Mark Pszonak contributed to this report.
The transfer portal never stops with the excitement. West Virginia All-American DB Tykee Smith's entry into the portal has quickly made him a top candidate for many national programs.
Recruiting: Smith trimmed his list down to West Virginia, Baylor and North Carolina before committing to the Mountaineers in the days leading up to the start of his senior season.
With the Mountaineers: Smith impressed as a true freshman with 50 tackles and two interceptions, before becoming one of the top defensive backs in the country in 2020 with with 61 tackles, eight tackles for a loss, two interceptions and five pass breakups.
Potential landing spots: Penn State quickly emerged as a favorite, but early interest has also come in from LSU, North Carolina, Utah, Georgia, South Carolina and Indiana.
Farrell’s Take: It's rare when an All American player enters the portal especially in the middle of the spring and so unexpectedly. Smith will have one year to give essentially as he'll be off to the NFL Draft for 2022 for sure with his ability. Will he follow his position coach to Georgia? Will he stay close to home at PSU? He really liked North Carolina out of high school. He's in no rush apparently and will just weigh his options but he/s an amazing impact player.
Impact Meter: 9.3 out of 10
IMPACT METER
The Transfer Portal continues to change the way college football programs recruit and manage their rosters so we here at Rivals.com continue to evolve our coverage. Each time a player of note enters the portal, we will examine their potential impact on the college football landscape and assign an impact rating, both when they enter the portal and when they choose a destination. The scale is from 1-10 and the description below explains the scoring scale.
1.1-4.0 — Not a big impact expected, likely a non-starter and down the bench depth player.
4.1- 6.0 — A solid impact can be expected in the right scenario and has the potential to battle for a starting job.
6.1-9.0. — A high impact player who won’t change a program but will certainly be a very good contributor and starter.
9.1- 9.9 — A very high impact player who should start the moment he steps on the field and will change the outlook of a program immediately.
10 — A franchise transfer who has a chance to be an All American and one of the elite players in college football.
