Portal preview: Top offensive transfers available

Thousands of players will flood the transfer portal when it opens on Monday. Many eligible transfers have already entered the portal, while others have announced their intention to enter once it officially opens. Some big names are being watched closely as potential transfers.

Take a look at what to expect on the offensive side of the ball this transfer portal cycle.

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This transfer portal cycle won’t feature nearly as many high-end quarterbacks as last year but there is going to be a lot of quality depth.

Miller Moss (USC), Kaidon Salter (Liberty), Conner Weigman (Texas A&M) and Jackson Arnold (Oklahoma) are the top quarterbacks that have already declared their intentions to transfer. Michigan and Iowa have been linked to Moss. Iowa is also expected to pursue Weigman along with a host of other schools that include Syracuse, Wisconsin and Louisville. Salter and Moss have been linked to Auburn as well.

Arnold is on his way to the transfer portal and he’s expected to have plenty of suitors. One team that will likely be involved in his recruitment is Mississippi State where his former offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby just finished his first season as head coach.

There is plenty of interest in Justyn Martin (UCLA), Zach Pyron (Georgia Tech), Thomas Castellanos (Boston College), Anthony Colandrea (Virginia) and Rickie Collins (LSU) but their destinations will become clear as time goes on.

Two major names to keep an eye on:

Washington State’s John Mateer could have his pick of teams if he decides to transfer but Oklahoma would be the likely landing spot since his offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle just took the same position in Norman.

Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita has not yet announced his intention of transferring but he is expected to end up transferring, according to a report from Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney.

There will be plenty of running backs for teams to choose from during this transfer portal cycle but, like the quarterbacks, this year probably won’t feature as many high-end prospects.

The mixed bag of Power Four, Group of Five and Ivy League running backs that have already entered or announced their intention to enter the transfer portal will garner plenty of attention. But outside of Iowa transfer Leshon Williams – who has committed to Kansas – no clear difference makers have emerged.

Fans should keep names like CJ Campbell Jr. from Florida Atlantic, Jaylon Glover from Utah, Malachi Hosley from Penn and Kanye Roberts from App State in mind.

If there is one position group that will be loaded, this is it. There will be a deep group of impact receivers and tight ends that are going to switch teams this offseason.

Former five-star recruits Micah Hudson (Texas Tech) and Johntay Cook (Texas) will be popular. The same can be said of KC Concepcion from N.C. State and Eric Rivers from Florida International.

Omari Kelly had a breakout season at Middle Tennessee State this past season. Malachi Coleman’s career at Nebraska didn’t take off like many thought it would but he is very talented and will have plenty of teams pursuing him. CJ Daniels has had a very productive career at LSU and will look to capitalize on his final season of eligibility elsewhere.

Donaven McCulley has been in the portal for a while and has already visited Virginia Tech and Michigan. He could be nearing a commitment.

Dane Key from Kentucky, Kobe Prentice from Alabama and Jaquaize Pettaway from Oklahoma are some other familiar names that will make headlines this portal season.

Tulsa receiver commit Joseph Williams had an impressive freshman campaign and has already picked up offers from Kansas State, Utah, Ole Miss, Colorado, Arizona State and many other Power Four programs.

Tight end Zach Atkins has been very popular, too. The former Northwest Missouri State star has double-digit Power Four offers already.

Expect many more big-name pass catchers to enter the transfer portal next week.

The offensive line transfer class will be stocked with immediate contributors, most of whom are likely to be transferring up to the Power Four level. Derek Simmons out of Western Carolina, Will Reed from Princeton, Brady Norton from Cal Poly, Tommy Matheson from Princeton, Jordan White from Liberty, Brady Wilson from UAB and Teague Andersen from Utah State have been picking up a lot of Power Four offers and interest in the last week or so.

Luke Baklenko from Stanford, Corey Robinson from Georgia Tech, Mahamane Moussa from Purdue, Terrence Moore from Pittsburgh and Jac’Qawn McRoy from Oregon are set to be very popular Power Four transfers.

Most teams across the country are focusing much of their retention efforts on offensive linemen so the transfer market for truly elite offensive linemen will be fierce.