Heading into the first week of 2023, the college football transfer portal’s 20 best available players has changed significantly nearing the Jan. 19 deadline. The portal will then reopen for two weeks in May following the end of spring practice and the semester.
Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall has reportedly withdrawn from the portal and will head back to the Chanticleers for the 2023 season, leaving Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman as the top-ranked signal caller available and best player overall.
And with the recent addition of Virginia cornerback Fentrell Cypress, FSU’s highest-rated transfer commit in program history, the Seminoles moved to No. 1 in the portal class rankings for 2023. Coming off a 10-win season under Mike Norvell with six consecutive victories to end the campaign, there’s no doubt FSU will be nationally-ranked at the top of the ACC to begin next season.
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As of Monday, here are the 20 highest-rated players on the market according to our 247Sports Transfer Portal rankings and the latest on their possible landing spots.
Overall transfer rank: No. 5
Hartman entered the transfer portal after Wake Forest’s bowl win over Missouri last month and immediately received two 247Sports Crystal Ball projections to Notre Dame. Multiple industry sources have told 247Sports’ Chris Hummer that Notre Dame is the expected landing spot for Hartman. There had been buzz about Hartman and the Fighting Irish well before he officially entered the portal, and it’s only picked up steam since Hartman officially was listed in the transfer database. The 6-foot-1, 208-pound Hartman has thrown for 12,967 yards and 110 touchdowns in his career on 59.1% passing.
Overall transfer rank: No. 13
Carter, the top-ranked safety still available in the portal, has interest in Ohio State, according to Bucknuts. Carter was one of Syracuse’s starting safeties this season and is a difference-maker at the back end and major loss for Dino Babers’ plan defensively for 2023. Over his three-year career at Syracuse, Carter has tallied 138 tackles, 3.5 tackles for losses, five interceptions and 12 passes defended.
Overall transfer rank: No. 21
Cephas told 247Sports earlier this month that he “wants to be enrolled somewhere in January” and received interest from a host of schools. Currently, he has a 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction to Penn State. Cephas has two years of eligibility remaining. He signed with Kent State in the 2019 class, and he burst onto the scene in 2021 when he caught 82 passes for 1,240 yards and nine touchdowns. He followed it up this season during an offensive rebuilding job with 48 receptions for 744 yards and three touchdowns.
Overall transfer rank: No. 25
Lloyd is NFL Draft-eligible as a former four-star recruit in the 2020 class. Lloyd rushed for 573 yards and nine touchdowns this season on 111 carries, but missed three games due to injury. The sophomore managed 169 yards on the ground during South Carolina’s win over Charlotte and another 110 yards rushing at Kentucky, the Gamecocks’ first win of the year over a ranked team. In recent weeks, there have been murmurs that Lloyd could return to the Gamecocks. South Carolina is super thin at the position following Rashad Amos’ decision to enter the portal over the weekend.
Overall transfer rank: No. 37
Oklahoma State and Wisconsin have been mentioned as potential landing spots for Armstrong, but with the Badgers recently landing SMU’s Tanner Mordecai, you can take them off the table. Just two years ago, Armstrong led the Power Five with 4,449 yards while throwing 31 touchdowns while completing 65.2% of his passes. Then his head coach, offensive coordinator and half of the Virginia starting offense left. And 2022 did not go well as a result. Armstrong tossed nearly double the number of interceptions (12) as he did touchdowns (7) this season with just a 54.7% completion rate. That erratic play makes Armstrong a difficult evaluation. But most teams are looking at 2022 as more of an aberration than a trend, and he certainly has some interest.
Overall transfer rank: No. 42
As Duck Territory detailed, Thornton was a highly touted four-star WR in the class of 2021, ranking as the 57th best player in the country. He started his career alongside fellow wide receiver Troy Franklin. Thornton played sparingly as a freshman, just four games, but played in 11 games of the 2022 season. In the season’s final four games, Thornton caught nine passes for 237 yards and one touchdown. Against Utah Nov. 19, Thornton turned in the best performance of his Oregon career, catching four passes for 151 yards.
Overall transfer rank: No. 47
According to Gene’s Page, Johnson has not ruled out a return to Starkville. Johnson has been courted by a handful of programs since entering the portal, but he has maintained some relationships with the Bulldogs. Johnson will likely make the final call sometimes this month, Gene’s Page’s Steve Robertson reported before Christmas. A source close to the situation shares that Johnson is down to four schools and that Mississippi State is one of those four. State’s biggest wins in the transfer portal process may be getting Johnson back into the fold.
Overall transfer rank: No. 50
Britton, who visited Mississippi State last month, is an all-Conference USA performer at left tackle and a South Carolina native.
“It was a different atmosphere,” said the 6-foot-6 and 305-pound Britton of Mississippi State. “I like how everything is in Starkville and it is football and school. That is the kind of stuff I am looking for going into my last year, just a place where it is all about football. So it was a little bit different.”
Overall transfer rank: No. 52
After two seasons with the Orange, Chestnut announced in December he would look elsewhere for 2023 and beyond, continuing Syracuse’s player departures in the secondary. Chestnut recorded 83 tackles and four interceptions at Syracuse and was a third-team All-ACC selection in 2021 and received honorable mention honors in 2022. He was named to the 247Sports’ annual True Freshman All-American Team last season. A former three-star recruit from Camden (N.J.) High School, Chestnut committed to the Orange over finalists Louisville, Miami and Rutgers. Before December 2020’s Early Signing Day, Ohio State, LSU and Miami expressed interest in flipping Chestnut.
Overall transfer rank: No. 68
Bruce was the second Iowa wide receiver who entered the portal last month, joining former four-star Keagan Johnson. Bruce, who has been one of Iowa’s primary wide receivers through the past two years, finished this season with 19 receptions totaling 187 yards and a touchdown. He also carried the ball 12 times for 47 yards and a touchdown. Iowa’s offense took steps back in 2022 and it was a struggle to get anything going, especially through the air.
Overall transfer rank: No. 88
One of the portal’s possible hidden gems, according to Hummer, Bell is a converted linebacker and former Louisiana Tech transfer who dominated this season up front for Texas State. The Bobcats noticed Bell right away because he is from nearby Cedar Park, Texas. They saw that Bell had 13 pressures in just four games — a rare pressure rate from the inside — and they saw him flash in Louisiana Tech’s season opener against Mississippi State. That game showed Texas State Director of Player Personnel Connor Anderson that Bell could hold up against the best competition.
“The first thing that stands out about Levi is his motor,” Anderson said in an interview with 247Sports. “He’s nonstop. There were even a few plays against Mississippi State against a first-round left tackle (Charles Cross), where they might have him on the ground, but he just gets up and keeps going. Every play is the exact same speed.”
Overall transfer rank: No. 92
Hornsby was a four-star recruit in the 2020 cycle. But he logged just 59 plays in three seasons during his time in Fayetteville behind KJ Jefferson. This season, Hornby went 13-of-27 for 268 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions. He rushed for 172 yards on 31 carries. Before the season, Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman detailed his approach to having Hornsby play multiple positions to utilize his athleticism. This resulted in Hornsby catching two passes this fall.
Overall transfer rank: No. 94
Sanders leaves the Crimson Tide with 528 yards rushing and three touchdowns for his career. Sanders was a 5-star recruit in the 2019 class out of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy. Sanders’ opportunities dwindled this season thanks to the arrival of former Georgia Tech running back Jahmyr Gibbs. At a listed 6-foot, 214 pounds, Sanders has good size for the position and has turned that into a productive career at Alabama despite the limited carries. Sanders has dealt with a number of injuries in his career. Also, he did not play his true freshman season in 2019 due to being behind Najee Harris, Brian Robinson and others on the depth chart.
Overall transfer rank: No. 97
This 6-foot 3-inch, 180-pound prospect has a chance to elevate his competition after entering the transfer portal. The sophomore, who entered during the FCS window, has already landed scholarship offers from UCF, Virginia Tech, Washington State, NC State, Coastal Carolina, and others, per VT Scoop. Janneh led Duquesne with 44 catches for 604 yards and nine touchdowns this season and is one of the highest-ranked pass-catchers still available in January.
Overall transfer rank: No. 98
Dubose, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound playmaker, is one of the most productive wideouts to enter the portal this year. As a fourth-year junior during the 49ers’ 2022 season, DuBose caught 63 passes for 787 yards (12.5 average) and nine touchdowns in 12 games. DuBose recorded three two-touchdown games — Aug. 27 at Florida Atlantic, Sept. 17 at Georgia State and Oct. 1 against UTEP. Facing Power Five competition, DuBose caught eight passes for 73 yards and one touchdown Sept. 10 versus Maryland. Against South Carolina Sept. 24, DuBose made four catches for 60 yards. His single-season high came Nov. 12 at Middle Tennessee, when he grabbed nine receptions for 112 yards and one touchdown.
16. Damieon George, OT, Alabama (Overall transfer rank: No. 106)
17. Ish Harris, LB, Texas A&M (Overall transfer rank: No. 108)
18. Spencer Sanders, QB, Oklahoma State (Overall transfer rank: No. 109)
19. Truman Jones, Edge, Harvard (Overall transfer rank: No. 132)
20. Marquis Robinson, DL, Auburn (Overall transfer rank: No. 140)
George — 6-foot-6, 333-pound offensive lineman — only played in two games this season, appearing in the first two contests of the year against Utah State and Texas. This comes after he played in 12 games during the 2021 campaign, including three starts. George started at right tackle in Alabama’s final regular-season games against New Mexico State, Arkansas and Auburn. Elsewhere, in the right system, George should be a Day 1 starter.
Chris Hummer and Cameron Salerno contributed to this report.
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