Tag: 2021 recruiting class

Former top 100 recruit enters the transfer portal

The Sooners lose another player to the transfer portal, this time a former top 100 recruit.

The Oklahoma Sooners lost another player to the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] after a former top 100 recruit in the [autotag]2021 recruiting class[/autotag] decided to enter earlier Thursday. [autotag]Kelvin Gilliam[/autotag] has officially entered the portal.

Gilliam came in as a consensus 4-Star and was someone with a lot of promise but was never able to live up to it due to injuries. He played in 16 games in three seasons and finished with 10 tackles and .5 tackles for loss.

Gilliam makes the 12th Sooner to enter the transfer portal. They’ve already signed one player from the portal, offensive tackle Spencer Brown, from Michigan State.

The Sooners do have a big recruiting class coming in with 26 guys currently committed. They are also expected to bring in around eight to 10 guys in the portal to add to the roster.

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Notre Dame’s 2021 recruiting class is over half-gone

There is good news and there is bad news…

Just over two years ago Notre Dame put together a top-10 recruiting class nationally as they landed signed a National Letter of Intent from 27  different players.  Fast forward to late-April of 2023 and over half of those 27 players are no longer part of the Notre Dame football team.

In the modern era where the transfer portal has become something even bigger than ever imagined, the rise isn’t a surprise, but the degree of the rise certainly feels a bit much.

In just over the last week alone Notre Dame has seen four players from the heralded class enter the portal.  The chance there are more certainly isn’t out of the realm of possibilities.

Below are the 27 signees from the 2021 recruiting class and where they stand today.

The good news for the Irish is that despite the losses, more than a couple very key players remain.  Numbers indicate where they ranked in Notre Dame’s class according to the 247Sports rankings.

Ranking Oklahoma’s last 10 recruiting classes

Ranking the Oklahoma Sooners last 10 recruiting classes.

The Oklahoma Sooners closed the early signing period of the 2023 cycle with a ton of momentum, earning a last-second flip of five-star safety [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag]. Bowen joined Guyer teammate [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] and edge rusher [autotag]Adepoju Adebawore[/autotag] in the 2023 class to give the Sooners three five-star players for the cycle.

It was a huge recruiting haul for [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and his staff, who worked their way into the top five of the 247Sports recruiting class composite. This class has Venables fingerprints all over it with a heavy emphasis on the defensive side of the ball.

The Sooners ended up with 16 four- and five-star signees, and 10 of those came on the defensive side. Six were defensive backs, two were linebackers, and two were defensive linemen. The three-star players they signed on defense can play. [autotag]Taylor Wein[/autotag], [autotag]Markus Strong[/autotag], [autotag]Ashton Sanders[/autotag], [autotag]Phil Picciotti[/autotag] and [autotag]Erik McCarty[/autotag] are athletic players with high motors. Each has a chance to outperform his recruiting status.

It was an historic class for the Sooners, marking just the second time in the 247Sports database (since 2000) that they signed multiple five-star defensive players, and only the second time they had three five-star signees. Looking back, let’s take a look at how it stacks up with the last 10 recruiting classes for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Oklahoma safety Jordan Mukes to enter transfer portal

Oklahoma sees former four-star safety Jordan Mukes head to the transfer portal. From @thatmanbryant

With days left before guys can officially enter the transfer portal, things are getting spicy across the country. Tuesday saw an insane amount of players dropping tweets, posts, and other edits to announce their intentions to join the portal come December 5.

Oklahoma already has one player in Theo Wease who plans to put himself in the portal per the folks at 247Sports. They now have a verified second as safety Jordan Mukes shared on Tuesday that he plans to enter the portal.

Mukes, a local kid from Tulsa will have three years of eligibility wherever he decides to go. Mukes, a four-star saw action in 2021 at safety but per Pro Football Reference saw no time on the field this year under Brent Venables and defensive coordinator Ted Roof.

Mukes joins five other 2021 signees from Oklahoma to transfer. He follows Caleb Williams (USC), Mario Williams (USC), Latrell McCutchin (USC), Nathan Rawlins-Kibonge (South Alabama), and Cody Jackson (Houston) who all have left the program via the portal. The Sooners now have just 10 players remaining from the 2021 class on the roster.

It’s possible Mukes made this decision after a careful conversation with Brent Venables and his position coach. Despite his size and athleticism, Mike’s was never able to see the field at safety over Trey Morrison, Justin Broiles, Damond Harmon, and Key Lawrence. With Gentry Williams and Robert Spears-Jennings also getting some snaps, a way to playing time looked like an uphill battle for Mukes.

With the regular season over and the portal opening up next week, expect for several more players to enter the transfer portal.

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Former key Notre Dame target set to take on Irish with Clemson

Would you rather have only Will Shipley or both Audric Estime and Logan Diggs?

If you’re a Notre Dame fan that follows recruiting even somewhat closely you’re aware of the name [autotag]Will Shipley[/autotag].  Shipley was one of the top-ranked running backs in the 2021 recruiting class and ultimately opted to play football at Clemson with Notre Dame being the maid of honor in his recruitment.

Shipley developed a close bond with a few Notre Dame recruits in the 2021 class as he and [autotag]Blake Fisher[/autotag] were often seen talking back and forth on social media.  Now Shipley is Clemson’s biggest offensive weapon as he’s produced more than double the scrimmage yards of any of his teammates.

It seemed to have been a good choice for Shipley who by all accounts seems like an easy young man to pull for.  That’s not to say things didn’t work out alright for Notre Dame with running backs that cycle as [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] and [autotag]Logan Diggs[/autotag] have emerged as the leaders of the Irish backfield this fall.

Here is everything the former prized Notre Dame target and current Clemson star had to say about getting ready to take on the Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame corner enters transfer portal

All the best to him going forward!

Notre Dame will have one fewer body competing for a spot at the corner back position in 2022 as redshirt-freshman JoJo Johnson has entered the transfer portal.

Johnson played wide receiver in high school but was recruited to play in Notre Dame’s secondary.  A local product, Johnson helped lead Merrillville High School to the Indiana state semi-finals his senior year.

Johnson didn’t play as a freshman at Notre Dame and was a late addition to the 2021 recruiting class, committing to the Fighting Irish shortly being offered in November of 2020.

Johnson had 18 reported offers from several midwest programs including Cincinnati, Iowa, Michigan State, Purdue, and several others.

Related:

Notre Dame football transfer portal tracker (2022)

Former Oklahoma target and five-star RB Camar Wheaton enters the transfer portal

Former Oklahoma and five-star running back from the 2021 recruiting class Camar Wheaton entered the transfer portal on Monday.

The Oklahoma Sooners went toe-to-toe with the Alabama Crimson Tide for former five-star running back Camar Wheaton. Wheaton ultimately chose to go to Alabama, but the Sooners were in his final two heading into decision day. Well, it looks like he’s looking to relocate from Tuscaloosa as Wheaton entered the transfer portal yesterday.

Wheaton was heavily recruited by DeMarco Murray and the Sooners could get back in on the five-star running back. However, with Eric Gray, Marcus Major, Jovantae Barnes, and Gavin Sawchuk already on the depth chart, the room could be a bit full for either side to pursue.

Wheaton could follow Caleb Williams, Mario Williams, and Lincoln Riley to USC. As a part of that 2021 recruiting class, his connection to the two former Sooners and the former Sooners head coach could sway him to find a new home on the west coast.

The Texas native was the No. 3 running back in the 2021 recruiting class according to 247Sport composite and the No. 34 player in the nation.

 

Brent Venables has and his staff have been strategic with the transfer portal as they look to add depth on both sides of the ball. On offense, they’ve added Dillon Gabriel, Daniel Parker Jr., McKade Mettauer, and Tyler Guyton. Could they look to add a talented playmaker to an already stacked backfield ahead of the 2022 season? It’ll be a portal recruitment worth tracking.

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Throwback Thursday: Quinn Ewers highlights from Southlake Carroll

Texas landed a very, very special quarterback this offseason.

Steve Sarkisian and his staff landed the biggest fish in the NCAA transfer portal this offseason. Continue reading “Throwback Thursday: Quinn Ewers highlights from Southlake Carroll”

Landon Jackson’s transfer destination revealed

Former 2021 LSU signee finds his new home.

Recently 2021 signee Landon Jackson announced that he would enter his name into the transfer portal. With the regular season over and a new regime taking over in Baton Rouge, it isn’t uncommon to see players leave.

Coming out of Pleasant Grove in Texarkana, Jackson was ranked as one of the top 125 recruits in the nation. He was ranked No. 19 in Texas and No. 8 at his position. He was likely to be heavily coveted by plenty of teams. However, it was the Arkansas Razorbacks that landed him according to his Twitter account.

Jackson is the second transfer to commit to play for head coach Sam Pittman. Recently they added former Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Jadon Haselwood. It appears that Arkansas is loading up to try and make another run at the SEC West. They looked like a team to contend with early on in the season but faltered down the stretch.

When LSU and Arkansas meet in 2022, it will interesting to see if Jackson finds a way to impact that game in Fayetteville.

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Oklahoma signee Caleb Williams viewed as the No. 1 prospect according to new recruiting service

New recruiting service On3 Sports ranks 2021 Oklahoma Sooners signee Caleb Williams as the No. 1 prospect, they see Clayton Smith higher than 247Sports composite ranking as well.

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In the world of college football recruiting there are three major recruiting services. ESPN, Rivals, and 247Sports are the major sites to provide coverage of college recruiting. According to the composite scores, quarterback Caleb Williams was viewed as the No. 1 quarterback and No. 6 player of his class.

A look at the breakdown from each recruiting service

Rating

Stars Overall State Position
247 5 7 1 1
Rivals 5 5 1 1
ESPN 4 16 1 1
247 Composite 5 6 1 1

All three services ranked Williams as the No. 1 quarterback but his overall ranking varied from No. 5 to No. 16. ESPN was the only service that ranked him below a five-star. Whichever way you view it, the Oklahoma Sooners landed the top quarterback of the 2021 class. For now, he will back up fellow five-star signee from the 2019 class, Spencer Rattler. Williams is viewed as the quarterback of 2022 and beyond.

Now there is another recruiting service getting into the mix with On3 Recruits. From the founders of Rivals and 247Sports, On3 is expected to officially launch in August of this year just ahead of football season. Despite the fact that they haven’t launched yet hasn’t prevented them from putting out content already. They ranked the five-star prospects from the 2021 class and Williams was the top overall player of the class.

This just goes to show you how highly touted the 2021 classes’ top prospect for Oklahoma is viewed. He will be the No. 2 quarterback for the Sooners in 2021 but could rise to No. 1 provided Rattler exits stage left when the NFL draft takes place for 2022.

On3 also ranked another player in their top 32 players of the 2021 class, edge defender Clayton Smith. He ranked at No. 37 nationally according to his 247Sports composite ranking. On3 viewed him as a five-star prospect at No. 22 overall.

On3’s ranking of Smith was more in line with how Rivals viewed him. He was a five-star prospect ranked top two at his position at No. 23 overall. ESPN was much lower than both 247Sports and Rivals as they listed him as the No. 84 prospect overall as a four-star player.

On3 Sports will be yet another service to check out when it comes to recruiting.