for Jake Dickert and company with two years of eligibility remaining.
Virginia Tech ::: LB Jordan Bass [13.1] is trading ACC schools as he moves from Pitt over to Virginia Tech for the 2025 season. He is more of an Edge/OLB player with a pass rush rating of 14.9. His tackling is an area that needs improvement at just 8.1. He is there to rush the passer and if he can get more than the 12.1 snaps per game he managed in Pittsburgh, he could have a break through in Blacksburg.
Washington ::: There was some question swirling around now former Arizona CB Tacario Davis [12.9] and his status for 2025. He said he'd return to college football, but that it wouldn't be in Tucson. So, he's joining former head coach Jedd Fisch in Seattle, becoming a Husky for his final season. He followed a great 2023 season (12 pass breakups, one interception, four touchdowns) with a below average one this season, though he did play through injuries.
Georgia ::: DB Adrian Maddox flips his portal commitment from Florida to Georgia after just two days as a Gator. That money must have cleared from Athens to make it happen. Nothing much changes in his outlook for 2025, he should make the big leap from UAB to the SEC where he should be a contributor in both pass coverage and run stoppage, now for the Dawgs.
Purdue ::: Barry Odom has been busy in the portal since his arrival in West Lafayette, but his first big splash has come with the sigining of S Ryan Turner [15.8], who is coming in from Boston College. That's certainly not to say they haven't had other impact additions, including CB Tony Grimes [13.2] who follows from UNLV (via North Carolina). The secondary is where Odom appears to be bulding up first and it's going well.
That’s our show for today. Thanks for following along. Please subscribe and/or spread the word of our small corner of the college football information landscape and we’ll continue providing a data-driven look at all of this crazy player movement and eventually how it will impact the overall depth charts heading into 2025…