The transfer portal has created a ton of roster movement across the sport. And even though the portal technically closed (for underclassmen) three weeks ago, it hasn’t stopped the movement on the West Coast due to the coaching changes at Washington and Arizona.
But enough has happened that there are some clear winners and losers from the first portal window. Let’s dive in.
Winners
Arizona’s continuity
Have the Wildcats suffered some real losses? Sure, which is to be expected when a program loses its head coach. Running back Jonah Coleman and corner Ephesians Prysock are good players who have entered the portal.
But when Arizona lost Jedd Fisch to Washington, there was concern that the attrition could’ve been much, much worse.
The Wildcats scored a big victory last weekend when quarterback Noah Fifita and receiver Tetairoa McMillan announced they were staying with the program. The duo is the heartbeat of Arizona’s team and the driving force behind the Wildcats’ 10-win season in 2023. Keeping them in Tucson was a significant development for new coach Brent Brennan.
Arizona is also keeping linebacker Jacob Manu — who played with Fifita and McMillan in high school at Anaheim (Calif.) Servite — offensive lineman Raymond Pulido and other key players such as Class of 2023 four-star quarterback Brayden Dorman. The Wildcats are winners not from what they added through the portal but rather from what they prevented from leaving the program.
Oregon’s offense
The Ducks lost quarterback Bo Nix, who was extremely prolific in his two years as the starter, and Ty Thompson, who served as Nix’s backup for the past two seasons. But coach Dan Lanning and offensive coordinator Will Stein reloaded in impressive fashion.
Oregon landed Oklahoma transfer Dillon Gabriel, who was the most experienced and most productive quarterback in the portal (125 career touchdown passes in five seasons at UCF and OU). Gabriel has only one season of eligibility left, so the Ducks also added Dante Moore, a five-star Class of 2023 prospect who transferred from UCLA. Moore, a Detroit native, was initially committed to Oregon before he signed with the Bruins. He was thrown into the fire early at UCLA — probably too early — but should benefit from sitting behind Gabriel this season.
The Ducks quarterbacks will also benefit from the addition of Texas A&M receiver Evan Stewart, a former five-star recruit who was arguably the most talented wideout in the portal and joins a strong group of pass catchers in Eugene.
USC’s back seven
The Trojans were able to capitalize on coaching departures elsewhere on the West Coast to add some solid talent to their defense. First-team All-Pac-12 linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold and his stepbrother, safety Akili Arnold, left Oregon State after Jonathan Smith took the Michigan State job and have since landed at USC.
Mascarenas-Arnold, in particular, was a big get for the Trojans, who have struggled at linebacker for several years.
Coach Lincoln Riley hired defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn away from UCLA, and two Bruins defensive backs, safety Kamari Ramsey and corner John Humphrey, followed their coach across town.
Corner DeCarlos Nicholson transferred from Mississippi State, which fired Zach Arnett in November.
Those additions should be in position to play critical roles for Lynn and a new-look Trojans defense this fall.
Cal’s skill group
The Golden Bears’ best victory was holding onto Pac-12 leading rusher Jaydn Ott, who ran for 1,315 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2023. Cal’s offense runs through him. He would’ve been one of the most sought-after players in the portal had he entered — and he tricked many people into thinking he did so with an elaborate announcement.
Losing talented receiver Jeremiah Hunter was a blow that shouldn’t be overlooked, but adding Utah transfer Mikey Matthews was an under-the-radar addition who should help the Golden Bears both at receiver and in the return game.
Cal also brought in an intriguing option at quarterback with North Texas’ Chandler Rogers, who passed for 3,382 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2023. Rogers joins a position group that returns Fernando Mendoza, who ended 2023 as Cal’s starter.
Losers
Oregon State and Washington State
This was to be expected after both programs were left without a conference home last summer. The Cougars lost talented quarterback Cam Ward to Miami and leading receiver Josh Kelly to Texas Tech. Those are big setbacks for Washington State’s passing game but not as bad as the losses suffered by Oregon State.
The Beavers dealt with the double-whammy of conference uncertainty and also losing their head coach in Smith, so the roster has lost some real talent. Oregon State lost QB DJ Uiagalelei and defensive lineman Sione Lolohea to Florida State, the Arnolds to USC, receiver Silas Bolden to Texas and corner Jermod McCoy to USC while quarterback Aidan Chiles, offensive lineman Tanner Miller and tight end Jack Velling all followed Smith to Michigan State.
UCLA
As noted, the Bruins lost Moore, Ramsey and Humphrey, and it’s compounded by the fact they lost those players to conference foes Oregon and USC. They also lost talented tight end Carsen Ryan to Utah.
Chip Kelly typically does well in the portal, but there haven’t been many notable additions this offseason outside of Notre Dame receiver Rico Flores. Maybe UCLA will be more active in the spring portal window.
Washington
The Huskies were always going to look dramatically different in 2024 because they were a senior-heavy team and were going to lose talented players to the NFL. But they also lost all three interior offensive line starters in addition to talented wide receiver Germie Bernard, running back Tybo Rogers, who earned valuable playing time as a freshman, and promising young quarterback Austin Mack.
That’s just the offense. Washington also lost starting defensive backs Asa Turner and Jabbar Muhammad, who was really good down the stretch last season.
To be fair, some good pieces have been added. Coleman followed Fisch from Arizona. Hunter is a solid receiver. And Fisch’s staff did a good job of keeping Mississippi State quarterback transfer Will Rogers in the program after he re-entered the portal. We’ll have to wait to find out whether the staff holds onto Arizona State defensive line transfer commit B.J. Green.
Also, it was assumed there might be a decent amount of Arizona players who followed Fisch to Washington, but there was no mass exodus to Seattle.
It’s not as drastic as the transfer portal wave the Cardinal went through last offseason, but they’ve lost some quality pieces. The headliner is tight end Benjamin Yurosek, who still hasn’t decided on a destination. Veteran safety Alaka’i Gilman transferred to Utah and defensive lineman Jaxson Moi landed at Tennessee. Running back E.J. Smith’s stats weren’t gaudy last season, but he led the Cardinal’s backs with 218 rushing yards and also caught 33 passes for 242 yards. He transferred to Texas A&M.
Lincoln Riley’s initial recruiting wave
When Riley was hired at USC a little more than two years ago, he made noise early on the recruiting trail by landing highly touted Southern California recruits Domani Jackson (a five-star corner in the 2022 cycle), Raleek Brown (a four-star running back in the 2022 cycle), Malachi Nelson (five-star QB in the 2023 cycle) and Makai Lemon (four-star receiver in the 2023 cycle).
At the time, those were all thought of as critical pieces for the Trojans’ future. Lemon is still with the program, but Jackson, Brown and Nelson all transferred out of the program in December. Jackson transferred to Alabama, Brown to Arizona State and Nelson to Boise State.
They all have talent, but for one reason or another (injuries, inconsistency, playing time), things never worked out at USC.
Wait and see
Utah
Matthews was a surprising loss. So was losing leading rusher Ja’Quinden Jackson, who ran for 797 yards and four touchdowns this past season and ended up at Arkansas.
The Utes have placed a bet on Dorian Singer. Time will tell which Singer they get. There’s the one who was second in the Pac-12 in receiving yards (1,105) at Arizona in 2022. And there is the one who caught only 24 passes for 289 yards and never quite fit at USC last season. If Singer looks anything like he did in 2022, then that’s a big boost for Utah’s offense.
Former Idaho running back Anthony Woods is an intriguing addition. He ran for 1,155 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2023, but it’s difficult to judge how that will translate to the Big 12.
Colorado’s offensive line
The Buffaloes offensive line probably can’t be any worse than it was in 2023 when it allowed the second-most sacks in the country (56). Deion Sanders added five offensive line transfers during the first portal window. In theory, the line should be better this season, but we won’t really know until the games start and we see how the unit operates together.
Arizona State
Green recorded 11.5 tackles for loss last season and was a pretty good player. That’s a tough loss. Safety Jordan Clark recorded 50 tackles in 2023 and 47 in 2022 and transferred to Notre Dame, so that’s a loss of a veteran in the secondary. And Jalin Conyers is a good talent at tight end who ended up at Texas Tech.
Running back Raleek Brown (USC) and corner Cole Martin (Oregon) were both blue-chip recruits in their respective recruiting classes and are both solid additions for Arizona State, but that’s based more on promise and potential than production at this point.