By Mark Pszonak
With the transfer portal open since Monday, now is a good time to take a look at the schools that have taken the most serious punches. Below are five P4 schools that have some rebuilding to do:
Wisconsin
The 2024 season was a disaster for the Badgers and now the portal has started equally disappointing. Three quarterbacks have entered, leaving true freshman Mabrey Mettauer as the only returning signal caller. Several other depth pieces also entered as well as defensive lineman James Thompson Jr., who has become one of the most sought-after transfers in the portal. Luke Fickell has a lot of work to do.
Oklahoma
It was assumed that quarterback Jackson Arnold would enter, which he did, but losing true freshman quarterback Brendan Zurbrugg was a surprise. On top of that, the receiving corps was gutted with entries of tight end Bauer Sharp and wide receivers Brenen Thompson, Nic Anderson, Jalil Farooq, J.J. Hester, Andrel Anthony and Jaquaize Pettaway. An offense that struggled in 2024 will need a complete overhaul during the off-season.
Arizona
After finishing 4-8, the Wildcats have had a very rough start to this portal window. This is especially true with the defense, which has been decimated. Valuable and productive veterans Gunner Maldonado, Jacob Manu, Tacario Davis, Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei, Treydan Stukes and Dalton Johnson all entered. This is basically an impossible group to replace.
Arkansas
Sam Pittman did enough in 2024 to keep his job, but now he will need to do even more to keep the Razorbacks moving in the right direction. And that became tougher this week. The biggest loss came on the offensive line, where three starters (Joshua Braun, Addison Nichols and Patrick Kutas) entered. Also on offense, tight end Luke Hasz and wide receiver Isaiah Sategna entered, while on defense, linebacker Brad Spence, defensive back TJ Metcalf and defensive end Nico Davillier are all moving on.
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USC
The Trojans were prepared to lose quarterback Miller Moss, but Duce Robinson, Quinton Joyner and Mason Murphy came as surprises. It also doesn’t help that all of these players are on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, Bear Alexander was another known, but USC also lost young players with potential like Sam Greene and DJ Peevy. Coach Lincoln Riley is known to be very active in the portal and will need to do so again.
