Pac-12 Spotlight: Five programs that won the early transfer window
The early transfer portal window is winding down with many players already having found new homes. Below is a look at five Pac-12 programs that have stood out as doing particularly well during this cycle.
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RELATED: SEC programs that won the early transfer window | Big Ten programs that won the early transfer window | ACC programs that won the early transfer window | Portal standouts zeroing in on decisions
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OREGON
Oregon has been sort of a mixed bag this cycle. The biggest names it added are four-star quarterback Dante Moore from UCLA, four-star quarterback Dillon Gabriel from Oklahoma, and four-star defensive back Kobe Savage from Kansas State. The Ducks also added three-star offensive lineman Matthew Bedford from Indiana and two-star kicker Atticus Sappington from Oregon State.
The biggest names they’ve lost are four-star quarterback Ty Thompson to Tulane, four-star running back Dante Dowdell, three-star defensive back Trikweze Bridges to Florida, three-star defensive back Bryan Addison to UCLA, three-star wide receiver Kris Hutson to Washington State, and defensive back Cole Martin to Arizona State. Martin doesn’t have a transfer portal ranking yet, but he was a four-star out of high school.
The fact that they landed a quarterback to replace Bo Nix for next season in Gabriel while landing a possible quarterback for the future in Moore is why I still consider them to be a winner. Not to mention the fact that they are the only Pac-12 program to land a player ranked in the Top 25 of Rivals transfer portal rankings. Moore at No. 4, Gabriel at No. 8 and Savage at No. 22 all crack that list.
Of all the guys the Ducks lost, Martin seems to be the one that stings the most.
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ARIZONA STATE
Arizona State stands out as having done well this cycle. The biggest names the Sun Devils added are four-star defensive back Kamari Wilson from Florida, four-star wide receiver Raleek Brown from USC, three-star defensive back Latterance Welch from LSU and defensive back Cole Martin from Oregon.
Touching quickly on who they have lost, the key names are three-star defensive back Isaiah Johnson, three-star defensive lineman B.J. Green II to Washington, three-star defensive back Jordan Clark to Notre Dame and three-star tight end Jalin Conyers to Texas Tech.
Ideally, ASU would have kept some of those guys, but the Sun Devils must be pleased with how they addressed their roster this transfer portal cycle.
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COLORADO
Colorado has become a very portal-heavy program during Deion Sanders’ time in Boulder and that trend has continued this cycle. The Buffs landed five transfers ranked inside the top 200 in four-star offensive lineman Tyler Johnson from Houston, four-star offensive lineman Justin Mayers from UTEP, four-star defensive lineman Quency Wiggins from LSU, three-star tight end Chamon Metayer from Cincinnati and three-star linebacker Keaten Wade from Kentucky.
As for who the Buffs have lost, the biggest name was three-star linebacker Marvin Ham II. He’s ranked just outside the top 100. Funny enough, they have actually been a bit of a feeder school to Oregon State. Three-star offensive lineman Van Wells, three-star running back Anthony Hankerson and three-star offensive lineman Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan all departed Boulder for Corvallis.
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CALIFORNIA
The California Golden Bears have done a solid job this cycle of addressing some of their needs. They added a very talented wide receiver in three-star Tobias Merriweather from Notre Dame, a solid offensive lineman in three-star Rush Reimer from Montana State, three-star defensive back in Marcus Harris from Idaho, three-star quarterback in Chandler Rogers from North Texas and a tackle machine in three-star linebacker Teddye Buchanan from UC Davis. Plus some others as well.
The Bears did lose some guys as well, so it wasn’t a perfect cycle for them. Four-star linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr transferred to TCU and four-star wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter grad transferred to Washington.
But, nobody has a perfect transfer cycle. When you add it all up, I’d say the Bears did well. It’ll be fun to see what this group does in Cal’s first year of ACC competition.
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WASHINGTON
Rounding out this list, the Washington Huskies have done well this transfer portal cycle. Their top additions are four-star quarterback Will Rogers from Mississippi State and four-star wider receiver Jeremiah Hunter from Cal. Rogers is a top-50 player in Rivals’ transfer portal rankings while Hunter is safely in the top 100. They also added three-star defensive lineman B.J. Green II from Arizona State, three-star linebacker Ethan Barr from Vanderbilt, three-star tight end Tre Watson from Fresno State and three-star offensive lineman Drew Azzopardi from San Diego State.
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