College football’s surplus effect: Transfers finding success after leaving crowded position rooms
The introduction of the NCAA’s Transfer Portal and implementation of the one-time transfer exception have normalized and lowered the barrier for player movement within college football. Predictably, this has prompted an uptick in transfers within the FBS. It’s also led to a new trend – non-quarterbacks leaving crowded positions rooms to find immediate success elsewhere. Has college football’s surplus effect arrived?
Transfers at the quarterback position long have been a fact of life in college football. Troy Aikman left Oklahoma for UCLA in 1986. Jeff George transferred from Purdue to Illinois in 1987. Aikman and George were consecutive No. 1 overall picks. Russell Wilson started the graduate transfer craze by transfering from NC State to Wisconsin for his senior year. The past three quarterbacks to win Heismans – Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Joe Burrow – were transfers and eventual No. 1 draft picks.
What we’re seeing early on in 2021 is a bit different. Many impact newcomers at other positions are coming by way of intra-Power 5 transfers. Several of those transferred away from crowded position rooms, seeking more playing time and opportunities. It’s the same logic of most quarterback transfers, just applied across other positions.
Let’s take a look at a few examples.
WR Jameson Williams, Alabama
We don’t usually see a player go from making big plays in the College Football Playoff to transferring to another playoff team – at least until now. That’s what happened when Williams left Ohio State and chose Alabama as his new home.
Williams, a speedster from St. Louis, left the Buckeyes’ crowded wide receiver room to become a top target for Alabama and new starting quarterback Bryce Young. Williams had nine catches for 154 yards and two touchdowns at Ohio State in 2020. Through two games (both blowouts) at Alabama, he already has seven receptions for 157 yards and two scores.
Williams’ top-end speed was on display in the opener, when he torched Miami’s defense on a 94-yarder.
Stylistically, Williams doesn’t look much different than what we’ve grown accustomed to with Alabama receivers. If the first two games are any indication, he should be in for a big season.
As the season moves on, it might be increasingly difficult to grasp how Williams was not a key target at Ohio State. But no program has stacked more talent at receiver than the Buckeyes in recent recruiting classes.
Ohio State’s top target is Chris Olave, who opted to return for his senior season in Columbus. Then there’s Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith–Njigba, five-star prospects from the 2019 and 2020 cycles, respectively. Julian Fleming, another five-star signee who was the top-ranked wide receiver in the 2020 cycle, is a reserve. Additionally, tight end Jeremy Ruckert bypassed the NFL draft to return for his senior season.
Williams left Ohio State in search of a larger role. He looks to have found just that, and with the defending national champions, no less.
RB Zach Charbonnet, UCLA
Charbonnet was a big get for Jim Harbaugh and Michigan as a top-50 prospect in the 2019 recruiting cycle. Charbonnet, from Oaks Christian School in the L.A. suburbs, product had a productive true freshman season, with 726 yards and 11 touchdowns on 149 carries. The 11 scores set Michigan’s single-season record for rushing TDs by a freshman.
The 2020 season got off to a promising start as well, with Charbonnet rushing for 70 yards and a touchdown on just four carries in a season-opening win over Minnesota. But Charbonnet got just 18 carries the rest of the season, ceding time to Hassan Haskins and then freshman Blake Corum. The Wolverines added to the crowded running back room in December when they signed top-50 running back Donovan Edwards.
Charbonnet is now home after transferring to UCLA. He’s thriving in Chip Kelly‘s offense, rushing for 223 yards and four touchdowns in wins over Hawaii and LSU. He’s averaging over 13 yards per carry thus far.
He is running tough and angry, but is also showing some advanced vision while also serving as a receiving threat out of the backfield. With the Pac-12 South very much in flux, No. 13 UCLA has emerged as one of the top challengers to Oregon within the conference.
DE Jermaine Johnson, Florida State
Anyone watching Georgia beat Clemson in the opening week could see that the Bulldogs have a loaded front seven. Kirby Smart’s defense sacked Clemson’s DJ Uiagalalei seven times, all while rotating defenders. Two nights later, one of the breakout players in the Florida State-Notre Dame game was Seminoles defensive end Jermaine Johnson – a transfer from Georgia.
While things certainly have taken a turn south in Tallahassee with the Seminoles’ crushing loss to Jacksonville State, it’s safe to say Johnson has been a bright spot through two games.
Johnson has 20 tackles and four sacks in the two contests. He gave a rebuilt Notre Dame offensive line trouble with his length, power and quickness.
Johnson was a productive and promising player at Georgia. He arrived in Athens as the nation’s top junior college prospect in the 2019 recruiting cycle. Johnson started four of his 21 games as a Bulldog and finished the 2020 season with five sacks. It remains to be seen how things will go in Tallahassee this season, but Johnson has shown the talent to be an early-round NFL draft pick and should have continued opportunities.
Programs must evaluate incoming and outgoing transfers
With the transfer portal popping and the one-time transfer exception a long-time looming inevitability, college football coaches have adjusted their focus concerning roster management and talent acquisition.
In February, we saw several coaches discuss allocating resources and manpower to tracking player movement and the transfer portal.
If the surplus effect takes root, coaches and personnel staffers will need to thoroughly evaluate their own players as well. You can envision questions like “Are we willing to risk losing him to the portal if he doesn’t play more?” being asked nationwide. They probably already are.
Unlike quarterback and maybe offensive line, many positions don’t have one player who dominates all the game reps. This creates a high-stakes scenario for college coaches. Fans will want to see young players even earlier. Fair or not, many will ask why a player left and saw success elsewhere.
The college football ecosystem feasts on schadenfreude, both perceived and real. The current transfer climate certainly delivers in that regard.
We often see college coaches throw around “culture” as a nebulous term. In 2021, an optimal college football culture likely entails fostering an environment that allows talented backups and reserves to envision eventual success should they stick it out.
Even then, the success of the likes of Williams, Charbonnet and Johnson should only encourage more players in crowded position rooms to seek greener pastures.