In today’s Fact or Fiction — transfer portal edition — I look at three big recent topics from the transfer portal and decide whether the statement is indeed FACT or if it’s FICTION.
1. Caleb Downs is the best get in the portal so far this cycle.
Farrell’s take: FACT
To me, it’s not that close. Some may make a case for Walter Nolen to Ole Miss or Kadyn Proctor to Iowa, and I think both of them have a good chance to be first-rounders in the NFL, but Downs has a chance to be an absolute superstar in the mold of Derwin James at Florida State. He joins a very solid group of defensive backs at Ohio State, and his ability to make tackles near the line of scrimmage while also showing amazing range in coverage will be unmatched in college football next season.
2. A&M is second to Ole Miss so far in the portal.
Farrell’s take: FICTION
A&M lost Nolen and some other great players but also gained some studs like DE Nic Scourton from Purdue and DB Dezz Ricks from Alabama, but give me Oregon as No. 2 to Lane Kiffin and company. The Ducks have far fewer commitments than many, but WR Evan Stewart, DB Jabbar Muhammad, and QBs Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore lead an elite group that could have the Ducks battling for the Big Ten title in their first year.
3. Cam Ward is the best QB commitment so far.
Farrell’s take: FICTION
There was a lot of hype surrounding Cam Ward to Miami, and rightly so, as he had a solid 2023 season, and the Hurricanes needed QB help badly. But I have him down on the list a bit behind guys like Julian Sayin (Ohio State), Moore (Oregon), and Aidan Chiles (Michigan State). Ward has been up and down before finding more consistency last year, but it wouldn’t stun me to see a slight regression.
