The top incoming Pac-12 football transfers to know, per The Athletic
Expected starting quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way phenom Travis Hunter are inarguably the two biggest transfer portal additions for the Colorado Buffaloes this offseason.
Following what was a busy few months in the portal across college football, there will be numerous new faces putting on new uniforms this year.
Bruce Feldman and Max Olson of The Athletic (subscription required) compiled a list of the top 100 “most-hyped” newcomers for the 2023 college football season, and there were quite a few new Buffaloes mentioned in the article.
Including where they were ranked, below is every Pac-12 player who made the list:
98: RB CAMERON SKATTEBO, ARIZONA STATE
Cameron Skattebo played for Troy Taylor (the new Stanford coach) at Sacramento State and made the move to the Power Five. He will be a big piece of the Sun Devils offense.
92: WR MONTANA LEMONIOUS-CRAIG, ARIZONA
Montana Lemonious-Craig flashed his potential last year and decided to stay in Boulder. Then, after a massive spring game, he entered the portal and took Dorian Singer’s spot with the Arizona Wildcats.
89: DL SHANE COKES, COLORADO
Shane Cokes transferred from Dartmouth and joined Deion Sanders in Boulder. Now, he has caught everybody’s attention and will be a huge part of the Buffs’ defense.
88: RB DILLON JOHNSON, WASHINGTON
Dillon Johnson went from the SEC and Mississippi State to the Pac-12 and the Washington Huskies. But the Huskies are a contender in the Pac-12, and Michael Penix Jr. will love having Johnson in the backfield.
86: RB MARSHAWN LLOYD, USC
MarShawn Lloyd is set to be the primary ball carrier for the USC Trojans in a loaded offense that features quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Dorian Singer.
83: QB DJ UIAGALELEI, OREGON STATE
The biggest issue Oregon State needed to fix was the quarterback position, and the Beavers landed Clemson transfer DJ Uiagalelei. The Beavers are also ranked in the top 25, so the hype is real.
77: OL AJANI CORNELIUS, OREGON
Can the Oregon Ducks top USC and Washington to earn the Pac-12 title? If so, the offensive line needs to protect Bo Nix, and adding Ajani Cornelius from Rhode Island is a massive help in that department. Tennessee and Ohio State were among the other schools interested in Cornelius.
72: DB EVAN WILLIAMS, OREGON
Evan Williams was the heart and soul of the Mountain West-winning Fresno State Bulldogs a season ago. His move to Oregon was a big one for the Ducks and a huge blow for the Bulldogs. Evan’s brother, Bennett, helped sell him on Eugene.
71: DB PATRICK MCMORRIS, CAL
In one of the more surprising moves, Patrick McMorris went from San Diego State to Cal in the portal. The Golden Bears likely will not win many games, but McMorris should be the key to that defensive unit.
63: DB JORDAN ANDERSON, UCLA
The Bruins had to get better with Washington, Oregon, Oregon State, USC and Utah all improving. Jordan Anderson is a big addition.
60: OL JARRETT KINGSTON, USC
Jarrett Kingston went from Washington State to USC and is a huge part of USC’s offensive line.
39: RB ALTON MCCASKILL IV, COLORADO
Alton McCaskill IV is one of the biggest wild cards in the portal. Injuries derailed his previous season at Houston, and he joins Colorado as the expected lead back with a golden opportunity.
34: DL BEAR ALEXANDER, USC
Bear Alexander was one of the big gets for USC this offseason, and the former Georgia Bulldog should help Alex Grinch’s defense improve.
33: DL ANTHONY LUCAS, USC
Again, after an upsetting Cotton Bowl loss to Tulane, the Trojans needed to address the defense. Anthony Lucas comes from Texas A&M and was a five-star recruit in the class of 2022.
28: WR DORIAN SINGER, USC
Dorian Singer led the Pac-12 in receiving yards last year and has basically replaced Jordan Addison as the top target for Caleb Williams.
27: WR JIMMY HORN JR., COLORADO
The Buffs have a multiple players on this list, and UCF transfer Jimmy Horn Jr. is going to be a huge piece of the offense. He was first-team All-AAC as a kick returner, and Shedeur Sanders will love throwing him passes.
18: LB MASON COBB, USC
USC landed Mason Cobb as a huge addition to the defense. He was second-team All-Big 12 last season and should be the focal point of the Trojans’ defense.
14: QB SHEDEUR SANDERS, COLORADO
Shedeur Sanders immediately followed his dad from Jackson State and is the Buffs’ top QB and even a potential Heisman candidate. He should flourish with Sean Lewis as the OC.
11: WR J. MICHAEL STURDIVANT, UCLA
J. Michael Sturdivant caught 65 passes for 755 yards with seven touchdowns for Cal last season and should be a massive WR for the Bruins.
10: RB CARSON STEELE, UCLA
Carson Steele rushed for 1,556 yards with 14 touchdowns last season at Ball State and is the primary running back for UCLA after Zach Charbonnet left for the NFL.
4: DE JORDAN BURCH, OREGON
Burch is a former five-star recruit who had 60 tackles and 7.5 TFLs for the South Carolina Gamecocks a year ago.
3: WR/CB TRAVIS HUNTER, COLORADO
What else can you say about Travis Hunter? The two-way star should make a big difference on both sides of the ball.
