By Mark Pszonak
With the high number of transfers making an immediate impact at the college football level on a weekly basis, it is easy for a few performances to slide under-the-radar. Below are five from Week 8 that deserve more attention:
QB Thomas Castellanos – Boston College (UCF)
The skinny: Many have yet to notice but Castellanos has quietly become one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the country this season. Helping the Eagles to a surprising 4-3 start, he continued that on Saturday during a 38-23 victory at Georgia Tech with 255 yards through the air and 128 yards and two touchdowns rushing. Overall, for the season he now has thrown for 1,398 yards and rushed for 628 yards, giving the offense a threat they haven’t had in years.
WR Devontez Walker – North Carolina (Kent State)
The skinny: The saga regarding Walker’s NCAA eligibility garnered plenty of attention, but how has he done since his return to the field? After a relatively quiet first game, Walker has been dominant in his last two, including 11 receptions for 146 yards and one touchdown during a tough loss to Virginia on Saturday. Now everyone can see what the hype was about and why the Tar Heels fought so hard to get him on the field.
RB Quinton Cooley – Liberty (Wake Forest)
The skinny: With only nine undefeated FBS teams remaining, not many would have guessed that Liberty would be one of them. A big part of this success had been the play of Cooley, who has been one of the top running back portal additions in the country. He continued his dominant play against Middle Tennessee State with 134 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries, as the Flames march towards a possible undefeated season.
LB Dasan McCullough – Oklahoma (Indiana)
The skinny: There was a good amount of hype surrounding McCullough’s arrival in Norman, but it seems to have taken him a little bit of time to get acclimated to being a Sooner. Now that he is more comfortable, the results are starting to accumulate, as they did on Saturday against UCF when he finished with six tackles, one tackle for a loss and one pass breakup. Having McCullough play at a high-level would go a very long way in helping the Sooners towards their push to the playoffs.
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DL Eyabi Okie-Anoma – Charlotte (Michigan)
The skinny: Okie-Anoma has had a busy collegiate career, with stops at Alabama, Houston, Tennessee-Martin and Michigan before hitting the finish line at Charlotte. And while there have been glimpses of his star potential, it wasn’t until now that people are getting a chance to see why he was a five-star recruiting coming out of high school. That continued on Saturday against East Carolina when he finished with seven tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss and one sack, which gives him an impressive 37 tackles, 8.5 tackles for a loss and five sacks this season.
