Transfer Tracker: Jayden Daniels creates a buzz
Mark Pszonak contributed to this report.
The transfer portal never stops grinding. While rumors lingered for a couple of weeks, recently they got louder with the possibility that Arizona State quarterback Jayden Daniels would be entering the portal. That became official on Thursday, and as expected the reaction was quick and loud.
Recruiting: Daniels took his time with his recruitment, especially as a top-rated quarterback, with official visits to Arizona State, California, UCLA and Utah before giving a commitment to the Sun Devils in mid-December.
At Arizona State: Daniels passed for 6,025 yards and 32 touchdowns, while rushing for 1,288 yards and 13 touchdowns, during his time with the Sun Devils. In 2019 he became the first true freshman quarterback to start a season opener in Arizona State history.
Potential landing spots: Cal seems like an obvious fit as he's from California and they need quarterback help and they have shown interest. Missouri has also show interest and a lot of Group of Five schools like FAU, Memphis, Buffalo, UMass, Middle Tennessee and others. Interest will ramp up as he just went in. Keep an eye on USC as well here and perhaps Texas although they have high-profile transfers locked in as starters.
Farrell’s Take: Daniels is a tricky one because he started off his career so well and has since regressed so I put him in the Adrian Martinez category with perhaps a bit more upside. But make no mistake, this is not an entry that has every program in the country searching for a spot. He will have some Power Five interest and a ton at the Group of Five level and has to be careful who he chooses because he's not a surefire starter.
Impact Meter: 7.1 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.