We have all seen how much the transfer portal has completely changed the landscape of college football over the last half a decade, and its impact on the college fantasy game cannot be overstated. It has made projecting depth charts, paths to playing time, and so much all the more difficult. It also provides a complete shake-up ahead of the 2024 CFF drafting season, which begins as early as late January.
I’ve decided to start a new series discussing the transfer portal and its impact on college fantasy moving into next year – Transfer Portal Tidbits. It is exactly as it sounds. I’ll be discussing players who have found their new landing spots and give my quick thoughts on how it’ll impact things moving forward for the game of college football. I’m focusing mostly on players who have picked their location because as much fun as it is to speculate on where a player could go, the most actionable information for college fantasy players comes when we know what school these players are headed to.
For each player, I give a short blurb on my thoughts, as well as a “2024 Fantasy Impact” grade. At the end, I’ll pick a few players who have been crystal-balled by CFB sports websites and give quick one-sentence thoughts on their predicted landing spots. With that being said, let’s get to our first batch of players.
Quarterbacks
Brock Vandagriff – Georgia → Kentucky
2024 Fantasy Impact: Late-Round Flyer
The former 5-star backup QB for Georgia has graduated and will take his talents to the Wildcats of Lexington, Kentucky. The Wildcats lose Devin Leary, who never quite lived up to the expectations some placed on him this year.
Vandagriff could be a solid CFF QB in Liam Cohen’s system, especially if they let Vandagriff utilize his legs. Remember, Will Levis, under Coen, finished as a top 20 CFF QB in 2021. This will also heavily depend on the Wildcats holding onto talent like Barion Brown and Dane Key at receiver. I’d be willing to take some shots on Vandagriff in later rounds, although Kentucky’s schedule is brutal next year.
Max Johnson – Texas A&M → North Carolina
2024 Fantasy Impact: Late-Round Flyer
Anyone set up to take over the starting QB spot on a team that has given us back-to-back Top 12 QB performances from Drake Maye should excite the CFF community. However, many in the CFF community had reservations about OC Chip Lindsay before the season. He proved us wrong this year, but how much of that was riding off the talent that Drake Maye is?
Johnson is many things, and Maye is not one of them. There’s a chance, with some unlocking of Johnson’s mobility, that we could see another top-end QB performance within this system, but the risks are there. Johnson makes for a nice late-round QB dart throw in the upcoming year, but easily cuttable after a few weeks.
Max Brosmer – New Hampshire → Minnesota
2024 Fantasy Impact: Undraftable
I love CFF because it does force me to look into players I would otherwise never have heard of. Such is the case of, one, Max Brosmer, who is transferring up from the FCS to replace Athan Kaliakmanis with the Golden Gophers.
Brosmer put up a solid performance with the Wildcats last year, passing 455 times for 3,459 yards, 29 TDs, and 6 INTs. He also showed some mobility, with 127 yards and 5 TDs on the ground. That’s pretty solid; it’s just a shame he ended up at Minnesota.
Kaliakmanis was hyped by the Minnesota beat last year as the QB who would unlock the Gopher’s passing attack. Simply put, he did not. In fact, he may have regressed it further. Maybe Brosmer can do that, but it would take a minor miracle for him to do so at a level that would make him fantasy-relevant next season.
Tyler Shough – Texas Tech → Louisville
2024 Fantasy Impact: Mid-Round-Pick
Most CFF analysts were ready to move on from the rollercoaster that has been Shough for the last couple of years. He was starting in what should’ve been the perfect CFF system but just could never stay healthy, and the offense never could reach the heights it did when it was implemented at WKU.
Now, Shough has transferred to another historically great CFF system with Jeff Brohm’s offense at Purdue. Shough’s injury history makes this a tough sell compared to other Brohm QBs of the past, and there’s a rumor Louisville may bring in a second transfer QB to compete with Shough. However, as with the last few years when dealing with Shough, the system makes it hard to let him fall too far in drafts.
Brendan Sorsby – Indiana → Cincinnati
2024 Fantasy Impact: Mid-Late-Round Pick
After shaking off Tayven Jackson for the starting job, Sorsby actually had a solid finish to the season for the Hoosiers. If how Sorsby performed over the last six weeks were extrapolated over the full season, he would’ve finished as the QB17 just ahead of Garrett Greene.
Dual-threat quarterbacks have found some success in Scott Satterfield’s system; just look no further than Malik Cunningham. Even Emory Jones, who had a disappointing year by Satterfield’s metrics, still managed to finish in the top 36 QBs. That feels like the floor for Sorsby next year, as Satterfield and the Bearcats should be able to make a solid jump in their second year. I’ll be interested to see what kind of value Sorsby will get next year.
Spencer Petras – Iowa → Utah State
2024 Fantasy Impact: Undraftable
The Utah State quarterback situation is a mess as of this writing. Cooper Legas and McCrae Hilstead went back and forth for most of the year, whether it was through benching or injury or something else.
Now, the staff is bringing in Petras, who does not inspire any kind of confidence. Logic tells me that Petras shouldn’t be able to outperform either Legas or Hilstead, especially with the system being so different from Iowa. But crazier things have happened when a QB with starting experience enters a room like that. If Petras does end up being the starter for Blake Anderson’s offense, the possibility remains he could end up being a solid CFF asset, but he could also tank the whole offense.
Wide Receivers
Kris Mitchell – FIU → Notre Dame
2024 Fantasy Impact: Undraftable
For CFF, this is exactly the kind of thing you are afraid of whenever you find yourself a nice G5 stud. Mitchell finished as a top 24 WR in 2023, putting up massive games against the likes of Arkansas with a myriad of problems at the QB position to boot. So, of course, he’s going to capitalize on a year like that and move up to a bigger school.
Notre Dame is leaking receivers like nobody’s business, so it makes sense they’ll try to reinforce their room with a guy like Mitchell. The problem for CFF is that even with a stud QB like Sam Hartman and a talented receiver room this past year, the Irish just couldn’t provide consistent fantasy options at wideout. The highest they got was Chris Tyree at WR230. So yeah, Mitchell’s fantasy value has unfortunately tanked.
Chris Tyree – Notre Dame → Virginia
2024 Fantasy Impact: Mid-Rounds Pick
Speaking of Tyree, he got the hell out of South Bend and has gone to a system in the Virginia Cavaliers that seems to know how to feed their top options at WR. Malik Washington finished as the WR4 on the year, with 138 targets on the year, which was second in the country. His partner in crime, Malachi Fields, finished with 100 targets. The next option in the offense got 24 targets.
With Washington moving on, many will look at Fields as the next guy up who could become the WR1 for the Cavs. However, Tyree, if he chooses to stay at WR, would likely take over the slot where Washington played 88% of his snaps this past year. Tyree has done the opposite of Mitchell and may have set himself up to make a massive jump for next year. I’ll be very interested in the difference between Tyree’s and Fields’ draft capital next year.
Speculation Station
Will Rogers, QB – Predicted 100% to go to Washington by 247Sports – Some college fantasy analysts do not seem to like this landing spot, but I personally think it could be one of the better matches we see come out of the portal this year.
Dillon Gabriel, QB – Predicted 100% to go to Oregon by On3 – A top two QB from 2023 is going to a system that has made Bo Nix a top five CFF QB each of the last two seasons, so this a match made in heaven for CFF purposes.
Aidan Chiles, QB – Predicted 100% to go to Michigan State by On3 – I have no clue what to think here as I think Chiles is talented, but if he goes to Michigan State with Smith, that is a rough situation there with a schedule full of tough defenses.
Treshaun Ward, RB – Predicted 100% to go to Indiana by On3 – Ward disappointed at Kansas State, but a match with Curt Cignetti could make for a solid match. Cignetti typically features one guy (this past year notwithstanding), and that RB room with the Hoosiers is barren.
Caullin Lacy, WR – Predicted 100% to go to Texas A&M by On3 – Like Kris Mitchell, this is the CFF players’ worst nightmare, especially if Evan Stewart, Noah Thomas, and Moose Muhammad all end up staying.
Deion Burks, WR – Predicted 100% to go to Texas by On3 – I love Burk’s dynamic ability, and I think he’d fit in very nicely with a Longhorns’ passing attack that will be losing Worthy, Mitchell, and Sanders this year.
Tobias Merriweather, WR – Predicted 100% to go to Washington by 247Sports – Merriweather has flashed talent here and there with the Irish, but his impact at Washington this year will heavily depend on what Jalen McMillian and Ja’Lynn Polk decide where their future is.
