Transfer Tuesday: Five highly ranked players in the portal
The introduction of the transfer portal last year has changed the way players move across college football programs. With that in mind, Rivals.com will breakdown a transfer related topic each week.
With all of college football now having played four games, players have flooded into the portal over the past two weeks. Today, we focus on the five highest-ranked players to move onto the transfer market and speculate on potential landing spots.
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As a recruit: A Texas native, Baldwin had a number of offers from around the country but didn’t get any from the major programs in the Lone Star State. He landed at Oklahoma, though, committing the Sooners during the spring of his junior year.
As a Sooner: Baldwin’s career never got off the ground in Norman as he came into Oklahoma recovering from a knee injury only to suffer another one causing him to miss his entire freshman season. Baldwin actually left the Sooners prior to the start of the 2019 season, but didn’t officially enter the portal until late last week.
Potential landing spots: Texas Tech, SMU, Iowa State
As a recruit: A notable name in the state of Alabama, Ignnot fielded plenty of early interest as a recruit, including from Auburn and Alabama. Ignont initially silently committed to the Tide, but later backed off that pledge and ended up committing to Tennessee in the middle of his senior season.
As a Vol: Ignont saw the field as a reserve in six games as a true freshman in 2017, Butch Jones' last season in Knoxville. After getting a fresh start under Jeremy Pruitt in 2018, Ignont appeared in all 12 games, recording 47 tackles. He began 2019 in the starting lineup and had a career-high eight tackles against BYU in Tennessee’s second game, but after the team slipped to 1-3 and Ignont slipped down the depth chart, he elected to enter the portal.
Potential landing spots: North Carolina, UAB
As a recruit: A big-bodied defensive back with terrific athleticism, Pryor had his share of options from around the country but committed to Ohio State during the spring of his sophomore year and never looked back.
As a Buckeye: Pryor found a role as a true freshman in 2017, playing in all 14 games for the Big Ten-champion Buckeyes. His role expanded even more in 2018, as he started seven games and finished the season with 31 tackles. But a change at defensive coordinator reshuffled the depth chart headed into 2019 and Pryor spent the first few games of this season mostly as a reserve. Looking for a bigger role, Pryor elected to enter the portal last week.
Potential landing spots: Oklahoma, Iowa, Georgia Tech
As a recruit: Reed committed during the spring of his junior year to Miami over Florida and LSU.
As a Hurricane: Reed played in two games as a true freshman in 2018 and hoped to come into 2019 and contend for a starting spot. But even with the Hurricanes offensive line struggling, he barely saw the field and made the decision to enter the portal after Miami’s win over Bethune-Cookman.
As a recruit: Williams was a fixture on the recruiting circuit from very early in his high school career and had offers from all over the country. He took his recruitment into his senior season before committing to South Carolina.
As a Gamecock: Williams earned early praise after arriving in Columbia and quickly worked his way onto the field, recording 38 tackles as a true freshman and earning All-SEC freshman honors. He picked up where he left off as a sophomore in 2018, but his season ended after eight games when he suffered a shoulder injury. Williams started three of the first four games this season, but still elected to enter the portal last week in an effort to preserve a year of eligibility.
Potential landing spots: Texas Tech, Colorado