Below are five of the top Big Ten transfers from this portal cycle, as well as their impact rating. What does an impact rating number mean? Scroll to the bottom of the article to find out.
QB Hudson Card – Purdue (Texas)
Portal Recruiting: Card had plenty of options after entering the portal, with Purdue, Notre Dame, Illinois, and Oregon State being some of the serious suitors. He committed to the Boilermakers on December 26th.
At Texas: Card spent three seasons with the Longhorns. During this time, he passed for 1,523 yards, 11 touchdowns and two interceptions. He completed 65.5% of his 194 attempts.
Portal Jesus’ Take: This has the potential to be a perfect fit for both Card and Purdue. With the Boilermakers installing a pass-happy offense with coordinator Graham Harrell, Card will be allowed to flourish in West Lafayette. And while he did not reach his full potential in Austin, the fact that he completed 65.5% of his attempts should translate amazingly well into Harrell’s offensive plans.
Impact Rating: 8.5
WR Dante Cephas – Penn State (Kent State)
Portal Recruiting: Cephas collected an abundance of offers, including Penn State, Oklahoma, Georgia, Miami-Florida, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh, before committing to the Nittany Lions in mid-January.
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At Kent State: Over the last two seasons, which totaled 23 games, Cephas had 130 receptions for 1,984 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Portal Jesus’ Take: After losing Parker Washington, Brenton Strange and Mitchell Tinsley to the NFL, the Nittany had an obvious receiving hole to fill. On top of that, new quarterback Drew Allar needed additional weapons if his transition as a full-time starter was going to be successful. Cephas answers both of these issues. He did get a later start than many transfers, since he was still at Kent State during the spring graduating, but that will not slow down his development in Happy Valley.
Impact Rating: 8.2
QB Cade McNamara – Iowa (Michigan)
Portal Recruiting: McNamara entered the portal on November 28th and quickly committed to Iowa on December 1st.
At Michigan: McNamara did not play much in 2022, but in 2021 he passed for 2,576 yards, 15 touchdowns and had a 64.2% completion rate. Overall, he threw for 3,181 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 21 games, including 16 starts.
Portal Jesus’ Take: I don’t mean to beat a dead horse, but it is difficult to discuss Iowa’s 2023 offense without mentioning how pathetic it was in 2022. But because the offense was so bad, with starter Spencer Petras passing for 1,725 yards and five touchdowns, that is also why McNamara’s impact this season should be substantial. Aside from adding McNamara, the Hawkeyes also took a much more aggressive approach in the portal during this cycle, which resulted in adding a few weapons and some protection for their new quarterback. While he won’t contend for the Heisman Trophy, McNamara will give Iowa’s offense more versatility which will go a long way in their hunt for a run to the conference championship game.
Impact Rating: 8.2
QB Tanner Mordecai – Wisconsin (SMU)
Portal Recruiting: Mordecai initially looked set to enter the NFL Draft but ended up in the portal which eventually led to his commitment to Wisconsin on December 29th.
At SMU: After a transfer from Oklahoma, Mordecai passed for 7,152 yards and 72 touchdowns during his two seasons at SMU. He was a Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist each of the past two seasons.
Portal Jesus’ Take: As mentioned above, Mordecai passed for 7,152 yards and 72 touchdowns during his two seasons at SMU. In comparison, over the same two seasons Badger quarterbacks passed for 4,439 yards and 31 touchdowns. That is enough to show the potential impact that he will have in Madison. However, with elite running back Braelon Allen on the roster, don’t expect the Badgers’ offense to suddenly transform into a pass-first attack. What it does give Wisconsin is balance. And with balance Mordecai will take advantage of defenses stacking the box and Allen will take advantage of defenses making more of an effort to stop the pass.
Impact Rating: 8.1
LB Ernest Hausmann – Michigan (Nebraska)
Portal Recruiting: Before committing to Michigan, Hausmann also considered Ohio State and Iowa.
At Nebraska: Hausmann started seven games during his true freshman season in 2022, finishing with 54 tackles and one sack.
Portal Jesus’ Take: Michigan is far from bare at the linebacker position, returning players like Junior Colson and Michael Barrett, but adding Hausmann will take the unit to the next level. He will likely battle Barrett for a starting spot, but whatever the outcome he will see plenty of playing time. And while the spring game is often not the best indicator of the future, it was difficult to disregard that Hausmann led the Wolverines with eight tackles and a forced fumble. It may take a little bit of time for him to get fully acclimated into the defense, but whenever it happens, he will be a star in Ann Arbor.
Impact Rating: 8.0
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IMPACT METER
The Transfer Portal continues to change the way college football programs recruit and manage their rosters so we here at mikefarrellsports.com continue to evolve our coverage. When a transfer of note chooses a destination, we will examine their potential impact on the college football landscape and assign an impact rating. The scale is from 1-10 and the description below explains the scoring scale.
1.1-4.0 — Not a big impact expected, likely a non-starter and down the bench depth player.
4.1- 6.0 — A solid impact can be expected in the right scenario and has the potential to battle for a starting job.
6.1-9.0. — A high impact player who won’t change a program but will certainly be a very good contributor and starter.
9.1- 9.9 — A very high impact player who should start the moment he steps on the field and will change the outlook of a program immediately.
10 — A franchise transfer who has a chance to be an All-American and one of the elite players in college football.
