The Transfer Portal has changed the landscape of college football. So at Rivals we introduce to 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: North Texas wide receiver Rico Bussey.
AS A RECRUIT
An Oklahoma native, Bussey worked hard to earn an offer from the Sooners and shined at the school's camp in the summer of 2015. While an offer from the in-state school never came, Bussey racked up several Group of Five and FCS offers before finally committing to North Texas a few weeks before Signing Day in 2016.
AT NORTH TEXAS
.After working his way onto the field as a true freshman in 2016, Bussey became a regular contributor in 2018, catching 47 passes for 677 yards and seven touchdowns in 2017. He had his breakout year in 2018, as he caught 68 passes for 1,017 yards and 12 touchdowns as part of the school's historic season. He got off to a good start in 2019 before tearing his ACL in Week 3 and missing the rest of the season.
Rather than return for his fifth year with North Texas, Bussey entered the portal earlier this month as a graduate transfer and will be eligible to play in 2020 at his next school.
POTENTIAL LANDING SPOTS
Nebraska has been mentioned as a potential destination for Bussey as the school looks to add talent to its wide receiver room. The same can be said for Miami and Virginia Tech, which is also looking at wide receiver options. While Bussey isn't known as a national name, it appears he will land at the Power Five level and could have a big impact at a notable school next year.
FARRELL'S TAKE
"Bussey was a very speedy wideout coming out of high school with a limited route tree and average hands, so he was overlooked by many schools and was rated as a two-star as he headed off to North Texas. Now he’s established himself as a stat stuffer who can run solid routes and gain separation and his hands have certainly improved.
"He can make a nice impact for someone as a graduate transfer although his impact is limited with just one year left.." -- National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell
Impact Rating: 6.9 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.
