Portal Rumor Mill: Key visits on deck for top transfers

The transfer portal remains incredibly busy and there are a lot of rumors flying around. Here’s the latest from national recruiting director Adam Gorney:

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Washington, UCLA and Arizona are the three to watch for the former San Diego State offensive lineman. Azzopardi visited UCLA this week and absolutely loved it as the Bruins are definitely one to watch since he and his family hit it off with coach Chip Kelly, position coach Tim Drevno and others. But Azzopardi visits Washington this weekend and he has a connection to position coach Brennan Carroll at Arizona.

Michigan has offered the former Wake Forest receiver so the Wolverines could be a team that’s emerging in his recruitment but Banks was at Wisconsin and Purdue earlier this week and then plans to see Notre Dame over the weekend and West Virginia as well. But with the Michigan offer that could be one to watch now as well.

The former Army linebacker has San Diego State, Auburn, Akron, Tulsa and North Texas have reached out in recent days but the Aztecs and the Zips are the ones to really watch closely in his recruitment. Visits to both of those programs are expected before Benenge finds a second home.

A big visit is coming up this weekend to Arizona State for the former five-star all-purpose back who is looking to restart his college career after it didn’t really work out at USC. Playing for coach Kenny Dillingham is a major draw to Brown who is looking to run the ball more but also catch the ball out of the backfield, too. If the visit goes really well, watch out for the Sun Devils here.

A big few days are ahead for the former Texas A&M defensive lineman who was a Rivals250 member coming out of Camden (N.J.) Woodrow Wilson. Diggs is expected at Alabama on Friday and then will be at Syracuse over the weekend. The Crimson Tide have a clear draw and then the new coaching staff at Syracuse led by coach Fran Brown definitely intrigue him.

Boise State and Oregon State have been showing the most involvement with the former Cal defensive back and he was expected in Corvallis in recent days. The Beavers are definitely one to watch for the former Northern California athlete.

North Carolina and Arkansas are going to be two to watch for the former mid-level four-star defensive back who is transferring out of Georgia. Green, originally from Covington (Ga.) Newton, was in Chapel Hill earlier in the week and is just recently coming off a trip to Fayetteville as well. Other trips are definitely possible since Green will be very coveted.

The former Michigan State quarterback will be at East Carolina this weekend with Baylor, Oregon State, LSU, Northwestern, Cal, Vanderbilt, Utah State, Marshall and Tulsa also reaching out. The Pirates could get a major steal here but Houser is also looking at other visits before finalizing things with a new program.

Could Temple be in line for a major portal addition? The former Arkansas defensive back has really been intrigued by the Owls and the opportunity there plus Lewis is visiting there this weekend so it’s definitely one to watch.

The former Vanderbilt offensive lineman is hearing from Houston, Marshall, South Florida, Boston College and Kansas State so far. Maddox remains open to all programs and doesn’t seem in a major rush but he’s working on setting up trips with Houston and South Florida as soon as possible.

An in-home visit with Oklahoma was expected on Thursday and the Sooners are definitely one to watch for the former four-star defensive lineman out of Owasso, Okla., who is transferring out of Florida. But Missouri and Colorado are also expected to have McClellan on campus this week so those three programs are highest in the running.

The former Idaho quarterback has BYU, Nebraska, Oregon State, Cal and Washington State standing out most but McCoy’s upcoming visits could be most telling. McCoy will be at Washington State, Oregon State, BYU and FAU before making a decision.

Indiana should be the team to watch for the former Middle Tennessee receiver who caught 54 passes for 634 yards and six touchdowns this past season. Metcalf was expected in Bloomington earlier this week and the Hoosiers look like the team to beat.

At least 15 programs have reached out to the Tennessee offensive line transfer but he has already done an unofficial visit to Georgia Tech, he will be at Clemson on Friday and then Nichols will go to Arkansas on Saturday. NC State and Baylor have been involved, Ole Miss has reached out, Nichols has a ton of interest in Auburn but it might not have a spot, Florida State is getting involved and there are a lot of moving pieces here.

Pitt could be in store for a major portal addition. The four-star defensive end in the 2023 class left Clemson and the Panthers are the main team that has caught his eye so far in the portal. Ojiegbe will be visiting Pitt this weekend.

Three programs are making Pettaway a top priority and it looks like the former North Carolina running back could land at one of them. Arkansas, USC and Virginia Tech have been the most involved with Pettaway in recent days as other programs have loaded up with other running backs in the portal.

The former Penn offensive lineman might be traveling across the country for his next stop. Purcell visited San Diego State in recent days and loved his time with new coach Sean Lewis and his staff. The Aztecs are definitely one to watch with Rice and UMass also expected to get visits. Duke, Bowling Green and Ball State are also involved.

The former four-star receiver who is transferring out of South Carolina is just sending out his film but the former Southlake (Texas) Carroll standout is looking for something closer to home. Samson is looking at TCU, SMU, Texas Tech and Baylor, “really anything in Texas,” he said.

NC State will host the former Oklahoma State defensive back this weekend and then Webb will make a quick stop at Virginia Tech before heading back home the same night. Tulane also offered within the last day so Webb is still figuring out other programs on his list.