Transfer Tracker: All-American OL is in the portal
Mark Pszonak contributed to this report.
The transfer portal never stops grinding. Offensive lineman Cain Madden arrived at Marshall as a walk-on and will leave as an All-American after he announced on Wednesday that he will enter the portal as a grad transfer. As expected, Madden has been extremely busy since making himself available.
Recruiting: Given an opportunity to earn his way to play at a FBS program, Madden accepted a preferred walk-on position at Marshall.
At Marshall: Madden arrived at Marshall as a preferred walk-on and developed into a three-year starter at right guard who was named second-team All-American after the 2020 season. Earned his scholarship in the spring before the 2019 season.
Potential landing spots: As should be expected when a grad-transfer All-American offensive lineman hits the portal, interest has been frenzied and abundant since Madden hit the portal. Florida State has been extremely aggressive, but they aren't the only school that is putting the full-court press on. Some of these other schools include Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, Rutgers, Baylor, West Virginia, Auburn, Penn State, Washington State, Texas Tech, Syracuse and Ole Miss.
Farrell’s Take: This has been amazing to see how much interest there has been for Madden from his walk on status years ago. Interest will continue to grow and he will have his pick of some major programs. Watching him on film at Marshall, he's an aggressive mauler and an elite run blocker so a power running team might be best fit but he can also set and pass block. For team that needs an immediate starter and leader, he's the guy.
Impact Meter: 9.1 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.