The Rumor Mill: Transfer Tracker
The transfer portal never stops and it has been continuing to heat up as spring football ends. Here are some of the latest rumors we’re hearing about some big-name players and also some who have been flying under the radar.
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Alabama defensive back Brandon Turnage quickly became a priority for several programs after entering the portal. His options will be plentiful, but a few of the schools that are making the most serious push in the first week include UCF, Kansas State, Minnesota, Illinois, TCU, Oregon State and Washington State.
Plenty of additional schools are still doing their research and may also jump into the picture. He hails from the state of Mississippi and was recruited heavily by Gus Malzahn at Auburn, so UCF could strike again, but we will see if the home state schools are interested.
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Big defensive tackle Jordan Whittley from Oregon State picked up his first offer from Michigan about an hour into his portal debut. Defensive tackles are a hot commodity, and despite some injuries at Oregon State, Whittley has shown enough to make him a valuable asset, especially as a grad transfer.
West Virginia, Kansas State, Utah State, Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State are a few of the other schools showing initial interest. Michigan has to be considered the early leader.
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Trae Berry from Jacksonville State is a name to know. When a 6-foot-7 All-American FCS tight end with NFL potential enters the portal you can be sure that the interest will flood in. And it has for Berry, who has been very busy since entering last week.
Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma State, Florida State, Florida, Duke, Arizona State, Baylor and Troy are the schools to keep an eye on here.
Barry was a huge quarterback coming out of Alabama in high school, and Ole Miss recruited him back in 2017. We all know how well Lane Kiffin does with tight ends, so keep an eye out for that connection.
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Wide receiver Jamie Nance from Nebraska quickly picked up offers from Utah State, Texas State and Incarnate Word after entering the portal a few days ago. While these are the first three programs to offer, there are several additional schools to monitor.
Notre Dame, Virginia, UCF, Coastal Carolina and Ohio have all made contact, and Nance is likely to see his offer list expand in the coming days.
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Linebacker Martavius French from Tennessee was suspended by the Vols during the spring, but that has not slowed the interest he has received since entering the portal at the beginning of the month.
Along with a long list of FCS programs, FBS schools such as Texas Tech, Oregon, TCU and USF are involved with the former four-star linebacker. He hails from Memphis, so it will be interesting to see if the Tigers eventually jump in.
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Linebacker Dimitri Moore from Vanderbilt has been in the portal since November, but he should not be forgotten. Moore, who totaled 219 tackles in the SEC, has taken his time with the process and the interest level remains high.
He has heard from Miami, Kentucky, Wake Forest, Texas Tech, Baylor, SMU, Illinois, Kansas State and others. The Canes are one of the newer schools to the chase and have increased their level of interest significantly in recent weeks, so keep an eye on them.
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Running back Chez Mellusi from Clemson has had some nice interest since entering the portal. Wisconsin has been the hot name with Mellusi, and that has yet to change.
While a few other schools such as Nebraska, Oregon, Texas and Utah are involved it would be a surprise if Mellusi ends up anywhere but Madison.
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Running back Stephen Carr from USC was facing an uphill battle to get carries with the Trojans this fall, so he will be taking his talents to a new school for his final season.
He brings experience and talent, and with that the initial reaction from schools has been positive, with Indiana, Baylor, Arizona and Pittsburgh being a few that have taken an active approach in his recruitment.