Transfer Portal Report: Fink to Illinois, Steele leaves Florida, more
The addition of the transfer portal to college football has been one of the biggest developments in recent years, as players now have more information than ever when it comes to seeking a new school to attend. Instead of getting permission from their current schools in order to transfer, and in many cases being blocked from certain schools, players now have the ability to transfer to another school freely.
With spring practice wrapped up at programs across the country, transfer news is flying fast and furious. In a new weekly feature at Rivals.com, we will look at the comings and goings as well as the biggest news surrounding uncommitted transfers currently in the portal.
EMERGING PLAYERS FROM SPRING PRACTICE: Big Ten | SEC | ACC | Pac-12 | Big 12
THE WEEK'S TOP TRANSFERS
Matthew Baldwin to TCU
The former Rivals250 tight end spent a year at Ohio State, after making a late commitment to the Buckeyes. Prior to that, he was committed to Colorado State. Baldwin was competing for the starting job at Ohio State with former five-star Justin Fields, but entered the portal after the Buckeyes concluding spring practice. He now becomes the second quarterback to transfer to the Horned Frogs this year, joining former Kansas State quarterback Alex Delton. Baldwin will need an NCAA waiver to be eligible in 2019. Assuming he sits out 2019, he will have three years of eligibility remaining.
Jordon Brown to Kansas State
The former Rivals250 running back hasn’t garnered many headlines on the transfer circuit, but his move from North Carolina to Kansas State could be one of the most impactful. Brown, a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility remaining, had a pretty successful career in Chapel Hill. In 2017, he led the team in rushing with 613 yards while also recording 237 yards receiving. For his career, Brown rushed for 1,005 yards and eight touchdowns. With Kansas State, he will likely compete for playing time with fellow grad transfer James Gilbert.
Matt Fink to Illinois
The Illini have been very active in the portal and now adding another quarterback to the mix in USC transfer Matt Fink. A former three-star and primarily a backup during his time with the Trojans, Fink is expected to compete for the Illini starting job. At USC, Fink threw for 89 yards and rushed for 106 yards over two seasons. He joins a pair of his former USC teammates with the Illini, wide receiver Trevon Sidney and defensive end/lineback Oluwole Betiku.
Kyle Penniston to Rutgers
The former Rivals250 tight end announced plans to finish his college career at Rutgers and he will have one year of eligibility remaining. Penniston originally signed with Wisconsin out of high school and played in 39 career games for the Badgers, starting 21. But Penniston never really got many opportunities as a pass-catcher, hauling in just 16 passes for 176 yards and four touchdowns. Penniston is expected to become a starter for the Scarlet Knights in 2019.
R.J. Turner to Texas Tech
The former two-star prospect had a prolific career at Louisiana-Monroe, and after graduating is now headed to Texas Tech. Turner amassed 1,669 yards and 10 touchdowns during his Warhawks career and will be eligible to play right away for the Red Raiders in 2019. He joins fellow graduate transfer wide receiver McLane Mannix in Lubbock, and both are expected to have the opportunity to start in 2019.
NOW IN THE PORTAL
The former three-star quarterback started for Bowling Green as a true freshman in 2017 and was one of the few bright spots for the program over the past few seasons. Over two seasons with the Falcons, he threw for more than 4,000 yards, with 39 touchdowns to 15 interceptions. Doege has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Potential landing spots: A Texas native, Doege could look to get back to the Lone Star State. Bowling Green was his lone offer out of high school, although Texas Tech and Baylor also took long looks at him as a high school prospect.
A three-star prospect who signed with the Rebels in 2018, Ruggs is in the portal following a suspension for a violation of team rules earlier this year. Ruggs played in 11 games as a true freshman in 2018, racking up 16 tackles and one fumble recovery. He will have three years of eligibility remaining at his next destination.
Potential landing spots: West Virginia was involved with Ruggs as a recruit and has no issues taking transfers over the past few years. Ruggs is also the younger brother of Alabama wide receiver Henry Ruggs, but a reunion in Tuscaloosa seems unlikely.
A former Rivals250 prospect, St-Juste committed to Michigan over Virginia Tech as a high school prospect. His career with the Wolverines never really got off the ground, as he played in 12 games as a reserve his freshman year and missed all of 2018 with lingering hamstring injuries. It was reported that St-Juste had medically retired, but he announced this week that he is not only healthy, but also graduated from Michigan. As a grad transfer, he’s eligible to play immediately and has three years of eligibility remaining.
Potential landing spots: Virginia Tech is the only other school that was really a factor in St-Juste’s recruitment, but it remains to be seen if the Hokies will be an option.
The former five-star enrolled early and went through spring practice with the Gators and seemed poised for quite a bit of playing time in 2019. But a reported dispute over his living situation started things heading south, and before long Steele was not only back home in California, but in the transfer portal as well. Word out of Gainesville is that head coach Dan Mullen made a last-ditch effort to get Steele to come back to the Gators, but that seems unlikely at this point.
Potential landing spots: USC is rumored as the early favorite and Steele was once a Trojans commit, but UCLA, Oregon, Oklahoma and several others could also be factors.
NEWS AND NOTES
Former Rivals100 and Clemson running back Tavien Feaster is progressing toward a late June graduation and now several major programs are becoming involved in his recruitment. Alabama, Texas, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma and East Carolina are among the schools in contact with Feaster, who should start scheduling official visits soon. Feaster rushed for 1,330 yards and 16 touchdowns while averaging six yards per carry during his three years with the Tigers. He won two national championships with the Tigers.
Former Rivals250 and Washington quarterback Colson Yankoff will take an official visit to UCLA this weekend. Yankoff originally committed to Oregon as an underclassman, when the Ducks were coached by Mark Helfrich, Kelly’s former offensive coordinator. After Helfrich was fired, he landed at Washington, where he never appeared in a game before entering the portal last month.
Former Penn State quarterback Tommy Stevens continues to be active on the visit circuit, making stops at Kentucky and Mississippi State this week. Stevens is also considering Illinois and Miami (Ohio), but it looks as if his decision will come down to the two SEC programs. The Bulldogs are coached by Joe Moorhead, who served as Stevens offensive coordinator with the Nittany Lions before taking the head coaching job in Starkville.