By Tony Thomas
One of the top quarterbacks in the transfer portal, along with the #4 edge rusher and the #4 safety, have made their commitments to their new teams. Also, two wide receivers are headed to new homes in the SEC.
QB Grayson McCall
N.C. State Wolfpack (from Coastal Carolina)
6’3”, 220 lbs.
A 3-time Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, Grayson McCall comes to Raleigh, NC as an accomplished passer and protector of the football. He has thrown for over 10,000 yards and 88 touchdowns, and just 14 INTs in a college career that began in 2019.
https://twitter.com/McCall_Grayson/status/1350180730647834624
In addition, McCall’s career completion percentage is 69%. He has 11 career games of 300-yards passing and 19 career games of 70% or better completion percentage.
McCall replaces Brennan Armstrong and MJ Morris as the leader in the quarterback room, and leaves Coastal Carolina as the school record holder for touchdowns accounted for with 106 and passing touchdowns with 88.
WR Jayden McGowan
South Carolina Gamecocks (from Vanderbilt)
5’8”, 181 lbs.
McGowan is a versatile player and plays both wide receiver and kick returner. This season, McGowan caught 36 passes for 383 yards. In addition, McGowan returned 19 kicks for 461 yards and a touchdown.
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Against Hawaii, McGowan returned a kick 97-yards for a score. A South Carolina native, this is a homecoming for McGowan.
WR Ja’Mori Maclin
Kentucky Wildcats (from North Texas)
5’11”, 185 lbs.
The leading receiver for the North Texas Mean Green, Maclin caught 57 passes for 1,004 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. Maclin posted four games of 100 yards or more receiving and three games with multiple receiving touchdowns.
LSU sent out an offer to one of the most well-rounded receivers in the country — Ja'Mori Maclin.
The North Texas transfer had 1k yards and 11 TDs in 2023 and already has reported 11 offers.
Here's a look at his game and potential in the P5.(+)
🏈Story: https://t.co/g3MwNeR7V1 pic.twitter.com/zUxM63o2KU
— Matthew Brune (@MatthewBrune_) December 1, 2023
In addition, Maclin possesses great speed and will team up with fellow transfer WR Raymond Cottrell to form a dynamic pass-catching dup. Kentucky has focused on the offensive side of the ball in searching the transfer portal, and have also landed former Georgia 5-star QB Brock Vandagriff and former Ohio State running back Chip Trayanum.
Edge RJ Oben
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (from Duke)
6’4”, 260 lbs.
As the #4 edge rusher in the portal, RJ Oben comes to South Bend highly regarded. In three seasons, Oben has recorded 62 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, and 14.5 sacks as a muti-year starter for Duke.
https://twitter.com/DukeFBFans/status/1713606780012437669
In addition, Oben has five career forced fumbles and one INT. The entire Notre Dame coaching staff, led by Defensive Coordinator Al Golden, pulled out all the stops in getting Oben to transfer to the Irish. Notre Dame beat out several schools to secure Oben’s commitment.
Safety Marcus Ratcliffe
UCLA Bruins (from San Diego State)
6’3”, 210 lbs.
During the 2023 season, Ratcliffe racked up 51 tackles, one INT, a tackle for loss, and one pass breakup…as a true freshman. Ratcliffe posted five games of six or more tackles, including six tackles and an INT in the final regular season game against Fresno State.
https://twitter.com/RatcliffeMarcus/status/1728907056428790042
With his size, versatility is a strong characteristic of Ratcliffe, having played both safety and linebacker at San Diego State.
