All-Transfer Portal Team: Part I – Offense

If you listen carefully you can hear an old man yelling at the clouds somewhere in the world.

He’s ranting and raving about how NIL deals and the transfer portal have ruined the sanctity of college football. There’s a good chance this old man is probably an Athletic Director for a college. He also probably just decided to have the team change conferences and make college kids fly to the opposite side of the country for half the season so the football program, along with said Athletic Director, can make more money. 

The NCAA in general has been behind the times for a while. In 2021, they finally let players start making money off their own name, image, and likeness, which was one big step forward. The other big change came in 2021, the new transfer rules. The transfer portal was launched in 2018 as a tool to help players looking to change schools, as well as schools who were interested in the player. However, it wasn’t until 2021 when the rules surrounding transfers changed, and the portal really kicked off, becoming a big resource for teams to quickly improve their roster.

Prior to just a couple of years ago, any NCAA player who transferred to play for a different college would be forced to sit out a whole year. Now all athletes are allowed to transfer school one time with no penalty. 

Can you believe that? How dare we give these kids any power to control their own future? Is nothing sacred anymore? They made a commitment to these schools. Sure, the schools can pull their scholarships, or limit how often they actually see the field, but why should we let the player attempt to leave a poor situation to help their chances at playing in the NFL? Facetiousness aside, I took to the transfer portal records to find the best of the best who decided to take their talents elsewhere.

There are All-Conference teams and All-American teams, so why not an all-transfer portal team? Specifically, this roster will consist only of players who moved after the rule changes were put into place. Meaning, only players who transferred in 2021 and later qualify. Today I’m unveiling my selections for the offense and next week the defense.

QB – Caleb Williams, Oklahoma to USC

LSU fans are spitting out their gumbo right now because I didn’t pick Joe Burrow. Sorry ‘bout it. Burrow transferred in 2018 using the NCAA’s graduate loophole. Joe Cool graduated from Ohio State early, in three years to be exact, meaning he had two more years of eligibility and could transfer without needing to sit out a year. Keeping to my rules of this team, he is not eligible as he transferred prior to the change.  

There was no other possible choice for QB until Sam Hartman leads Notre Dame to a College Football Championship this season. What? I would never let personal biases affect my writing. After a strong first season as a starter in 2021 at Oklahoma, Caleb Williams followed head coach Lincoln Riley to the University of Southern California. In his first year as a Trojan, Williams went nuclear. He threw for over 4500 yards with an excellent 66 completion percentage and posted a 42:5 touchdown to interception ratio.

He also averaged 8.7 yards a carry and punched in 10 rushing touchdowns on his way to winning the illustrious Heisman trophy in 2022. He entered into his Senior season this year as the expected top QB on draft boards and the betting favorite to be the number one overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft at a whopping -330.

It will be awkward for Kyler Murray when the Cardinals draft him.

RB – Kenneth Walker III, Western Kentucky to Michigan St.

If you listened to an episode of the Talent Alone Podcast we did over the summer where I gave my top ten NFL running backs, you know I’m a big fan of KW3. Can we please get that going as his nickname?

After spending his freshman and sophomore years playing for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Walker decided to take advantage of the newly implemented transfer rules and headed to Michigan State. Walker was just a two-star recruit coming out of high school and only put up 579 yards in both of his two seasons in Winston-Salem.

On paper, this felt like a bit of a gamble by Walker. He was betting on himself that leaving a lesser program and no longer having to split carries in the backfield was what he needed. The bet paid off. Walker racked up over 1600 yards at a rate of 6.2 per rush and found the end zone 18 times in his lone season as a Spartan. The performance boosted his draft stock and he was an early 2nd round selection by the Seattle Seahawks in the 2021 NFL draft. Walker has explosiveness and the ability to quickly improvise on runs where his blocking breaks down, which led to him taking over the Seattle backfield in his rookie season.  

RB – Eric Gray, Tennessee to Oklahoma

A product of Memphis Tennessee, Eric Gray spent his first two college seasons in his home state attending the University of Tennessee. In 2021 he made the decision to transfer to Oklahoma and play for the Sooners. Gray had to wait his turn in 2021, as he sat behind incumbent starter Kennedy Brooks and only had 78 rush attempts on the season.

For Sooner fans, 2022 was a rough season. The first season after head coach Lincoln Riley went to USC, the team went 6-7. For a big college football program like Oklahoma, going 6-7 is the equivalent of being the 2008 Lions without the number one draft pick at the end of the sewer. 

Riley and his offensive proficiency may have left town, but it didn’t stop Gray from being the lone bright spot for the Sooners. Now the lead back, Gray rushed for 1374 yards with an efficient 6.5 yards per attempt and found the end zone 11 times.

Only standing 5’ 9” and weighing in at 207 lbs, his size was a detriment to his draft stock.

When you watch the tape though, you see that Eric Gray doesn’t play like he’s undersized. He’s aggressive and willing to take on defenders, showing a surprisingly good ability to pick up yards after contact. Gray also has some quick feet, giving him the ability to juke defenders and make cuts. He ended up being a day-three draft pick by the New York Giants in the 5th round. I think Gray could end up being a steal for the G-Men as a nice compliment to Saquon Barkley.

WR – Jameson Williams, Ohio State to Alabama

Jameson Williams spent his first two years in college and THE Ohio State University. At a premier college football program, Williams found himself in a crowded Wide Receiver room with Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, and Jaxson-Smith Njigba. Yes, in 2021, OSU had those three wideouts on the field catching passes from CJ Stroud and somehow didn’t make the college football playoffs.

Meanwhile, Williams took his talents to Tuscaloosa. In his lone season with the Crimson Tide, the former four-star recruit averaged 19.9 yards a catch while racking up 1572 yards and catching 15 touchdowns from Heisman Trophy winner (and future 2023 NFL OROY) Bryce Young. Williams would unfortunately tear his ACL during the 2022 National Championship on January 10th of that year.

This didn’t affect his NFL draft stock. Despite the timing of his injury, meaning he would miss the majority rookie season, he was drafted with the 12th overall pick by the Detroit Lions. Even when he returned in Week 12, Williams was limited and only played 74 snaps across 6 games. Now back at one hundred percent, he is ready to really get going in his second year

….

Right after serving a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s gambling policy.

Jameson Williams’s biggest strength is his ability to get separation deep and stretch the field. The man is a figurative murderer of man coverage. Getting paired up with all-around wideout stud Amon-Ra St. Brown could be explosive for the Lions offense.

Tip to NFL defenses: keep those Safeties up high and play a zone because if you double St. Brown and leave Williams with a 1 on 1, the next time you see him will be when he’s sauntering into the end zone. 

WR – Wan’Dale Robinson, Nebraska to Kentucky

A four-star recruit out of Kentucky, Robinson spent his first two seasons in the lethargic run-heavy Nebraska offense. In 2021, he decided to head home and transferred to the University of Kentucky, where he would be playing with a higher-level QB in Will Levis.

No offense intended to Nebraska QB Alec Martinez.

Robinson’s homecoming paid off. He caught an NFL-level 104 receptions in 2021 for 1334 yards and 7 touchdowns as he helped the Wildcats get to double-digit wins on the season for only the second time in 44 years.

A small receiver at 5’ 8” 178, Robinson’s biggest strength is his catch-and-run ability that works well in offenses with dynamic play callers. A second-round selection by the New York Giants, Robinson only played 6 games in his rookie year. His season ended in week 11 against the Detroit Lions when he tore his ACL during a game where he had racked up 9 catches for 100 yards to that point. Once healthy, it will be fun to see how Giants head coach and offensive guru, Brian Daboll, finds ways to get Robinson the ball in space to work with. 

WR – Trey Palmer, LSU to Nebraska

As with many prospects, Palmer was recruited by a local school when he committed to play at LSU. After experiencing low usage in his three seasons at Baton Rouge, Palmer opted to take his talents to Nebraska and the Big Ten. In his lone season as a Cornhusker, Palmer’s decision to transfer gave him the role he was looking for.

Palmer went from experiencing a very low usage at LSU to being targeted 110 times at Nebraska. He more than doubled his receptions from the previous year as he hauled 71 catches for 9 tds and 1043 yds. You also have to keep in mind where he was playing. I’m pretty sure Nebraska hasn’t had a good offense since there was a Bush in the white house. This opinion is backed up by the fact that Palmer’s yardage in 2022 actually set a record for the most receiving yards in a single season for Nebraska.

The 6 ft 180 lb receiver is a speedster, running a 4.33 forty. He was drafted in this 6th round by the Tampa Bay Bucs, and some expect he could quickly get involved lined up in the slot.

TE – Jelani Woods, Oklahoma State to UVA 

Wahoo wah. Who would’ve expected to see a cavalier on this squad? Coming out of high school in Georgia, Woods committed to Oklahoma State. After three years with the Cowboys, he transferred to the University of Virginia.

Woods was mainly a receiving tight end, catching 8 TDs in his lone season in Charlottesville. Woods ended up being the second tight end off the board in the 2022 NFL draft being selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the 3rd round.

Jelani didn’t start the most games in his rookie season but did tie Kyle Granson for most targets at TE with 40. While his yardage or TDs didn’t jump off the page, he did average a nice 12.5 yds a reception.

We’ll have to wait to see what he does in his second NFL season to fully judge him.

I considered disqualifying him from consideration because of UVA’s lame-ass “Girls in pearls and Guys in ties” tradition at their football games. Colin Cowherd was right about you people.

However, Woods was the most impressive transfer portal TE option within the time frame, and I didn’t have too many options. 

K – Timmy Bleekrode, Furman to Nebraska

It was real slim pickings when it came to kickers who used the transfer portal, let alone kickers who did anything notable at their next school.

The only reason a kicker would transfer would be because either, a personal reason where they would be in need of a relocation, or because they got beat out for the job and were never going to see the field.

Bleekrode spent his first threes playing at Furman University which is located in Greenville, South Carolina. Don’t lie. You had no idea where it was. In his last season as a Paladin, he made 15 of his 18 field goal attempts and made 30 point afters, while also handling punting duties. His longest field goal made while playing at Furman was 51 yds, which in college football is impressive.

After transferring to Nebraska, Bleekrode started the entire season in 2022. He converted 9 of 12 field goal attempts while making 34 of 35 extra points.

No disrespect to the young Timmy Bleekrode, but I didn’t look into his potential as an NFL kicker. I’m not alone here though, there’s not too many websites that take the time to rank or write draft profiles on kickers unless it is during the three months between the Super Bowl and the NFL draft.

Trust me, I looked. 

Special thanks to 247sports and Pro Football Focus for providing the research used in this article.