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Recapping day one of the transfer portal window

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•12/05/23•

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Jalen Catalon (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Day one of the transfer portal window was as hectic as expected, with a number of notable players joining hundreds of lesser notoriety in the NCAA database for those intent on a new destination.

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Texas was not wholly unaffected, losing two in the portal. Other teams had tougher days on Monday, including a few who lost starting quarterbacks and key production.

With day two set to get going soon, Inside Texas looks back at what the main storylines were in day one of the portal window.

Two for Texas

Last night, the Longhorns had two defensive backs enter the transfer portal after what was mostly a quiet day around Austin. X’Avion Brice, a redshirt freshman defensive back, and Jalen Catalon, both made their way into the portal in search of a new place to play.

Brice saw action in four games over two seasons, while Catalon played in eight games this season. After a strong seven-tackle, 1.0 TFL day versus Alabama, and meager production in the following three games, Catalon suffered an injury versus Oklahoma and appeared in just two more contests the rest of the season. Plus, the once expansive safety rotation pared down over the stretch to include Jerrin Thompson, Michael Taaffe, Derek Williams, and Kitan Crawford.

While those were the first two and only two on the first day of the portal being open, Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns will continue to go through exit meetings. Those players will have 29 more days to enter their name into the database.

The quarterback market headlines the day

If you’re a team looking for a quarterback, then you liked what you saw on day one.

Here are some of the names who made their way into the database:

  • Dante Moore, UCLA
  • Tanner Bailey, South Carolina
  • Taylen Green, Boise State
  • Athan Kaliakmanis, Minnesota
  • Brock Vandagriff, Georgia
  • Drew Pyne, Arizona State
  • Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma
  • Bryson Barnes, Utah
  • Blake Shapen, Baylor
  • Kyle McCord, Ohio State

From previous days

  • Spencer Petras, Iowa
  • Cam Ward, Washington State
  • DJ Uiagalelei, Oregon State
  • Riley Leonard, Duke
  • Will Howard, Kansas Sate
  • Tyler Van Dyke, Miami
  • Will Rogers, Mississippi State
  • Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina

Production at other key positions

Star players outside of those who go under center also made their way into the portal. South Carolina wideout Juice Wells was listed as one of the top players in the database by On3. So too was Purdue wideout Deion Burks. Those were just two of the many wide receivers who are searching for a new home.

Wells and Burks were two of the top rated non-quarterbacks to enter the portal. The Longhorns are on the lookout for receiving production ahead of their first season in the SEC, and they’ll cast a wide net. And not only in the wide receiver ranks, but in the secondary as well.

But those two currently make up the transfer portal names of interest for Texas.

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Who lost a lot?

Of note, Alabama’s losses were a wide receiver who medically redshirted in 2023 and Tyler Buchner, who is turning to lacrosse at Notre Dame after a football career with the Crimson Tide and Fighting Irish.

Other teams were not as fortunate. North Carolina State saw nine players enter yesterday. Fourteen South Carolina Gamecocks entered the portal on Monday. Nine Ohio State Buckeyes plugged their name into the database. Ten Sooners put their names in.

More are sure to follow today, and other schools may be the ones bearing the brunt of negative attention. But those numbers indicate no school, no matter how successful, is fully immune from the effects of the portal.

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