Transfer portal breakdown: The 12 best commitments this week

The transfer portal “season” has been in full swing since the current 45-day window to enter opened December 5.

This open-window period ends January 18, and while players are entering, they also are exiting. To that end, here are the 12 best portal commitments in a busy week.

Another portal window opens May 1; that one lasts just 15 days.

The portal window closing means only that players cannot enter unless they are a grad student; there is no time element as to when a player can decide on a new school other than a school’s academic calendar.

For a look at all the players in the portal, go to On3’s transfer portal wire, which is updated continuously as players go into – and leave – the portal. In addition, there are position rankings of those already in the portal.

12. Ole Miss TE Caden Prieskorn

Transfer from: Memphis
The skinny: For various reasons, Ole Miss hasn’t gotten much production from its tight ends the past two seasons. Caden Prieskorn (6 feet 5, 255 pounds) has the ability to change that. He played a key role in a productive Memphis passing attack, finishing the season with 48 catches for 602 yards and seven TDs. Ole Miss tight ends had 20 receptions this season and 29 in 2021. USC transfer TE Michael Trigg was supposed to play a big role for the Rebels this season, but injury issues limited him to seven games and 17 receptions. He and Prieskorn could be quite a potent duo. Regardless, Prieskorn gives the Rebels a weapon at tight end.

11. Wisconsin C Jake Renfro

Transfer from: Cincinnati
The skinny: Badgers starting C Joe Tippmann is headed to the NFL, so new coach Luke Fickell went to his old team for a replacement. Jake Renfro (6-3, 308) was a two-year starter at Cincinnati before missing this season with a knee injury. He was a first-team All-AAC selection in 2021. Wisconsin is changing its offense, going to a … well, more modern style. New coordinator Phil Longo’s up-tempo offense features more passes and numerous quarterback runs, and Renfro shouldn’t have trouble picking up the scheme. Wisconsin threw the ball on 37 percent of its 1,694 plays from scrimmage the past two seasons. UNC was at 47 percent on 1,928 plays.

10. USC OL Jarrett Kingston

Transfer from: Washington State
The skinny: USC needs three new starters up front, and Jarrett Kingston (6-5, 302) figures to grab one of the spots. Where is the question. He started the first nine games at left tackle this season for Washington State before suffering a leg injury and missing the rest of the year; he still earned honorable mention all-conference honors. Kingston started at guard for the Cougars in 2020 and ’21. That versatility is a huge plus. USC also brought in Michael Tarquin (Florida) out of the transfer portal, but he strictly is a tackle. Kingston is regarded as an especially good run blocker, and with Justin Dedich almost certainly moving to center, Kingston could take Dedich’s spot at guard.

9. Miami DT Branson Deen

Transfer from: Purdue
The skinny: Branson Deen (6-2, 285) was a key rotation piece for Purdue in 2019 and ’20, then was a starter the past two seasons. He earned honorable mention All-Big Ten acclaim in 2021 and ’22. Deen displayed some big-play ability the past two seasons, with seven sacks and 14 tackles for loss. He joins a Miami defensive front that desperately needs bodies. Deen is the second tackle out of the transfer portal for UM, joining Thomas Gore (Georgia State). They join holdovers Leonard Taylor and Jared Harrison-Hunte, and that is the makings of an effective quartet.

8. Oregon S Evan Williams

Transfer from: Fresno State
The skinny: Evan Williams (6-1, 194) was a three-year starter and two-season captain for Fresno State. He should move right into the starting lineup for a defense that needs a safety. Williams was a second-team All-Mountain West selection this season despite missing three games with a knee injury; he was second on the team with 69 tackles and also had six tackles for loss and four pass breakups. He was a first-team all-conference selection in 2021, when he had 92 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions and six pass breakups. His older brother, Bennett, was a starting defensive back (safety and nickelback) for the Ducks in 2022 but is graduating.

7. Florida G Micah Mazzccua

Transfer from: Baylor
The skinny: Micah Mazzccua (6-5, 331) started 10 games at left guard for Baylor this season after seeing action in nine games as a redshirt freshman reserve in 2021. He was an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection for his play this fall. Florida lost three starting linemen, including both guards. Thus, Mazzccua (it’s pronounced “Muh-ZOO-cuh”) was a huge pickup for Billy Napier and his staff. Mazzccua is an especially good run-blocker, which should play well in an offense that wants to mash people with its rushing attack.

6. Louisville WR Jamari Thrash

Transfer from: Georgia State
The skinny: Louisville’s leading receiver this season was a transfer (Tyler Hudson, from Central Arkansas, who is headed to the NFL) and that easily could be the case again in 2023. Jamari Thrash (6-0, 180) led Georgia State with 61 receptions for 1,122 and seven TDs this season. He averaged 18.4 yards per catch, the second-highest total nationally (behind Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt) among the 68 players with at least 60 receptions. Thrash had 14 catches of at least 30 yards (third-most nationally) and eight of at least 40 (fourth nationally). Louisville returns just two wide receivers who had more than seven catches, and neither had more than 31. With new coach Jeff Brohm installing a more pass-oriented offense, Thrash figures to get a lot of targets.

5. Oregon DE Jordan Burch

Transfer from: South Carolina
The skinny: Jordan Burch (6-6, 275) was an On3 Consensus five-star recruit and a national top-15 prospect in the 2020 signing class. He never lived up to that hype, but he still was a solid lineman in the SEC. Burch didn’t make many “splash” plays, but he did have 119 tackles in three seasons, including 60 in 2022. He also had 4.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss in his time with the Gamecocks. Burch does a nice job against the run and should be a good fit in Oregon’s 3-4 scheme. The Ducks are set up nicely along the line in 2023 with Burch’s decision and the returns of E Brandon Dorlus and Ts Popo Aumavae (injured in 2022), Casey Rogers and Keyon Ware-Hudson. Dorlus was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection this season.

4. Miami C Matt Lee

Transfer from: UCF
The skinny: Miami snagged the best center available in the transfer portal. Matt Lee (6-4, 295) is better than holdover starter Jakai Clark and should provide a veteran presence for what figures to be a young (and rebuilt) offensive line. Lee was a three-year starter at UCF. He was a first-team All-AAC selection in 2020 with Josh Heupel as his coach, then was a second-team all-conference guy this season with Gus Malzahn as coach. Lee is considered an especially good pass-blocking center.

3. USC DE Anthony Lucas

Transfer from: Texas A&M
The skinny: Anthony Lucas (6-6, 270) played in five games as a true freshman in 2022, making 10 tackles for the Aggies. Lucas is a former national top-50 prospect in the On3 Consensus and has a high ceiling, though he needs to play with more physicality. He joins a USC defensive front starved for big bodies. Lucas is one of three defensive linemen grabbed out of the transfer portal by the Trojans; the other two – Purdue DE Jack Sullivan and Arizona DT Kyon Barrs – have vastly more experience. All three need to make appreciable impacts for a defense that was pushed around on an almost-weekly basis.

2. LSU CB Duce Chestnut

Transfer from: Syracuse
The skinny: Five transfers played big roles in LSU’s secondary this season, and Duce Chestnut (6-0, 198) should do the same in 2023. He might be the Tigers’ best corner. Regardless, he’ll be a key part of a secondary that – given all the new pieces – was much better than expected in 2022. Chestnut was one of the best true freshman corners in the nation in 2021 – earning some freshman All-America honors – and also played well this season for Syracuse. He started all 24 games in which he played in his two seasons with the Orange and had 83 tackles, four picks and nine pass breakups.

1. NC State QB Brennan Armstrong

Transfer from: Virginia
The skinny: NC State is hoping an old friend can help Brennan Armstrong (6-2, 210) regain his form. Armstrong had a big 2021 for Virginia with Robert Anae as offensive coordinator, then struggled in 2022 after Anae left. In 2021, Armstrong threw for 4,449 yards and 31 TDs; he also ran for nine touchdowns. But his stats fell off the table this season. He threw for less than half of what he did in ’21 (2,210, with just seven TDs). And while he led the Cavs with 123 rush attempts, he managed just 371 yards and six TDs. Anae spent the 2022 season at Syracuse, then again moved within the ACC by taking the NCSU OC job. If he indeed helps Armstrong regain his 2021 form, the Wolfpack can contend for the ACC title.

Others considered: West Virginia WR Devin Carter (from NC State), Houston WR Joshua Cobbs (from Wyoming), Arkansas LB Antonio Grier (from USF), Georgia Tech WR Abdul Janneh (from Duquesne), Missouri OT Marcellus Johnson (from Eastern Michigan), Virginia Tech WR Jaylin Lane (from Middle Tennessee), Baylor TE Jake Roberts (from North Texas), Auburn DT Justin Rogers (from Kentucky), Nebraska OT Walter Rouse (from Stanford), USC DE Jack Sullivan (from Purdue), Kansas State RB Treshaun Ward (from Florida State), UCF S Jireh Wilson (from East Carolina).