Mike Farrell Sports

College Football Recruiting, Opinion, and Analysis

First-Year Coaches Who Are Using the Transfer Portal the Best

Which five first-year head coaches are doing the best job recruiting guys from the Transfer Portal?

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Indiana's newly announced head coach of football Curt Cignetti speaks to the media on Dec. 1.
Indiana's newly announced head coach of football Curt Cignetti speaks to the media on Dec. 1.

By Alec Nederveld

The Transfer Portal has been increasingly used to speed up rebuilds. Last year, Jeff Brohm brought in 25 portal players en route to going 10-4 and reaching the ACC Championship game. G.J. Kinne added 39 players and took Texas State to their best season in program history, winning eight games and the First Responder Bowl. These five coaches have the potential to do something similar because of the new talent added from the portal.

Mike Elko

Texas A&M

Having coached at Texas A&M in the past, Mike Elko realized what he needed to do. Despite being two seasons removed from the best recruiting class in the modern era, many of those guys are no longer with the program. There were a lot of character concerns, plus a new coaching staff and underachieving which always leads to players leaving.

Elko has brought in 23 recruits from all over the country. 13 of his commits are from the Power Five, eight from the G5, and two played in the FCS. The majority have at least one year of starting and Elko hopes the experience will help ease the transition. This is different from his time at Duke when he only brought in seventeen players in two seasons.

Nic Scourton, Cyrus Allen, and Scooby Williams appear to be the three biggest additions. Scourton was a second-team all-Big Ten OLB a season ago, racking up ten sacks. Allen has 1,278 yards and eight touchdowns in his two years of play, with 223 of the yards and three touchdowns coming from games against Missouri and Nebraska. Finally, Williams had 53 tackles and a team-leading 2 FFs as a starting LB for Florida last year.

Winning in the SEC is tough, but Elko is doing what he can to make it easier in year one and avoid criticism from Texas A&M’s rabid fanbase.

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Curt Cignetti

Indiana

Coming from James Madison, Curt Cignetti has a surprising amount of confidence for a man taking over CFB’s most losing program. However, the results back him up as he’s a career 119-35 coach. Ten of the guys from his 11-1 James Madison team have already agreed to join him in Bloomington, with 22 guys total. All of them were key contributors for the Dukes and many made All-SBC lists.

The most intriguing addition is former Ohio QB Kurtis Rourke. He had 3,256 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2022 but regressed last year to only 2,207 yards and 11 touchdowns. The sixth-year passer will be aided by Indiana’s returning receiver last year, Donaven McCulley who withdrew his name from the portal, and four more portal receivers. All positions on the roster have new, talented players because of Cignetti.

Winning at Indiana will be a challenge, but Cignetti’s mindset and portal prowess could help him early. 

Fran Brown

Syracuse

One of the best recruiters in the country at Georgia, Fran Brown has taken that to New York and has done great work. With an undertalented roster and lack of football interest in the past, Brown has already energized the city without playing a game. He’s already closed the best recruiting class in Syracuse history and done great in the portal as well.

In addition to some Georgia backups, the first big addition was Ohio State QB Kyle McCord. First-Team All-MAC S Devin Grant from Buffalo and Edge Fadil Diggs from Texas A&M also look to be key contributors. Brown has a smaller class than the previous coaches, with only 11 players, but that is more due to scholarship restrictions.

Staff writer Skeeter Smith believes Syracuse will be better and with a very workable schedule, it’s easy to see why.

Jeff Lebby

Mississippi State

The new Mississippi State coach has put a large emphasis on the trenches and wants to rebuild the Bulldogs from within. Seven of the fifteen commits are from the offensive and defensive lines, with two more being tight ends. A former OT with the Sooners, Jeff Lebby knows how important linemen are and he’s putting it into practice.

North Texas transfer Ethan Miner has 36 career starts while Texas Tech’s Jacoby Jackson and Memphis’ Makylan Pounders have 14 and 12 respectively on the Oline. The defensive line has more rotational players looking to find a bigger role like Auburn’s Wilky Denaud, UNC’s Kedrick Bingley-Jones, and Sulaiman Kpaka from Purdue.

Baylor transfer Blake Shapen will battle with fellow veteran Mike Wright, a former Vanderbilt Commodore. Shapen started 23 games at Baylor and was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention in 2022. 

Again, Winning in the SEC, especially at Mississippi State is never easy, but Lebby has a strong philosophy and is doing what he can to succeed.

Spencer Danielson

Boise State

The Boise State interim who won the Mountain West and was rewarded with the full job, Spencer Danielson added serious talent to a great core. The biggest name is former five-star QB Malachi Nelson, who has potential to be the best player in the MWC. He will throw to the top JuCo recruit, a fellow former five-star in Chris Marshall. He played for Texas A&M and Ole Miss but was suspended multiple times in Aggieland, and kicked off the team in Oxford. Former Indiana WR Cam Camper is also talented but has an injury history.

On defense, CB Jeremiah Earby and Edge Tavion Woodard from Cal and Ball State look to make an impact. Earby was an all-Pac 12 Honorable mention in 2022 and Woodard is a veteran who started 28 games for the Cardinals. Both have potential to be great next season.

The transfer class is very small, but the talent has a chance to push Boise into the twelve-team playoff next year. The Broncos didn’t need much but did get some very talented guys.

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