Transfer Portal Sting Factor: Cain Madden

When a major program misses out on a key transfer portal recruit, Rivals.com takes a look at how big of a blow it is to the respective school, analyzing it from a national level. To quantify the “sting” of each transfer portal recruiting miss, we assign a score from 1 to 10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.

THE STORYLINE

Cain Madden began his collegiate career as a walk-on at Marshall and finished his time in Huntington as a 2020 All-American. Once he entered the transfer portal, the reaction from programs around the country was quick. However, it was Florida State that immediately emerged as the early favorite due to their aggressive approach with Madden.

The Seminoles' coaching staff quickly made contact, while both recruits and current players reached out to Madden on Twitter. The hard work initially seemed to pay off as Madden took his first official visit to Tallahassee. But when word emerged that he had also scheduled one to Notre Dame afterwards, doubts began to emerge.

While he had a successful official visit to Florida State, the Seminoles were unable to seal the deal before Madden left for South Bend. The Irish coaching staff took advantage of this opportunity and picked up a commitment from the interior offensive lineman at the conclusion of his visit.

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NATIONAL REACTION

FSU really needed a plug and play offensive lineman like Madden to shore up what is a young and emerging offensive line. He could have been slotted in at guard with all his experience and helped the younger talent on the team. He's a mauler and road grader so he would have helped the running game for the Seminoles as well. This one hurts because I felt they had an early edge.

Sting Factor: 8