Dillon Gabriel officially enters the portal — A mutually beneficial departure?
William Harris Updated 1d ago
The college football transfer portal is open until early January. Check back for all the latest news and our analysis.
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Dillon Gabriel officially enters the portal — A mutually beneficial departure?
Kevin Jairaj / USA Today
Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel is now officially in the portal as a grad transfer. I think this is going to end up being a win-win for Gabriel and the Sooners. Oklahoma has an incredibly gifted freshman quarterback in Jackson Arnold, and with Gabriel's departure can now get him 15 bowl practices to boost his development. Gabriel had one heck of a year for the Sooners, but his size is going to make it tough for him to get drafted where he should in the NFL.
One more year in college isn't going to dramatically change his draft stock, but he's one of the QBs in this market who could make a lot of NIL money if he does choose to play one extra college season.
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Western Kentucky lineman — a position that's always at a premium — enters portal
Ben Queen-USA Today
Western Kentucky OL Quantavious Leslie has entered the transfer portal, The Athletic has learned. He’s a three-year starter at left guard who has graded out as one of the better offensive linemen in Conference USA this season. The Hilltoppers did a good job of retaining their top talent last offseason when players tested the portal, so perhaps they can get him back. But three-year starting offensive linemen who have good size (6-foot-3, 318 pounds) are going to command lots of Power 5 offers. Everyone’s looking for linemen and players who’ll make them better up front.
How coveted could Dillon Gabriel be in the portal?
If Dillon Gabriel doesn’t like the draft feedback he gets and wants to play one final college season, he’s going to have a nice list of options. The safe move would be going to Mississippi State to play in the same offensive scheme with his longtime coach Jeff Lebby, the Bulldogs’ newly hired head coach. But there are quite a few big-time programs on the West Coast — particularly Oregon, Washington and USC — with high-speed offenses that could be a good fit for the Hawaii native.
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Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel enters transfer portal to explore options
And now, the deluge...
More than 200 FBS scholarship players have already entered the transfer portal this morning. And we've only just begun. Overwhelming day for recruiting staffers across the country, who need to make evaluations of these players and extend scholarship offers as fast as they can. Most of the directors of player personnel I spoke with in the past week felt relatively ready for this day. But they also knew, no matter how much preparation you do, it's going to be a fast-paced mess.
10 names to know in college football’s transfer portal
College football’s busiest month of player movement is officially underway. On Monday, the NCAA transfer portal opened to all college football players, who now have a 30-day window (from Dec. 4 to Jan. 2) to notify teams of their intent to transfer.
Graduate transfers and players whose head coaches have been fired were already able to enter their names in the portal, but there will be a flood of new names exploring their options this week now that the regular season is complete.
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Top players to know in college football’s transfer portal: Cam Ward, Kyle McCord and more
Georgia depth pieces hitting the portal
Reserve defensive lineman Jonathan Jefferson is the first Georgia player to announce Monday that he's entering the portal. Jefferson played in seven games as a sophomore, was a former four-star recruit in the 2021 class who just couldn't climb the depth chart.
Another Georgia player, outside linebacker Darris Smith, announced in November he'd be portaling, after being away from the team for unspecified reasons.
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Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel planning to enter transfer portal
(Photo: USA Today)
Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel is planning to enter the NCAA transfer portal to explore his options for his final season of eligibility, multiple industry sources told The Athletic.
Gabriel earned unanimous first-team All-Big 12 honors this season after leading the Big 12 with 3,660 passing yards, 30 passing touchdowns and six interceptions and guiding the Sooners to a 10-win regular season.
The 5-foot-11, 204-pound senior spent three seasons at UCF before transferring to Oklahoma in 2022. His 14,865 career passing yards rank second-most among all active FBS quarterbacks.
Gabriel is eligible to enter the NFL Draft but is expected to explore his options for his extra season of eligibility before making a decision.
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Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel enters transfer portal to explore options
Wisconsin adds Syracuse LB
Wisconsin lands a key transfer portal commitment from Syracuse outside linebacker Leon Lowery. Badgers getting their portal work started off with a bang.
Big loss for Vandy
Vanderbilt's Will Sheppard hits the portal.
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Ward’s an interesting case
Cameron Ward’s entrance into the transfer portal is fascinating from several perspectives. Entering the 2023 season, Ward was outside of Dane Brugler’s top 10 upperclassmen at quarterback and someone I would’ve considered a late day-three to UDFA kind of passer.
He made significant improvements to start this year and looked much closer to the impressive young quarterback we saw at Incarnate Word. He was a more efficient and explosive passer in 2023, and he showed an ability to use his legs to get out of trouble at times. He was still a bit rocky against pressure from the better programs in the Pac-12, rushing throws to avoid contact or pressing too hard to get the ball on the perimeter – leading to mistakes with ball placement and decision-making that led to turnovers.
Riley Leonard is the prize of this year’s portal QBs, but there will be a market for Ward – and he has an argument for being just as intriguing (if not more) as DJ Uiagalelei, Tyler Van Dyke and Will Rogers. Ward can make an NFL as an arm and compete his way onto a 53-man, but I think it’s best for Ward to avoid this crowded QB class and play for a team with legitimate aspirations to make the 12-team CFP next season.
Why this is the right move for DJ Uiagalelei
USA Today
Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei has entered the transfer portal, he announced on social media Thursday. Here’s what you need to know:
Uiagalelei threw for 2,638 yards with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions for the Beavers this season.
The junior transferred to Oregon State for the 2023 season after spending three years at Clemson.
As a freshman, Uiagalelei was Trevor Lawrence’s backup. He became the Tigers’ starter in 2021 but was replaced by Cade Klubnik in late 2022 following inconsistent play.
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Oregon State’s DJ Uiagalelei enters transfer portal: Why it’s the right move
Where does USC need to upgrade this winter?
USA Today
With the exception of Colorado, it’s difficult to think of many programs that have been more aggressive than USC in the transfer portal the past two offseasons.
Lincoln Riley utilized the portal in an effort to make the Trojans as competitive as possible as quickly as possible, but his stated goal has been to rely on transfers less as USC builds its roster through high school recruiting.
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USC’s transfer portal plans: Where do the Trojans need to upgrade this winter?
What’s next for Buckeyes without Kyle McCord?
Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord entered the transfer portal on Monday, The Athletic confirmed.
McCord started all 12 games for the Buckeyes at quarterback this season. He completed 65.8 percent of his passes and tallied 3,170 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions in an inconsistent season.
After sitting behind C.J. Stroud for two years, McCord beat out Devin Brown for the job in preseason camp and helped Ohio State to an 11-1 record.
A five-star recruit, McCord signed with Ohio State in the Class of 2021 out of Philadelphia’s St. Joseph’s Prep and has one year of eligibility remaining.
When asked Sunday if McCord was his starting quarterback going into the Cotton Bowl against Missouri and beyond, Day didn’t give a definitive answer.
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Ohio State QB Kyle McCord enters transfer portal. What’s next for Buckeyes?
Minnesota's starting QB in the portal
Athan Kaliakmanis entered the portal last week.
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Spencer Petras headed to Utah State
Former Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras committed to Utah State for his final year of eligibility, he announced on Twitter. Petras started 31 games at Iowa from 2020-22, winning 20 and throwing for 5,199 yards. He sat out the 2023 season after tearing the labrum and rotator cuff in his right shoulder in the 2022 regular-season finale. Petras (6-5, 231) worked in a non-enrolled capacity this year for Iowa.
FIU star receiver in the portal
FIU WR Kris Mitchell has entered the portal as a grad transfer, The Athletic has learned.
Mitchell led Conference USA in receiving this season with 64 catches for 1,118 yards and 6 TDs. One more season of eligibility.
Minnesota adds QB from New Hampshire
Minnesota picked up an early gem in the transfer portal by landing New Hampshire QB Max Brosmer. A Roswell, Ga., native, Brosmer (6-2, 221) was among the most prolific FCS QBs this season, completing 294 of 459 passes for 3,464 yards and 29 touchdowns in 11 games.
Brosmer likely will replace Gophers starter Athan Kaliakmanis, who announced plans to transfer last week.
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