Transfer Portal 2024

 Transfer Portal 2024

    The transfer portal in my opinion is fun, good for players, and actually helps a school like Bowling Green. 

    The portal also has so many opportunities for different players. You have studs from the G5 move up to the SEC, P5 backups dropping down to start at G5 schools. You have FCS starters jumping up to FBS, also FCS backups who would rather be a backup at a FBS school. Many casual fans do not realize how valuable depth guys are and scout team players truly make big differences in practice. Even G5 guys would rather be a backup at an SEC school. So in my mind, the portal is a plus value.

    This list may not be 100% accurate but is updated to the best of my knowledge. I am going to give my opinions on each player, not meaning any disrespect but just an honest assessment of each player's impact in my opinion. Best of luck to all the guys leaving, and a big welcome to all the new Falcons joining!

Incoming Transfers Breakdown:

Total: 18

Position

RB: 1

WR: 3

TE: 2

OL: 1

LB: 2

DB: 6

K: 1

P: 1

LS: 1

Conference

SEC: 1

Big10: 1

Big12: 4

AAC: 2

Sun Belt: 1

MWC: 1

MAC: 1

CUSA: 1

FCS: 5

JUCO: 1

Outgoing Transfers Breakdown:

Total: 20

Position

QB: 1

RB: 2

WR: 2

TE: 1

OL: 1

DL: 1

LB: 6

DB: 5

K: 1

Conference

SEC: 1

Big10: 1

Sun Belt: 1

MWC: 1

MAC: 1

CUSA: 2

FCS: 4

D2: 1

N/A: 8

Incoming

RJ Garcia WR Kansas State (Big12) 2 years left 

    Garcia comes in from a P5 school and for my money one of the best college football cultures in the country at Kansas State. 22 catches for 260 yards and 2 scores in his time in Kansas. None bigger than the touchdown catch in the 3rd quarter en route to winning the Big12 Championship against TCU in overtime in 2022. Always happy to get a P5 player, especially one with a championship ring and championship mindset. 

Malcolm Johnson WR Auburn (SEC) 1 year left

    Johnson comes to Ohio from the SEC, the best conference in America. Just 14 catches over his 3 years at Auburn with 1 touchdown means he is going to spend his last year somewhere he can see the ball. BG is not running the air raid anytime soon but with out top 3 WRs departing there are plenty of targets to be scooped up. We have seen in the portal guys drop down from big programs who did not play much and really excel (see Sam Wigluz, Ohio's transfer WR). 

Zach Long K Troy (Sun Belt) 2 years left 

    Kickers are like QBs, only one can play and that means the more people you can bring in to compete for the job, the better. Long was a kick off specialist at Troy and will come into a situation where BG's kicking game has yet to match that of All-American Nate Needham in 2021. 

Ja'Corey Benjamin DB Texas Southern (FCS) 1 year left 

    I am always a fan of bringing in older, experience players. Benjamin comes in from the FCS ranks where Coach Loeffler has shown a great ability to see players who come in from FCS schools thrive. Ja'Corey had over 80 tackles at Texas Southern and had his best games against the better known teams such as FAMU and Grambling. Wether a starter or a rotation player, this is helping to fill a massive hole left by DeShawn Jones and Jalen Husky. 

Ed Rhambo DB Northern Arizona (FCS) 3 years left

    Rhambo comes to BG from the NAU Lumberjacks. Ed had 20 tackles in 9 games in his 2 years in Arizona. Coming to BG with a few years to play, this is someone who can develop for a year or two before starting. 4 DBs are exiting this year so BG needs to bring in some new faces, from anywhere in the country. 

Nick Reimer OL Merrimack (FCS) 1 year left

   

    Coach Loeffler is in his bag when he grabs a quality player from the FCS ranks. Whether it be OJ Hilaire, Bronson Warner, Cedric Dunbar, Cam Orth, Jordan Oladokun just to name a few. Reimer comes to BG with a ton of FBS offers, as any tackle with just a year or two left in college. Reimer is big, has a ton of starts under his belt and likely will be a starter. Hard to imagine with just one year left and a bunch of FBS offers that he would choose to come to Ohio without a feeling of serious playing time in 2024. 

Justin Eklund LB San Jose State (MWC) 3 years left

    Eklund enters a linebacker room that loses a ton of production in Darren Anders and Cash Howell. Eklund had one tackle in 6 games at SJSU so maybe he comes to BG to fit a new system, maybe wants new coaches, maybe just a new college. Either way bringing in more competition is always the right move. Pressure makes diamonds. 

John Henderson P Antelope Valley College (JUCO)  2 years left

    Same as any other position, especially when only one guy can play like QB, K, P, you need competition to ensure the best player starts. A JUCO punter is a great addition to the specialists room. 

Xander Pratt DB Purdue (Big10) 3 years left

    Pratt comes to Ohio via Purdue. Xander walked onto Purdue and per the Purdue website red shirted in 2022 and did not appear on the roster in 2023. Would not be the first time a player who did not have Big10 success found a great spot in the MAC. With 4 DBs leaving, new faces in the room are much welcomed. 

CJ Brown DB NIU (MAC) 3 years left

    

    CJ Brown comes over from new MAC Pod Rival NIU. Brown comes following BG's hiring of former NIU coach Derrick Jackson. Brown is an all-MAC level player and an awesome addition via the portal as he should be a day 1 starter to a usually sturdy defense. 

Elijah Boyd TE UTEP (CUSA) 2 years left

    Boyd comes to BGSU from first a JUCO school then Texas El-Paso for one year where he did not record any stats. Could be a great addition for our multiple TE blocking packages. 

Todd Bumphis DB Cincinnati (Big12) 1 year left

    Bumphis is another P4 transfer who played his high school ball in northwest ohio. A story as old as time, a P4 player who did not see a lot of the field wants to try and start at a smaller program closer to home. Credit to Coach Loeffler for identifying these types of players consistently over the past few years.  

Blane Cleaver TE Army (AAC) 2 years left

    Cleaver is a rare West Point transfer who saw some time in a few games over his years at Army. Obviously a West Pointer is someone who is going to be a great worker, very coachable, smart as well. As an officer in the Army I am biased and love this move. BG loves tight ends so adding to the room is always important. 

Darius McClendon DB FAU (AAC) 1 year left

    McClendon has played at Middle Tennessee, New Mexico Military, and FAU. He started a lot last year for FAU and registered 60 total tackles last year alone. Should be a starter if not our new nickel DB in his last year of college football. 

Justin Pegues RB Tennessee Tech (FCS) 2 years left

    Pegues racked up 359 yards and 2 TDs last year on 90 carries. Likely not going to start but bringing in a good back from the FCS ranks to be our 3rd back and battle for carries with Terion Stewart and JP is how a strong running back room gets created. 

Rahkeem Smith WR Delaware State (FCS) 2 years left

    Smith is lightning fast and had multiple return touchdowns for the Hornets last year. FCS to MAC play at the wide receiver position has worked out great for BG the last couple years and is a position I feel the most confident in translating up in talent level at least from the FCS to MAC level play. 

Donovan Stephens LB Oklahoma State (Big12) 2 years left

    I love getting former P4 players, it seems to typically work out when they drop to the MAC or other G5 conferences. Stephens racked up 10 tackles last year and clearly wants a chance to start somewhere lower, similar to how many BG transfers over the last 4 years have gone to the FCS ranks. Sometimes P4 players hit the ground running like Connor Bazelak or Davon Ferguson or even Devin Taylor from 2021. Other times they come in and then transfer elsewhere, like anything else it is a crapshoot. 

Quillian Jimenez LS Houston (Big12) 4 years left

    Jimenez comes to BG from Houston, Texas. Jimenez redshirted his lone season in the lone star state and may be the heir apparent to our multi year starter in George Carlson who has 2 years left. 

Outgoing

Deshawn Jones Jr DB N/A 2 years left

    Jones Jr has had a really solid career at BGSU. Deshawn in his true freshman yeah (2021) had 2 interceptions in the finale win against Ohio. Jones Jr would then start all year in 2022 racking up 40 tackles and the very memorable interception in the win at Toledo. This year, Deshawn had another good year especially in the memorable GTech win, he only started 1 game in this season versus the 11 starts last year. That is a pretty good indicator of why he is transferring.

Offers: Akron (MAC), Robert Morris (FCS), URI (FCS), Gardener-Webb (FCS), Eastern Kentucky (FCS)

Jalen Huskey DB Maryland (Big10) 3 years left

    Huskey started every game this year so obviously his departure will be felt. Huskey was a rotation guy in his first year in 2022 and stepped up big time this year. Jalen had 50 tackles this year and had a pick in both the Buffalo and Akron win. Listen, this is the reality of college football right now. Maryland makes 100 million a year, BG makes 1. In the new era of paying players, and revenue sharing coming soon, the big 2 leagues of the Big10 and SEC will pluck the best players from the MAC often. Some guys will stay and those guys are freakin legends but some will go so best of luck to Jalen. Playing in the Big10 will be awesome for him and I will never shame a kid for going there or the SEC. 

Ta'ron Keith RB Western Kentucky/USF (CUSA/AAC) 2 years left

    Keith is a legendary Falcon. The thrilling touchdown to beat Toledo in 2022 and finally gain bowl eligibility. This season he became the first Falcon ever to rush for 100 yards and receive 100 yards in one game against Kent State. Keith has been through the rebuild since 2020 and I totally understand the transfer. He wants to shine somewhere and being behind Terion Stewart and splitting reps with JP is not what someone who has had some awesome moments wants to do. Keith leaves BG with over 1,000 receiving yards and that is a special milestone, best of luck to Ta'ron. 

    TK has committed to Bowling Green..... Kentucky. Keith is headed to Western Kentucky and good for him. He is now hopefully going to be a full time starter and for BG this is the reality of the sport right now. 90% of players will transfer if they are not starters and I will not blame them. 

    TK has now left WKU for USF (South Florida) in the AAC. Florida kid going back home, a better conference than CUSA for sure. 

Offers: Tulsa (AAC), Arkansas State (Sun Belt), Toledo (MAC), South Alabama (Sun Belt), Utah State (MWC)

Hayden Timosciek QB N/A 3 years left

    Timosciek transferred in from Purdue. Hayden was here for just one season and only appeared in the Michigan games after Cam and Connor were banged up. Hey, everyone on the roster gets some portion of credit for the success of this season so I appreciate Hayden's time here and wish him the best. 

Jack Sauder K N/A 2 years left

    Jack came to BG in 2020. Jack was the holder throughout the 2022 and 2023 season and a few games into this year started doing the kickoffs for the Falcons. Kickoffs and the holding on kicks is an underrated job and Jack did them both fantastically. Only one guys gets to do the field goals though and that seems to be his goal based on the transferring. 

Andrew Bench TE South Alabama (Sun Belt) 1 year left

    Bench is an original Coach Loeffler guy, his true freshman year being in 2019. Stinks to see a longtime Falcons leave the team but it makes sense. Bench caught 10 passes in 2022 for 2 touchdowns but just 2 passes all of this year behind Harold Fannin and Levi Gazarek. He wants to see the field, who can blame him. Nothing but respect to a guy that saw the rebuild of this team from the start of Coach Loeffler's tenure to this year. Bench caught a touchdown against Akron and against Toledo in the 2022 classic. 

    Bench is staying FBS by going over to South Alabama. South Al just lost their head coach to Alabama to become their defensive coordinator so it will be interesting to see what they look like in 2024 under Major Applewhite. Good for Bench going to a place he might start instead of being a 3rd stringer. Cannot blame a guy for trying to see the field more. 

Nick Mosley RB N/A 2 years left

    The running back room has gotten pretty full over the last few seasons, no surprise someone was bound to transfer. Mosley had 77 carries in 2021, then 32 in 2022 and just 8 this season. That is a recipe for transferring and as I do with most players, totally understand why. Nick scored 2 rushing TDs in his BG career. 

Kitione Tau DL Nevada (MWC) 1 year left 

    I sound like a broken record, but the reality of the portal is 90% of players transferring is a result of lack of playing time. Tau posted one tackle this year against Eastern Illinois vs 11 tackles and more playing time in 2022. Tau had a tackle in the wins against Marshall and Miami OH that year. 2 years, 2 bowl games in his Orange and Brown career as he looks to start elsewhere. 

    Kitione has committed to the wolf pack and will stay FBS. Nevada has been struggling since Jay Norvell left and just hired a new head coach in Jeff Choate. 

  Offers: New Mexico State (CUSA), Nevada (MWC)

Jordan Jackson DB Stony Brook (FCS) 1 year left

    Jackson transferred up from FCS Stonybrook and played in 10 games in his lone season in Ohio. Jordan had 10 tackles on the year, his most notable contribution being a forced fumble and 2 tackles in the Buffalo win. Again, likely looking to start somewhere else. 

    Jackson is going right back to Stony Brook, I guess they missed having him. Not sure how rare it is to go back to your old school, for sure something I have not seen from a BG transfer before. 

Cash Howell LB Texas AM (SEC) 2 years left

    Howell presents a transfer similar to that of Jalen Husky or Tyrone Broden/Jordan Anderson last year. This is a player that is destined to land P5, specifically in the big 2 leagues (SEC/Big10). Cashius led the MAC in sacks with 9.5 and had 25 tackles. Howell also had the 4th most pressures according to PFF. Really tough when you lose an All-MAC caliber player but that is the reality of the portal. If he ends up crushing it in the SEC or even reaching the NFL at least BG can point to his development in recruiting. Give us a great year or two and you can go to the SEC and as a fan how can I be mad about that? Especially when Howell was a major contributor in our 7 wins this year, getting multiple sacks in our wins over Akron, Ball State, and Kent. 

    Cashius Howell is going to the show. The SEC and the Big10 are the major conferences in the sport and I am proud to see this staff and program turn a lower ratted player into someone the SEC wants. Again, this is the reality of the sport right now and I hope he shines and BG can use that on the recruiting trail. Give us a couple of great years and you may find yourself in the SEC. Texas AM is a sleeping giant in college football and it will be interesting to see how Cash fits in there. 

Offers: Florida (SEC), Ole Miss (SEC)

Davion Daniels DB Slippery Rock (D2) 2 years left

    Davion has been with BG since 2020. He has 40 tackles in his 4 seasons, notching a couple against Minnesota, GTech, and this year most notable 3 solo tackles against Kent State. Daniels appeared in ever game this season but as a rotational player, likely looking to start somewhere. 

    Daniels has committed to D2 Slippery Rock. Would I rather be a rotational guy in FBS than D2, sure, however each players gets to make that decision for themselves and football is such a giant commitment it makes sense to rather see the field even at a lower level then do all the working out and practicing to see 5 snaps a game. 

Abdul Fatai Ibrahim WR LA Tech (CUSA) 1 year left 

    A short BG career at just one season, the FCS All-American likely was not satisfied with just 20 catches this year. Abdul-Fatai caught 2 touchdowns, one in the EIU win and another in the win against Akron. Ibrahim transferred in to reunite with Alabama AM teammate OJ Hillaire, while the duo did well, this offense is just not super pass happy. He will likely go somewhere that throws the ball more. 

    LA Tech is coming off of back to back rough years under new HC Sonny Cumbie and they want to bolster their passing attack. Best of luck to Abdul-Fatai, a lot of players leave BG and drop down to FCS so good on him for staying FBS. TK and Ibrahim may play against each other next year. 

Diego Neri LB Western Illinois (FCS) 1 year left

    Diego may be most remembered for making a crucial tackle to force a fourth down in the 2021 upset of Minnesota. Neri was mostly a rotation player and it makes sense that he would want to transfer somewhere to see the field. Especially a player who played a good bit in 21, then less and less the past two years. 

    Classic rotation player going to an FCS school to try and start in his last year of eligibility. 

Bam Booker LB N/A 3 years left

    Booker came to BG from Maryland. After just one year, he is back in the portal. Maybe BG just was not a fit for him, hard to point to playing time unless Bam feels even as a freshman he wants to go start somewhere. 

Justin Lynch DB N/A 2 years left

    Lynch came to BG from the JUCO ranks and appeared in 2 games. I am assuming he saw he was not going to play a ton this year and wants to spend his final two years elsewhere. 

Marquette Harris LB N/A 3 years left

    Harris was a JUCO commit last year and after appearing in only 3 games is gone. Again, likely wants to play somewhere else. 

Armon Bethea OL Grambling State (FCS) 2 years left

    Bethea came to BG from Arizona State. I was hyped to have a P5 transfer in the trenches but after not cracking the lineup last year he is back into the portal. I cannot say this enough but most players leaving will transfer to a worse team because they want to start. 

    I was right again, Bethea now finds himself at the FCS level where as an original P5 commit he should start right away. 

Canaan Williams LB Kent State (MAC) 3 years left

    Williams was a high school commit and did not appear in any games the last two seasons. Canaan was a walk on and likely wants to see the field. 

    My guess is he is walking on to Kent State now. Hey if someone wants to transfer who am I to judge for their reasons. However, Kent State is the worst team in the entire country and I hope we continue to run over them now that BG finally beat the Golden Flashes under Coach Loeffler last year. 

Tae'Shaun Johnson WR N/A 2 years left

    Johnson was the top ranked recruit in 2021 for BG and after not playing in three years is in the portal. The local product was highly rated but hard to miss this loss too much if he was unable to see the field. Wide receiver is a pretty easy position to find in the portal.

Davian Mayo LB Central Arkansas (FCS) 2 years left

    Mayo appeared in 12 games last year and contributed 4 tackles in the Ball State win. Clearly someone who wants to start, not a new trend here. Central Arkansas has awesome uniforms and an amazing field of purple and black.