Transfer Tracker: Alabama 5-star RB enters portal
Mark Pszonak contributed to this report.
The transfer portal never stops grinding. Days after word broke that Alabama running back Camar Wheaton would be looking for a new home, the former five-star made it official by entering the portal.
Recruiting: Wheaton committed to Alabama in late December, and while some late drama existed until he signed in February, he stuck with the Tide. Oklahoma made a serious push until the very end.
At Alabama: After joining the team last summer, Wheaton did not receive any playing time with the Tide as a true freshman as he missed the entirety of the 2021 season with a knee injury.
Potential landing spots: Oklahoma was the immediate thought, but the Sooners' backfield is pretty loaded with young talent so that may not make much sense. USC will also be a major player since his relationship with Oklahoma was mainly due to the coaching staff that is now in Los Angeles. A dark horse to keep an eye on is SMU, while Oregon, UCLA, Washington and Mississippi State should also be watched. Baylor and Colorado were also very interested out of high school and of course everyone mentions Texas A&M.
Farrell’s Take: Wheaton has all the talent in the world and is a track speed runner but there were questions about whether he was a five star talent based on work ethic and his ability to be consistent. I pushed hard for his fifth star but so far between injuries and what I'm hearing from sources at Alabama it probably was a bit too lofty. He's a high risk and high reward player with a ton of talent but I'm being more cautious this time.
Impact Meter: 6.3 out of 10
IMPACT METER
The Transfer Portal continues to change the way college football programs recruit and manage their rosters so we here at Rivals.com continue to evolve our coverage. Each time a player of note enters the portal, we will examine their potential impact on the college football landscape and assign an impact rating, both when they enter the portal and when they choose a destination. The scale is from 1-10 and the description below explains the scoring scale.
1.1-4.0 — Not a big impact expected, likely a non-starter and down the bench depth player.
4.1- 6.0 — A solid impact can be expected in the right scenario and has the potential to battle for a starting job.
6.1-9.0. — A high impact player who won’t change a program but will certainly be a very good contributor and starter.
9.1- 9.9 — A very high impact player who should start the moment he steps on the field and will change the outlook of a program immediately.
10 — A franchise transfer who has a chance to be an All American and one of the elite players in college football.