Three Predictions: Portal priorities, pass rushers, Big Ten QBs

Rivals rankings director/transfer portal analyst Adam Friedman has three predictions on top targets for the Big Ten and SEC in the portal, who will be the best pass rusher in the portal this spring and which quarterback will lead their team to the Big Ten title.

If you root for a college football team, chances are they are going to try to sign at least one front seven defender during the spring transfer window. Every coach, general manager and player personnel assistant has been talking about how they need to bring in at least one more defender to solidify their defense. Surprisingly though, the ACC and Big 12 so far have signed more transfers in the defensive front seven than the SEC and Big Ten.

Maybe some of the second- and third-string defenders in the SEC and Big Ten decided to look for more playing time in other conferences, but that has left the two top conferences in need of players who can, in most cases, act as insurance policies in case the starters go down with an injury.

Every team needs another pass rusher, of course, but it’s a bit uncommon to hear teams lament the fact that they need more interior defenders. It seems there aren’t enough college football players at the higher levels who have the size necessary to make an impact on defenses the way college coaches have become accustomed to.

In other words, demand is far outpacing supply, and that will lead to soaring prices when the transfer portal opens later this month.

When Stanford fired Troy Taylor last week it opened the transfer portal for Cardinal players and the first name every college team was hoping to see make the jump was David Bailey. One of the best pass rushers in the ACC last season, Bailey had flirted with the transfer portal the last few years, but up until now had decided to stick with Stanford. Now with a new head coach on the way, Bailey too, will look for a fresh start.

Bailey is certainly the hot name in the transfer portal right now, but he will not be the best pass rusher to become available during the spring transfer window. There are players at ACC, SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 programs who were highly talented recruits with elite skill sets, but have not, for one reason or another, been able to really show off their abilities at the college level.

Finding an elite pass rusher is always the goal for defensive player personnel assistants and there will be a number of players who fit that description in the transfer portal this spring. The good news for college coaches is that there should be a wide variety of these pass rushers available. Some will be specifically edge rushers but there will be others who can get after the quarterback from the interior of the defensive line.

Well over half of the quarterbacks expected to start in the Big Ten this season have transferred at least once during their college careers so saying one of them will win the Big Ten this year isn’t exactly going out on a limb. It’s also been fairly common for transfer quarterbacks to win the Big Ten. Of course Oregon and Dillon Gabriel won the Big Ten last season and Ohio State did so a couple of times with Justin Fields leading the Buckeyes.

Keep an eye on players such as Ohio State’s expected starter Julian Sayin, Oregon’s expected starter Dante Moore and Michigan State returning starter Aidan Chiles as quarterbacks who could lead their teams to conference championships this season.

USC has a lot of talent and Jayden Maiava could turn a corner this season. Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer has been garnering a lot of positive buzz this offseason. Fernando Mendoza rose to stardom last season as Cal‘s quarterback but now he’s expected to lead Indiana this year. Iowa signed one of the top quarterback transfers in Mark Gronowski, but we’re not expected to see much of him this offseason as he recovers from surgery.

There are other quarterbacks who have transferred and are expected to start at a Big Ten program this year. Odds are good that the team that wins the Big Ten championship will have a quarterback under center who has transferred at least once during their college career.