The transfer portal has become more important in college football and how coaches build their programs. Some teams use it more than others, but nearly everyone dabbles in the portal to fill holes.
Perhaps no other conference felt the effects of the portal more than the Pac-12 this past season. Three of the conference’s top quarterbacks came into the league via the portal.
USC’s Caleb Williams (Oklahoma), Washington’s Michael Penix, Jr. (Indiana) and Oregon’s Bo Nix (Auburn) drastically improved their teams. Williams was the Pac-12’s first Heisman Trophy winner since Marcus Mariota.
According to 247Sports, the Pac-12 is using the portal better than any other conference this offseason. Of the top 12 teams ranked, the conference takes up half of that list:
- No. 2 — Colorado Buffaloes
- No. 5 — Arizona State Wildcats
- No. 8 — Washington Huskies
- No. 9 — UCLA Bruins
- No. 11 — USC Trojans
- No. 12 — Oregon Ducks
So who will be the next impact player to come to the Conference of Champions via the portal? ESPN has ranked the top 50 players who have entered the portal and their respective landing spots. Many of the top-ranked players came west. Here are the top 50 players who are transferring to a Pac-12 school in 2023.
DB/WR Travis Hunter
Hannah Mattix/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK
ESPN Transfer Ranking: No. 1
Transferring from: Jackson State
Transferring to: Colorado
Hunter played as a true freshman for Deion Sanders at Jackson State and is now following Sanders to Colorado. Because of the familiarity with the system, there shouldn’t be much of an acclimation period. Hunter is an upgrade for Colorado in the secondary and has shown he can also help on offense as well. This was another big recruiting win for Sanders, especially because Hunter had other suitors and other options once he entered the portal.
OL Ajani Cornelius
Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports
ESPN Transfer Ranking: No….
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Football | Ducks Wire…