The Transfer Portal has changed the landscape of college football. So at Rivals we bring you the Transfer Tracker, where we analyze players entering the portal and rate them on what kind of impact they could make at their new home.
Next up in the tracker: Florida State wide receiver D.J. Matthews.
AS A RECRUIT
Matthews became known on the recruiting circuit from his freshman year in high school but he quickly committed to Florida State. Despite offers from all over the country and a late push from schools Tennessee and Virginia Tech, he stuck with the Seminoles.
AT FLORIDA STATE
Matthews stepped right into the lineup at Florida State, especially on special teams, where he was a dynamic return man. Over his three seasons with the Seminoles, Matthews racked up 582 punt return yards, good enough for tenth in Florida State history. As a receiver, he caught 84 passes for 809 yards and five touchdowns. After rumored tension between Matthews and the new staff, he announced his plans to enter the portal this week. He will have at least one year of eligibility remaining at his next school.
POTENTIAL LANDING SPOTS
This is another tough case because it's so late in the game, but it wouldn't be surprising to see Matthews sit out the year and find a new home for next season. Either way, he should be coveted at the FBS level, especially because his skillset on special teams is tough to find.
FARRELL'S TAKE
“I thought Matthews would be a star at Florida State as a slot receiver because he was so sudden and shifty and hard to cover in space. He had some serious quarterback issues for sure at FSU which didn’t help and the passing game has been horrible. He has a chance to be an impact guy for someone but probably on a much smaller stage.”-- National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell
Impact Rating: 6.3 out of 10
IMPACT METER
The Transfer Portal continues to change the way college football programs recruit and mange 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.
