As we check off each week of the college football season, the transfer portal should heat up slowly. A couple of recent commitments as well as a few new entries have caught my eye.
Ken Talley
Michigan State added a nice piece to their future defense on Wednesday when Penn State transfer defensive end Ken Talley committed to the Spartans. Talley was a Class of 2022 recruit who did not arrive in Happy Valley until late July. He then only lasted approximately two weeks on campus before entering the portal and eventually committing to the Spartans. With the timing of his departure from Happy Valley and then the in-season commitment it is unlikely that he would be able to play in 2022, but either way it further adds depth to the Spartans’ defensive unit. Talley committed to Penn State over offers from Michigan, Texas A&M and Tennessee. He was one of the most vocal commitments for the Nittany Lions, so his sudden transfer decision came as a surprise to many. There was talk of academic issues but this doesn’t appear to be a commit and place to JUCO as some expected. Stay tuned as we find out more in the next many weeks and months.
Marcus Clarke
It is not often that a team can add a possible contributor to their season in late August, but Missouri may have accomplished that when they added Miami-Florida transfer defensive back Marcus Clarke over a week ago. Clarke spent less than two weeks in the portal, with both Kansas and Florida State making serious early pushes. The Jayhawks were especially aggressive in their attempts with Clarke, who finished the 2021 season in Miami with 24 tackles and one interception. The Jayhawks seemed like the leader up until the end when the Tigers made a late push that eventually resulted in a visit and commitment.
Clarke is on the roster now and practicing but no word on whether he received a waiver to play immediately.
Terrence Lewis
LB Terrence Lewis had trouble in high school off the field and now he appears to be heading to his third team in less than two seasons. Lewis, a former 4 star LB, tweeted that he will be available from the portal soon. He is expected to go in sometime following the season although tweeting it out now is odd. He left Maryland for UCF after a freshman season where he missed time due to injury.
Mark Pope
Former five-star WR Mark Pope is now gone from Jackson State after transferring there from Miami. Now who knows where the talented receiver will land if he can’t make it at the FCS level.
Maximus Gibbs
USC transfer offensive lineman Maximus Gibbs recently became yet another Power 5 player to commit to Jackson State. The Class of 2020 lineman arrived in Los Angeles to play on the offensive side of the ball but was moved to the defensive side (where he played in eight games in 2021) before being moved back to his original spot during the off-season. At 6-foot-7 and 285-pounds, he gives coach Deion Sanders the option of adding an athletic big man to either side of the ball. Coming out of high school he chose USC over a multitude of other offers, including Alabama, Florida, Arkansas, Nebraska and Texas A&M.
Jaylen Garth
Texas transfer offensive lineman Jaylen Garth decided to stay in-state with a recent commitment to Houston. Garth committed to the Longhorns over offers from LSU, Texas A&M, Ohio State and Alabama as part of the Class of 2020, but a knee injury during his senior season of high school led to a redshirt. Fully healthy in 2021, he played in two games with the Longhorns, before entering the portal this August.