With the transfer portal window opening and Early Signing Day approaching, it has been a wild past week for those who follow recruiting. Below, I will detail some of the biggest commitments from over the weekend and add some of my own insight.
Running Back Drama
On June 20, it was a great day to be a Louisville Cardinal, as five-star running back Rueben Owens had just announced his commitment to the school. At that time, many people were skeptical if he would ever sign with the program, and they were right to be skeptical as Owens decommitted from the program on Dec. 7. Later that night, Owens announced his commitment to the in-state program Texas A&M. Owens is the No. 1 running back in the 2023 class and No. 3 player in the state of Texas, per 247 Sports. With Devon Achane declaring for the NFL draft, there will be a huge opportunity for Owens to get day one carries and possibly seize a starting role.
A more shocking decommitment came from former Notre Dame running back commit Dylan Edwards. Edwards had previously flipped his pledge from Kansas State to Notre Dame but backed off that commitment on Dec. 8. Perhaps the spotlight of Deion Sanders was too much to say no to. Edwards committed to Colorado two days after his decommitment. Per 247 Sports’ rankings, Edwards is the No. 11 running back in the class and No. 2 player in the state of Kansas. His commitment brings Colorado up to the 59th overall recruiting class and he immediately becomes the Buffaloes highest-rated commit.. for now.
Oklahoma Lands a Set of Brothers
Oklahoma is still trying to recover from the lackluster defenses that Alex Grinch left with when he bolted for USC. Brent Venables took a major step forward in rebuilding the defense by adding four-star 2023 safety Daeh McCullough and his brother Dasan McCullough, an Indiana transfer. Dasan is a 6-foot-5 freshman edge that tallied four sacks and 32 solo tackles at Indiana this season. Daeh has played cornerback and safety in high school and shows excellent coverage skills at the high school level. He projects to be a multi-year starter in Norman. Oklahoma now has the fifth-ranked class in the country, and the Sooners may not be done yet. They are still pursuing Notre Dame five-star safety commit Peyton Bowen, and if he joins the fold this will be a stellar defensive class for the Sooners.
Oregon Receives Transfer Commitments
Oregon has stopped the bleeding in a way. If you follow the transfer portal, you have seen plenty of Ducks enter the portal over the last few days. The Ducks have finally received good news from the portal by landing Alabama transfer wide receiver Traeshon Holden and Iowa linebacker Jestin Jacobs. Oregon really needed to bring in a receiver with the departure of Dont’e Thornton and Chase Cota. The Ducks did just that by landing Holden, who had 570 receiving yards and seven touchdowns during his time at Alabama. Holden will never be a guy to catch five or more passes a game, but he is a reliable threat in the red zone. Iowa linebacker Jestin Jacobs is what Oregon fans thought Justin Flowe would be. He is a speedy physical linebacker who was supposed to replace Jack Cambell at Iowa, who just won the Butkus Award as the best linebacker in college football. Jacobs should slide into a starting role next to Jeffrey Bassa next year for Oregon. This transfer was a bit surprising for Hawkeyes fans, but I’m not sure this is the only shocking Oregon/Iowa news we will be receiving. Keep an eye on Iowa offensive lineman commit Kadyn Proctor. Proctor is the No. 5 player in the country (247 Sports) and has been committed to in-state Iowa since late June, but he hasn’t stopped looking around. Proctor took a November visit to Oregon, and the smoke after the visit has Proctor as a potential flip to monitor up until signing day.
Miami to SMU Pipeline
On Sunday, SMU received commitments from three Miami transfers in RB Jaylan Knighton, DL Jordan Miller, and DL Elijah Roberts., The Mustangs added another former Hurricane on Monday in wide receiver Key’Shawn Smith. Starting with Miller, he is a fifth-year redshirt junior who has appeared in 48 games for the Hurricanes, mostly as a run-stuffing defensive lineman. He doesn’t offer much as a pass rusher with just three sacks in four full seasons, but at 320 pounds he is able to fill gaps in the run game. Moving onto Roberts, he is a third-year sophomore who had a career-high nine total tackles this season. Knighton is a third-year sophomore who rushed for nearly 1,200 yards during his time as a Hurricane. He should immediately contribute to the Mustangs’ running back room as two of their leading backs were seniors this season. Smith is also a third-year sophomore who had his best year in 2021 with 405 yards and three touchdowns. The step down in competition by transferring to SMU should result in an increase in playing time and thus production.
Alabama Dynasty Dead? Not so Fast
Alabama has whiffed on quite a few targets in the 2023 class such as five-star Clemson commit Peter Woods, who is from Alabaster, Ala. The talk has been that Nick Saban had lost his recruiting edge due to NIL, but those talks were quieted when the top-rated pass rusher in the country Keon Keeley announced his commitment to the Crimson Tide on Monday. Keeley is now Alabama’s 2023 class headliner and should bring immediate help to a defense that failed to meet expectations in 2022. His commitment moves Alabama up to a familiar spot: the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in the country (247 Sports). Alabama still isn’t done though. According to Alabama Football Network insider Ricky L. Green, this class should have around 30 commitments when it’s all said and done. The Tide’s two biggest remaining targets are in-state five-stars Qua Russaw and James Smith.
#WeAre Crootin
Penn State has been busy leading up to the early signing period, which begins on Dec. 21. The Nittany Lions first received a commitment from Joseph Mupoyi, a 6-foot-5 edge who was originally born in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He has only been playing football for two seasons but is already a four-star prospect. He originally was a basketball prospect. Mupoyi is the type of player that has untapped potential and is only going to get better with more experience. On Tuesday morning, Penn State flipped Northwestern commit Mason Robinson fresh off a visit to Happy Valley. He is a three-star defensive end that comes from the McDonogh School in Owing Mills, Md. This high school is quickly becoming a Penn State pipeline, as it has provided Penn State with PJ Mustipher, Dani Dennis-Sutton, Curtis Jacobs, D’Von Ellies, Will Knutsson and now Robinson. Penn State also received good news as one of its top remaining targets Kavieion Keys, a four-star prospect out of Richmond, Va., backed off his commitment to North Carolina. Keys may be the Nittany Lions’ top remaining target so he will be one to keep an eye on. The transfer portal may also bring good news to Happy Valley. I’m going to make a prediction here that Penn State lands Kent State transfer wide receiver Dante Cephas.
