2023 Portal Discussion Thread

[DAG 34,005]

1 minute ago, toddc said:

Why Auburn's 2023 transfer haul is one of college football's best

No one has added more 4-star transfers to its roster this offseason than Auburn

Nathan King50 mins

There’s a strong argument to be made that no one has worked the transfer portal better this offseason than Hugh Freeze.

Auburn’s 2023 transfer haul is nearly complete, as the Tigers reached the mark of 20 additions Sunday, when Jackson State leading receiver Shane Hooks committed. Auburn has been a mainstay in the top 5 of 247Sports’ transfer rankings throughout the cycle, and with Hooks on board, the Tigers jumped to No. 2 nationally — behind only Colorado, which has brought in 48 transfers, 19 more than any other FBS program.

Here’s a quick look at the top 10.

1. Colorado (48 transfers)

2. Auburn (20)

3. USC (15)

4. LSU (14)

5. Florida State (10)

6. Ole Miss (21)

7. Oklahoma (15)

8. Miami (13)

9. Oregon (15)

10. Arkansas (18)

Just like high-school recruiting, 247Sports calculates classes through a combined formula of quantity and quality. It’s difficult to ascend to the top of the rankings with only a few transfer additions — Georgia, for example, has four incoming transfers, with an average rating of 91, tied for the second-best mark in the country, but its class is only ranked No. 57. 

Most, but not all players are given transfer ratings by 247Sports after they enter the portal — though it’s much more of an inexact science than rating a high-school recruit, considering the varying levels of competition and playing time for a current college football player. New Colorado defensive back Travis Hunter, who followed Deion Sanders from Jackson State, is the only 5-star transfer this cycle, while there were five last year (Caleb Williams, Quinn Ewers, Jordan Addison, Jahmyr Gibbs and Eli Ricks).

The metric that’s easiest to point to when assessing the quality of Freeze’s efforts is that Auburn has brought in more 4-star transfers (11) than any other program in the country. No other team has more than nine. 

Those 11 players are center Avery Jones (East Carolina), offensive tackle Dillon Wade (Tulsa), nose tackle Justin Rogers(Kentucky), running back Brian Battie(USF), offensive tackle Gunner Britton(Western Kentucky), tight end Rivaldo Fairweather (FIU), linebacker DeMario Tolan (LSU), defensive lineman Mosiah Nasili-Kite (Maryland), Hooks (Jackson State), receiver Caleb Burton (Ohio State) and receiver Jyaire Shorter. The quality of available talent in the transfer ranks was assessed as being much in the first portal window as compared to the second, and that’s reflected in Auburn’s 4-stars, only three of which were brought in after the conclusion of spring practice.

Unsurprisingly, the portal’s top talent is clumped at the top of the team rankings, with Auburn, USC, LSU, Florida State and Ole Miss combining for a whopping 22.4 percent of all 4-star transfer additions this cycle. 

Of course, programs like Auburn and Colorado were in need of major touch-ups on their rosters — as is usually the case under first-year coaches — compared to more established teams that are also buoyed by consistent recruiting success. Of the seven programs bringing in at least 20 transfers, four are entering Year 1 under a new coach (Colorado, Auburn, Louisville and Arizona State).

Freeze won’t want to rely on the transfer portal for massive roster overhauls every year, though, as the formula of high-level recruiting mixed with the occasional patchwork in the portal is followed by most championship-contending programs. But Auburn is off to a decent start there, even with only Freeze’s first recruiting class. Auburn is one of only seven teams with a top-20 ranking for both their 2023 transfer and recruiting hauls (LSU, Miami, USC, Oregon, Florida, Florida State and TCU).

Again, much of those high marks for Auburn’s transfers come from the fact that the Tigers have plenty of quality pickups in a 20-man class. For comparison, Auburn didn’t add a single 4-star transfer to its roster during the Bryan Harsin era.

Among teams with double-digit incoming transfers this year, Auburn’s average rating of 89.61 is No. 6 nationally, behind Florida State, LSU, USC, Kentucky and Miami. In terms of average rating vs. quantity of players added, teams like Florida State, LSU and USC — which already had strong roster outlooks for 2023 before the offseason began — appear to be best positioned to parlay their portal success into championships. 

Sleepers this cycle could be programs like Kentucky and Maryland, which added six and five 4-star transfers, respectively. Oregon also has the No. 9 transfer class for a team that won 10 games last year, while Florida will hope its six 4-star transfers help to turn around a 6-7 season for Billy Napierin Year 1.

Here are the top 10 transfer classes this year based on average rating alone, including only those with a sizable number of additions. We’ll go with a minimum of eight players here to include programs like Michigan (90.71 average) and Maryland (89.11).

1. Florida State (91.70)

2. LSU (90.54)

3. Michigan (90.71)

4. USC (90.0)

5. Kentucky (90.0)

6. Miami (89.92)

7. Auburn (89.61)

8. Oregon (89.36)

9. Maryland (89.11)

10. Ohio State (89.43)

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CU at 48 transfers MY GOD

[AuCivilEng1 11,015]

19 minutes ago, DAG said:

CU at 48 transfers MY GOD

I'm curious to see what he does with a roster comprised of half players he brought in.

[WFE12 9,191]

Fall camp is gonna be very interesting with all these additions not to mention the summer enrollee freshmen coming in too.

[ellitor 33,113]

52 minutes ago, DAG said:

CU at 48 transfers MY GOD

Kinda had to. They let 57 players go.

[ellitor 33,113]

30 minutes ago, AuCivilEng1 said:

I'm curious to see what he does with a roster comprised of half players he brought in.

3 quarters. Counting the high school class he signed it's 68 new players.

[W.E.D 11,070]

54 minutes ago, DAG said:

CU at 48 transfers MY GOD

Their talent level was of a bad G5 team.  It's not like they let go of any (many) good players.  They were horrible.  It'll be interesting to see the reactions when Colorado is 4-8 and ppl laugh.

 

[AuCivilEng1 11,015]

7 minutes ago, ellitor said:

3 quarters. Counting the high school class he signed it's 68 new players.

True. I forgot about the high school players. That’s nuts.

[DAG 34,005]

19 minutes ago, W.E.D said:

Their talent level was of a bad G5 team.  It's not like they let go of any (many) good players.  They were horrible.  It'll be interesting to see the reactions when Colorado is 4-8 and ppl laugh.

 

Yes they are going to be must see tv 

[DAG 34,005]

55 minutes ago, AuCivilEng1 said:

I'm curious to see what he does with a roster comprised of half players he brought in.

Yep. That’s astronomical . New age of football. That is a whole damn new team 

[gr82b4au 5,568]

That is a ton, but we brought in 44 new players I think? That is over 50% for AU. 

I think up to 11 new players starting on offense this year. 5 on defense. In the sec. 

It will be quite a ride for us as well. 
 

Edited May 22, 2023 by gr82b4au

[ellitor 33,113]

3 minutes ago, gr82b4au said:

That is a ton, but we brought in 44 new players I think?

@gr82b4au 42 for now.

[Win4AU 4,054]

Auburn’s whole team is basically starting from scratch with the new coaching staff so maybe the learning curve won’t be any different than if Auburn had recruited well the past couple years. 
 

Is Auburn going to need to grab another RB with the Jarquez situation?  Battie and Damari are more burners with Sean being the bruiser.  

[W.E.D 11,070]

6 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

Auburn’s whole team is basically starting from scratch with the new coaching staff so maybe the learning curve won’t be any different than if Auburn had recruited well the past couple years. 
 

Is Auburn going to need to grab another RB with the Jarquez situation?  Battie and Damari are more burners with Sean being the bruiser.  

Our only hinderance will be all the guys coming in post spring compared to a new staff/everyone here in the Spring.  It's more uphill than having everyone already going through 15 practices, but hopefully they can work together enough this Summer and be OKAY by fall camp.

I doubt there is any RB in the portal that could help us

[alabastertiger 616]

2 hours ago, toddc said:

For comparison, Auburn didn’t add a single 4-star transfer to its roster during the Bryan Harsin era.

That says it all.

[Gowebb11 9,362]

43 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

Auburn’s whole team is basically starting from scratch with the new coaching staff so maybe the learning curve won’t be any different than if Auburn had recruited well the past couple years. 
 

Is Auburn going to need to grab another RB with the Jarquez situation?  Battie and Damari are more burners with Sean being the bruiser.  

Jeremiah Cobb should be able to contribute as well. 

[Sizzle 3,920]

37 minutes ago, Gowebb11 said:

Jeremiah Cobb should be able to contribute as well. 

When it’s all said and done he might be the best out of all of them tbh

[alabastertiger 616]

Are we officially done with the Portal till next fall?

[bigbird 60,578]

27 minutes ago, alabastertiger said:

Are we officially done with the Portal till next fall?

Not necessarily 

[KansasTiger 3,254]

1 hour ago, alabastertiger said:

That says it all.

Almost a stretch to call it the Harsin era even. The Harsin season and a half.

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

1 hour ago, alabastertiger said:

Are we officially done with the Portal till next fall?

According to the On 3 dudes we are. We  have 84 on Scholly and they named off some cat, who they say will be given a Scholly to make it 85. That's all unless someone on the roster quits etc

Edited May 22, 2023 by NWALA Tiger

[gr82b4au 5,568]

40 minutes ago, KansasTiger said:

Almost a stretch to call it the Harsin era even. The Harsin season and a half.

Yep. Still too long. Damage was close to death penalty. 

[W.E.D 11,070]

3 minutes ago, gr82b4au said:

Damage was close to death penalty. 

End of Gus + Harsin was essentially that.

Anyone that complains about the Transfer Portal and "new ear of CFB" shouldn't be able to enjoy any success we have for the next 3-4 years.  Those two things are the sole reason why we aren't 3-9 to 5-7 over the next 3 years

[ellitor 33,113]

54 minutes ago, bigbird said:

Not necessarily 

We’re at least at 84 scholarship players now. If our starting long snapper’s on scholarship, which is normally the case, then we are at 85. That would mean someone would have to be off the team for us to add more.

 

[bigbird 60,578]

8 minutes ago, ellitor said:

We’re at least at 84 scholarship players now. If our starting long snapper’s on scholarship, which is normally the case, then we are at 85. That would mean someone would have to be off the team for us to add more.

 

[abw0004 10,133]

1 hour ago, KansasTiger said:

Almost a stretch to call it the Harsin era even. The Harsin season and a half.

As someone who endured attending all of the home games that was under Harsin, it felt like a long, cold era to me.  Very glad the era is over and the sunshine has poked through the clouds.