Many of college football‘s top performers from 2022 are preparing for next month’s NFL draft. Others have arrived at their new campuses after entering the transfer portal and changing schools.
Schools have various holes they need to address. Alabama lost Heisman Trophy quarterback Bryce Young and two-time Nagurski Trophy winner Will Anderson Jr., both of whom are projected top-10 draft picks. North Carolina lost two former starting cornerbacks, Tony Grimes and Storm Duck, to the portal.
Some teams already had depth on their roster. Some schools are bringing in transfers to make an impact and fill voids. Others are recruiting high school talent to replace outgoing players.
Here is a look at some of the more important losses for each team in the Way-Too-Early Top 25 and the players who will fill those voids in 2023.
Biggest loss: QB Stetson Bennett. This very well could have been defensive tackle Jalen Carter or any of the defenders departing, but Bennett guided Georgia’s offense to two national championships and was a Heisman finalist, throwing for 4,127 yards and 27 touchdowns — while running for 10 more — in 2022.
Who will replace him? Georgia has some good options behind Bennett already in Brock Vandagriff, who was the No. 37 prospect in the 2021 class, and Carson Beck, the No. 234 recruit in the 2020 class. The coaches also signed Gunner Stockton, who was the No. 110 prospect in the 2023 class.
Biggest loss: QB C.J. Stroud. Stroud was a Heisman finalist the past two seasons and put up big numbers ever since he was named the starter: 8,123 yards and 85 passing touchdowns. He will leave a big hole in the offense, and it’ll be a challenge to replace him.
Who will replace him? The Buckeyes signed two quarterbacks in the 2021 class, which proved to be smart as Quinn Ewers, who was the No. 1 quarterback in the class, transferred to Texas. The other quarterback, Kyle McCord, is now in line to start in 2023 for Ohio State. He was the No. 31 prospect overall and will have to compete with Devin Brown, the No. 81 prospect in the 2022 class.
Biggest loss: C Olusegun Oluwatimi. Michigan has not utilized the transfer portal as much as some other schools in the past, but the coaches got Oluwatimi to transfer from Virginia. He won the Rimington Award for the nation’s best center but is now off to the NFL.
Who will replace him? Michigan once again used the portal to try to help the offensive line stay at a consistent level and added Stanford center
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