The portal has picked up slightly with players avoiding a redshirt burn before they play four games. Here are some news and notes.
DB Tywan Francis from Colorado State is intriguing. Even though the transfer portal is currently closed to a majority of college players, Colorado State has still seen an abnormally high amount announce their departure, either now as a grad transfer or in December when it actually reopens. The one who has created the most early buzz is Francis, who totaled 32 tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss and two pass breakups in the first four games this season. He has already picked up offers from Marshall and Arkansas State and has a number of other schools involved. At the top of this list is UTSA, Texas Tech, Buffalo and New Mexico State, while other schools like Virginia Tech, Virginia, Duke, Wisconsin, Utah, Liberty, Temple, Tulane, Utah State, North Texas, Troy and Central Michigan have begun their evaluations.
QB Hank Bachmeier from Boise State is a big name who has regressed in college. Bachmeier has already been in the portal for a couple of weeks and the interest has continued to roll in. While a large number of schools are involved, the early one to keep an eye on is Virginia which has made him an early priority. Interest is also coming from Buffalo, Houston, UConn, Pittsburgh, Hawaii, Tulane, Akron, San Diego State and several other FBS programs. However, if he wants to stay close to Boise and is looking to take the FCS route, Montana is also pushing hard and is one to watch.
DL Jacob Lacey from Notre Dame is an experienced linemen and they don’t enter the portal too often. So it shouldn’t be a big surprise that Lacey has been a priority for numerous teams. The most aggressive to this point has been Kentucky, but Virginia, Florida State, USC, Purdue, Utah, Virginia Tech and Syracuse have been increasing their efforts recently. A few others to remember include West Virginia, Illinois, Penn State, Vanderbilt, Cal and Northwestern.
RB Rocko Griffin from Vanderbilt just entered and while he is new to the portal, he has quickly picked up interest from a number of FBS schools. It is still too early to really pinpoint favorites, but a few to monitor include Georgia Southern, Syracuse, Texas State, Western Kentucky, East Carolina, Arkansas State, Utah State, Texas State, Rice, UMass and Old Dominion.
