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The spring transfer portal window is officially here, and it’s moving quickly with more than 200 FBS scholarship players in by 6 p.m. ET. That’s after more than 40 had already entered the transfer portal during the previous week.
While most players that enter won’t make an impact on the 2024 season, there are at least some interesting things to pull out of the chaos.
Here are some news, notes and thoughts on a chaotic Day 1 of the transfer portal window. Let’s start with the headliners.
The biggest name to enter Tuesday that hadn’t already been reported as an expected entrant was McClain, the class of 2023 five-star recruit who started four games at Colorado last season.
While McClain is just a year removed from ranking as the No. 1 cornerback recruit in the 2023 class, it’s very much unclear at this point where he will end up as a transfer.
Sources from several Power Four schools didn’t expect their teams to make a run at McClain, referencing concerns that included feedback coming out of what was a very publicized up-and-down freshman season for him at Colorado. McClain touts a 94 rating in the 247Sports Transfer Portal rankings, so he’s still considered to be a very good prospect, but teams will do their due diligence.
The college football transfer portal spring window opened Tuesday, giving players one final opportunity to seek a new home ahead of the 2024 season. While the first day of the cycle’s second window saw far less elite talent pack its bags than the opening 24 hours of the winter window, numerous potential power conference starters left their respective programs in search of new teams. None were more impactful than No. 2 overall prospect Kadyn Proctor, who is Alabama-bound once again after a brief two-month stay at Iowa.
Over the next 15 days, college football players are able to leave their schools and retain immediate eligibility at the destination program of their choice. While this freedom of movement creates opportunities for coaches to fill positions of need with instant-impact talent, it also causes headaches for teams that lose important players.
In addition to Proctor, starting-caliber players at the defensive back, edge rusher and numerous other positions headline the most talented Tuesday portal entrants.
After spending the first two years of his career at USF, Timmy McClain made a quick appearance at another in-state program, playing the 2023 season at UCF. He made seven appearances and three starts with the Knights and strung together a handful of productive showings in September and October, throwing for at least 136 yards and two touchdowns in four-straight games. McClain topped out at 321 yards in a terrific performance against FCS foe Villanova. He gained national attention for a remarkable fourth-down conversion against Baylor in which he displayed outstanding athleticism.
Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Payton Kirkland left the Texas football program after one season with the Longhorns, during which he did not receive any playing time in the team’s run to the College Football Playoff. The former four-star recruit suffered a knee injury in the fall and entered the spring in the middle of his recovery. The 6-foot-6, 366-pound tackle from Orlando, Fla. will make his debut elsewhere after arriving at Texas as a prized prospect and the second-highest-rated lineman in the program’s 2023 haul.
As the projected No. 3 option in a loaded Ohio State backfield, Dallan Hayden expressed his interest last week in entering the transfer portal and officially landed in the database Tuesday as one of the nation’s premier available ballcarriers. Hayden saw limited action in three games for the Buckeyes last season but displayed tremendous ability during his freshman campaign in 2022, posting three 100-yard games and rattling off a career-best 146 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Maryland.
