Big Ten schools hit the hardest by the transfer portal
There has already been a ton of movement throughout college football since the transfer portal window officially opened on December 5th and many power five programs across the country have already seen their rosters take big hits with key players transferring out.
We take a closer look at the Big Ten Conference and six programs that been hit the hardest with transfer portal exits so far.
MORE: TRANSFER TRACKER
Wisconsin Badgers:
TOTAL LOSSES: 11
MAJOR LOSSES: QB Graham Mertz; RB Isaac Guerendo
INSIDER'S TAKE: Losing quarterback Graham Mertz, a three-year starter for the Badgers, was a large blow for Wisconsin, even though both sides were likely ready for a change. The redshirt junior - and the highest-rated quarterback the Badgers signed during the Rivals.com era - announced his decision via social media on Dec. 4. Mertz has two years of collegiate eligibility remaining.
At Wisconsin, Mertz redshirted during his first year before he stepped into a starting role the following season after Jack Coan went down with an injury during fall camp. Mertz completed 20 of 21 passes for 248 yards and five touchdowns in his season debut against Illinois, but his play leveled off during a 4-3 campaign.
Over the past two seasons, Mertz struggled mightily with consistency. Under Paul Chryst in 2021, he threw 11 interceptions and just 10 touchdowns. Mertz improved this fall, but still tossed 10 picks and completed just 57.3 percent of his attempts.
As it stands right now, UW has just two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster: fifth-year senior Chase Wolf and true freshman Myles Burkett.
Isaac Guerendo, a fifth-year senior with one year of eligibility remaining, enjoyed his best season at Wisconsin in 2022. The former wide receiver carried the ball 64 times for 385 yards and five touchdowns. He also had 17 receptions for 115 yards and one score, in addition to his contributions as a kick returner on special teams. Guerendo was listed as the No. 3 tailback on the roster but saw extensive time this season with injuries to Braelon Allen and Chez Mellusi.
From 2019 to 2020, Guerendo played in just five contests. But in 2021, he saw action in the first four games before he missed the rest of the season due to injury. Had he returned to Wisconsin for a sixth season, Guerendo was expected to be a significant contributor on offense and special teams for the Badgers. - Jon McNamara, BadgerBlitz.com.
Nebraska Cornhuskers:
TOTAL LOSSES: 16
MAJOR LOSSES: LB Ernest Hausmann; DB Jaelen Gold; WR DeColdest Crawford
INSIDER'S TAKE: Thus far, the Huskers have not suffered a notable number of impactful losses via the portal, which is noteworthy considering the complete overhaul on the coaching staff.
Hausmann, though, is a massive loss. He will be the biggest transfer portal loss that Nebraska could have seen leave the roster, and he has announced that he is headed to Big Ten rival Michigan.
The true freshman and former in-state standout was the Huskers’ brightest rising star on either side of the ball, and he has a ceiling as an all-conference player and future team captain if he continues to show the same growth he had over the last few games in 2022. - Zack Carpenter, InsideNebraska.com.
Indiana Hoosiers:
TOTAL LOSSES: 13 players
MAJOR LOSSES: LB Dasan McCullough; TE AJ Barner; DB Josh Sanguinetti; K Charles Campbell
INSIDER'S TAKE: Indiana took a big hit with some key players entering the portal this year, most notably freshman Dasan McCullough. McCullough was an All-American honorable mention and was a huge key to the defense this year. He had 49 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. That was by far the most significant.
Staying on the defensive side of the ball, Sanguinetti came on in a big way this season and was expected to play a big role next year. With the amount of experience leaving in the secondary, having a guy like Sanguinetti back there would've been a big help.
Offensively, AJ Barner had all of the tools to be successful, but a lack of consistency from the IU quarterbacks never really helped Barner get going. He was a team-captain this year and showed great potential at times throughout his career. IU will need to find someone who can step up in that role next year.
Finally, Charles Campbell was by far the biggest asset for the IU offense last year -- a team that struggled to score. Campbell was a safety net for most of the season, and career, and someone who had a big leg to help the Hoosiers who were rarely in the redzone.
Obviously QB is a big question mark surrounding the Indiana program, but neither Jack Tuttle or Connor Bazelak leaving are 'huge' losses. Bazelak lost his starting job at the end of the season and Tuttle was not the answer for IU either." - Alec Lasley, TheHoosier.com.
Iowa Hawkeyes:
TOTAL LOSSES: 9
MAJOR LOSSES: QB Alex Padilla; WR Arland Bruce; WR Keagan Johnson; LB Jestin Jacobs
INSIDER'S TAKE: Probably the two biggest loses were the wide receivers and Jacobs at linebacker. Iowa has already landed Cade McNamara at quarterback for next year and he's an upgrade over Padilla. However, the Hawkeyes are thin in terms of numbers and talent at wide receiver, so losing Bruce and Johnson impacts the depth chart in a significant way. With All American Jack Campbell graduating and Seth Benson also moving on, Jacobs was set to move into the starting lineup and have a huge role next season. - Tom Kakert, HawkeyeReport.com.
Michigan State Spartans:
TOTAL LOSSES: 9
MAJOR LOSSES: WR Germie Bernard
INSIDER'S TAKE: Bernard just finished his true freshman season with Michigan State and appeared in all 12 games. He recorded seven receptions for 128 receiving yards with two receiving touchdowns, while adding six kick returns for 119 kick return yards.
This was a bit of a surprise because with the departure of redshirt senior wide receiver Jayden Reed, Bernard was likely in line to be a top-three receiver for a team that uses a lot of 11 personnel. However, Mel Tucker and his staff don't give assurances for playing time to anybody (and there are rumors, which we have not yet confirmed, that Bernard was not happy with his playing time as a true freshman). Either way, Bernard decided to enter the portal, and while it is still possible he withdraws, that would be a big loss for the future of the Spartans' wide receivers room.
Michigan State is also losing a lot of depth along the defensive line. Of the defensive linemen who have entered the portal -- Michael Fletcher, Jalen Hunt, Dashaun Mallory and Chase Carter -- none are huge difference-makers individually, and MSU still has plenty of options on the roster, as well as a strong 2023 recruiting class at the position. However, collectively, that is a lot of experience and depth the team is losing (72 career games played between Mallory, Hunt and Fletcher). There is also a lot of positional versatility in the group, as Hunt and Mallory are defensive tackles who have also played defensive end out of necessity due to injury. - Ryan O'Bleness, SpartansIllustrated.com.
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Minnesota Golden Gophers:
TOTAL LOSSES: 7 players
MAJOR LOSSES: S Michael Dixon; LB Braelen Oliver
INSIDER'S TAKE: Minnesota has been hit quite a bit by players transferring out so far with seven plays entering the transfer portal but only two of those players leaving are really major losses for the Gophers. Safety Michael Dixon was appearing set to take on a starting role for the Gophers in 2022, but decided to leave the program instead. This past season, Dixon was a solid safety for the Gophers especially in coverage allowing just 15 receptions on 32 targets. He also didn't allow any touchdowns on the season.
The major issue with Dixon's departure is the lack of experienced depth behind him at safety for the Gophers. For reference, Dixon according to Pro Football Focus played 413 snaps for Minnesota this season at safety. The next closest? Sophomore Darius Green played 74 snaps.
Oliver is a notable loss as well, not as big as Dixon but still worth noting. He played 345 snaps over 12 games for Minnesota this season and again, while not a major impact player on the field, it's the loss of Oliver compounded with the loss of senior linebacker Mariano Sori-Marin that really is the bigger hit for the Gophers. They, however, have addressed those concerns by bringing in Western Michigan linebacker Ryan Selig. - Dylan Callaghan-Croley, TheGopherReport.com.
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