How Marcus Freeman, Lincoln Riley, Mario Cristobal, others should best utilize the transfer portal to make a Year 2 leap in 2023
We know Deion Sanders is going to attack the portal at Colorado chasing dogs who want to hunt and eat. Same for Hugh Freeze at Auburn. But what about the most noteworthy coaches from the 2022 cycle? How should several rising Year 2 coaches — like Marcus Freeman, Lincoln Riley or Billy Napier — best utilize the transfer portal to make a leap in 2023?
Here’s some thoughts:
Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
With an incoming Top 5 recruiting class and a roster that’s set to return a host of starters on both sides of the football, Freeman can turn the Irish into a College Football Playoff contender in 2023 if he can land some offensive firepower out of the transfer portal.
There might as well be a giant QB-bat signal emanating off the school’s golden dome.
Drew Pyne entered the portal after being told by Freeman and OC Tommy Rees that Notre Dame intended to find a fresh face at QB for 2023, and the Irish have plenty of intriguing options.
It’s important to note that due to the school’s stricter transfer requirements, it’s much easier for Notre Dame to slide in a graduate transfer compared to an underclassman. That’s notable when discussing potential targets.
Both NC State’s Devin Leary and Texas’ Hudson Card would be major upgrades at quarterback, but Card is an undergraduate transfer. DJ Uiagaleli, who’s more likely to end up out West, Brennan Armstrong and Spencer Sanders are all graduate transfer possibilities.
One wild card name to watch is Tulane’s Michael Pratt, who has not hit the portal as of yet but has lots of ties to several Notre Dame offensive staffers.
The Irish don’t just need a quarterback, though. They need a couple of impact permitter playmakers, too.
Kent State’s Dante Cephas, a graduate transfer, is a popular name connected to Notre Dame, but the Irish have real competition there with Penn State, Oklahoma and Georgia in the mix, too. But with more than 70 receivers jumping into the portal just this week, there are plenty of options.
Land the right guys, and this fall’s 8-4 Year 1 could be the foundational launching pad toward a CFP run in 2023. However, if the Irish double-down on former Wisconsin quarterbacks in the portal (i.e., Graham Mertz) and swing and miss on transfer receivers for the second-straight offseason, then Freeman’s team won’t look a whole lot different in Year 2.
Dan Lanning, Oregon Ducks
Oregon had a bit of a disappointing finish to the 2022 season, losing to rivals Washington and Oregon State in November to squander a chance to play for the Pac-12 Championship.
Still, it was otherwise a very promising season for first-year head coach Dan Lanning, especially considering it was Oregon’s offense that mostly led the way this fall (conference-best 40.1 points per game).
Auburn transfer QB Bo Nix found renewed life under his former OC in Kenny Dillingham, but Dillingham is now the head coach at Arizona State.
Lanning recently hired UTSA’s OC Will Stein as the replacement, a 35-year-old wunderkind coach who helped lead one of the more fun offenses in the country this year.
If Nix leaves for the NFL — a decision that has not been made either way — then Lanning could use Stein’s connections to land a couple of good transfer QBs: Frank Harris Jr. and Hudson Card.
Thanks to the COVID rules, Harris, amazingly, still has a year of eligibility remaining. The Roadrunners’ four-year starter (who has a whopping 97 career touchdowns) could go to the NFL Draft, stay at UTSA where he’s a local legend or reunite with Stein in Eugene. Early indications are Harris will stay in Texas but don’t be surprised if Oregon takes a swing here.
As for Card, Stein was his high school coach at Lake Travis High in Texas.
Both could be plug-and-play replacements for Nix, giving Lanning a QB with the upside and legitimacy to compete for the Pac-12 title in Year 2.
According to some early offers, the Ducks also are looking to add a receiver (Arizona wideout Dorian Singer is a name to watch), potential several defensive linemen, and a couple of corners to help fix a pass defense that ranked in the middle of the Pac-12.
Brian Kelly, LSU Tigers
Largely thanks to key building blocks from the transfer portal, the Tigers overachieved in Kelly’s first season in Baton Rouge, reaching the SEC Championship only to get dog-walked by top-ranked Georgia.
Kelly crushed the transfer market in Year 1, nabbing more than 15 players including starters at quarterback, offensive line, defensive line, corner, safety and punter.
LSU is set at QB now — with either Jayden Daniels or Garrett Nussemier — and has been more focused on prep recruiting for 2023, too.
Kelly has established his roster foundation, and simply wants to “top off the tank.”
If the Tigers are to repeat as SEC West champs next fall they need a 1-2 impact pass rushers to replace the outgoing duo of Ali Gaye and BJ Ojulari, who is expected to leave early for the NFL.
Likewise, the Tigers are expected to lose multiple starters in the secondary, so grabbing a corner (or two) is also important.
Billy Napier, Florida Gators
After limping to a 6-6 regular season, Napier enters Year 2 needing to scrub a disappointing debut.
Outside of Mario Cristobal, no second-year coach is likely to hit the portal harder than Napier, as the Gators have needs all across the roster.
They don’t have a quarterback. They lack depth at defensive line, receiver and tight end. They need an edge rusher and maybe an offensive lineman or two.
Really, it’s probably easier to list what they don’t need.
Napier drew plenty of criticism for his play calling in 2022, but he runs an attractive scheme that should draw one of the better available quarterbacks in the portal.
It will be interesting to see what avenue UF chooses at QB, though, as the Gators will bring in blue-chip freshman Jaden Rashada this spring and just landed 2024 4-star DJ Lagway.
Does Napier prefer a guy with multiple years of eligibility (Card or Jacolby Criswell) or a win-now bridge QB (Leary, Armstrong or former West Florida transfer Austin Reed)?
Lincoln Riley, USC Trojans
What Brian Kelly did with the portal at LSU was impressive, but it was the poor man’s version compared to what Lincoln Riley pulled off at USC in Year 1.
No coach in America better utilized the new free agent market place than Riley, who bolted Oklahoma and brought a Heisman Trophy-capable quarterback in Caleb Williams and a host of playmakers with him. He went out and took some of the best players off rosters at Pitt, Arizona State, Oregon and others.
USC added some 20 transfers last cycle, and while I doubt the Trojans will be quite as audacious this fall, the expectation is for Riley to hit the portal hard once again — particularly focusing on replacing top wideout Jordan Addison and trying to overhaul a defense that continues to hold back his programs.
If USC wants to seriously compete for a championship — Pac-12 or more next season — it must upgrade the interior defensive line and linebacker. They need starters and rotational bodies, so as many as 6-7 additions here alone should be expected.
The Trojans could also use some offensive linemen to better protect the nation’s No. 1 quarterback, but that’s the most difficult position to land quality players in the portal right now.
Mario Cristobal, Miami Hurricanes
Year 1 was especially sour homecoming for The U’s Prodigal Son, as Miami suffered its first losing season in 15 years. They had a zillion injuries and suffered multi-touchdown losses to MTSU, Duke, Florida State, Clemson and Pitt.
There was no mass exodus when Cristobal first arrived in Coral Gables, but a roster cleanse was well underway already, with more than 10 players hitting the portal when the window opened Monday. More departures are expected to come.
Considering the Hurricanes were meh offensively (playing three different guys at quarterbacks with little help at receiver) and awful defensively (second-worst yards per play allowed in the ACC at 5.92), they have needs across the board.
Miami could push for double-digit transfers this cycle, filling holes at receiver, tailback, offensive line, defensive line, linebacker and corner.
With an aggressive NIL collective, they’re chasing some of the bigger fish on the market, too, targeting guys like Texas A&M 5-star DL Tunmise Adeleye, Oregon linebacker Justin Flowe and wideout Donte Thornton, both of whom played for Cristobal for two seasons, and Washington State linebacker Francisco Mauigoa, the older brother of Canes 5-star commit Francis Maugioa.
Depending on who Miami lands, Cristobal could have the Hurricanes set for a Year 2 turnaround, but if he whiffs on some top targets, then there won’t be any “The U is back” chants.