2022 Top 5 College Football Transfers With Something to Prove
The 2022 College Football offseason so far has definitely been one to remember. We’ve seen coaches move all over the country, record breaking NIL and recruiting deals, and tons of transfers. A lot of the guys on this upcoming list are highly talented, just didn’t execute up to expectations. Who are the top 5 College Football Transfers with something to prove this year? Can they perform as well as the Top 5 Most Impactful Transfers?
1. Spencer Rattler (Oklahoma -> South Carolina)
Spencer Rattler was the 2021 Heisman Favorite, now he is down at #16 in this year’s odds. The 5-star recruit from Pinnacle, AZ was supposed to be the next big thing in Norman. He was, kind of. After a solid freshman campaign, the star looked to make a massive impact in season 2 and bring OU back to glory. After a shaky start, he got benched in the Red River Showdown for Freshman Caleb Williams, and did not see much time after that. Rattler transferred to South Carolina to follow former OU TE’s coach Shane Beamer, who he’d grown close with. Rattler looks to revitalize his career and turn heads in the gauntlet conference called the SEC. Given the right system and mistake free-football, he has a chance to bring the Gamecocks to the top.
2. Eli Ricks (LSU -> Alabama)
Eli Ricks was a household name coming into the 2021 season, a stud corner for LSU. In 2020, he played in 8 games (shortened season due to COVID) and finished with 20 total tackles, 4 INT’s and 2 pick 6s. Last year, his numbers declined, playing in a total of 6 games. He finished with 11 total tackles and 1 INT. He only played 6 games due to a shoulder injury that required surgery after the Kentucky game. Although he had a bad season last year, the stud corner from Santa Ana can still turn it around at Bama. Ricks joins the likes of Kool-Aid McKinstry and Jordan Battle, as they reload and make a revenge tour after losing in the Natty to UGA last year. Nick Saban has a history of turning transfers into superstars, can he do it once again?
3. Casey Thompson (Texas -> Nebraska)
Casey Thompson was a solid player at Texas last year and looks to improve his game in Lincoln this upcoming season. He finished the 2021 season with 2113 yards for 24 TD’s to 9 INT’s. Thompson finally got a true chance to start at UT, only appearing in 3 games his first 2 years combined. He did well for Steve Sarkisian, but ultimately saw the end of the line when Quinn Ewers transferred back home. He chose to go to Lincoln, and enroll at Nebraska. Nebraska has had trouble at QB since the days of Adrian Martinez, struggling to find “that guy” to lead them to a B10 Championship. Scott Frost is on the hot seat and will be depending heavily on Thompson to extend his tenure.
4. Jayden Daniels (Arizona State -> LSU)
Jayden Daniels is in a tough spot right now. At the start of his ASU career, he was lighting up scoreboards. His highlight was leading ASU to a crazy upset of J-Herbo and #6 Oregon, seemingly knocking them out of the Playoff. Yet, he only played in 4 games due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and did okay last year. In 2021, he threw for 2381 yards, but only threw 10 TD’s and astoundingly threw 10 INT’s. Compare this to his 2019 season, where he threw for 17 TD’s and 2 INT’s. I think a major factor in this was the coaching change, hiring Herm Edwards. He just isn’t built for the college game, and Jayden did not succeed. In February, Daniels took his talents East, to Baton Rouge to transfer to LSU. I think this can be a good move, but also a bad one. See the issue is, he entered a QB room with 5 star QB Garrett Nussmeier and Myles Brennan, 2 very talented QBs. However, it has been shown in the past that HC Brian Kelly can succeed with both pocket QBs and running QBs. He succeeded with Brady Quinn early on, then Everett Golson, DeShone Kizer, and Ian Book. So if Daniels can win the job, he has a good shot to turn his career around.
5. Bo Nix (Auburn ->Oregon)
Bo Nix was supposed to be the next big thing at Auburn, hyped up like Cam Newton in a sense. His father, Patrick, was a QB at Auburn from 1992-95. He had some bright spots at Auburn, beating Oregon in his first start on a last second TD, also beating Alabama his freshman year. Yet, he was inconsistent and got benched for a decent portion of his last season. Nix finished the season playing 10 games, throwing for 2294 yards, with 11 TD’s and 3 INT’s. Bo got benched in the final 3 games for LSU Transfer TJ Finley due to inconsistent play. He has a chance to revitalize his career with new HC Dan Lanning at Oregon, just has to play smart. Nix has tons of reliable weapons, too, so it won’t be much different from Auburn.
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All stats provided in this article are via sports-reference.com
