The spring transfer portal window has closed and with fall rosters finalized, many moves have been made.
Here are the 10 biggest defensive line acquisitions to come out of the transfer portal this offseason.
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Walter Nolen, Sr.
The five-star defensive tackle has made significant progress in his first two years at Texas A&M, improving in all areas, especially in tackles for loss (2.5 to 8.5) and sacks (1 to 4 times) aspect.After coaching Jimbo FisherAfter being fired, Nolen decided to hit the portal, but he remained in the SEC, landing at the University of Mississippi because the Rebels had a legitimate chance to contend for a national championship.
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Dear princess, old lady
Mississippi State has made a splash in the College Football Playoff, and another big name — and the defense’s most efficient player — is Uman Millen, who totaled 98 tackles in his four-year career at Florida State and 14.5 sacks.
Umanmiren only has one year of eligibility left, so he has to bet everything on the Rebels, who should be one of the best teams in the country.
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Joey Slackman, Florida
Ranked as the portal’s third-best defensive lineman, ahead of a number of former five-star and high-four-star prospects, Slackman had 49 tackles (11.5 sacks) last season at Penn. and 4 sacks. There are a lot of players who have stepped up a lot in competition and still performed well, but this is going to be a huge player coming from the Ivy League to the SEC, so we’ll see how much he can offer the Gators help.
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Lieutenant Overton, Alabama
Overton, the second-to-last five-star prospect in the 2022 class, reclassified from 2023 before committing to Texas A&M, where he fell short but is still with the Crimson Tide. A lot of time.
In two seasons in College Station, Overton totaled 48 tackles but only had one sack.
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Damonique Williams, Oklahoma
A major recruiting battle has unfolded between Oklahoma State and LSU over Williams, who had 33 tackles and three sacks at TCU last season. Williams, a three-star player in high school who played at Cal before transferring to TCU, became an immediate contributor at Fort Worth and on Oklahoma’s defensive line after two seasons. Found his new home.
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Corey Foreman, Fresno State University
The five-star prospect who was committed to Clemson but ended up attending USC with such high expectations never saw it come true and saw his career go nowhere with the Trojans. He had 2.5 sacks as a freshman but barely played in his third season.
A fresh start at Fresno State — relatively close to home with a chance to play right away — could be what Foreman needs to restart his career and bolster his five-star ranking.
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Fadier Diggs, Syracuse
Syracuse University’s new coaching staff led by first-year coach Fran Brown Used the portal well, attracting players from respected programs like Georgia, Texas A&M and Alabama, with Diggs being one of the biggest.
The former four-star Woodrow Wilson from Camden, N.J. (who has strong ties to Brown as he is from the same city) totaled 36 tackles and four tackles last season at Texas A&M Sack, then leave the coach. Jimbo Fisher Get fired.
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Then there’s Hays, Colorado
Colorado is still looking to rebuild its entire franchise primarily through the transfer portal, and Buffalo did some great work in bringing in Hayes from Pittsburgh. Westinghouse, a former four-star recruit out of Pittsburgh, Pa., racked up 45 tackles, including a team-high 10.5 tackles for loss last season, as he should immediately add to Colorado’s defensive presence.
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Anton Joncaj (Arkansas)
Jared Verse transferred to Florida State from Albany a few years ago and was a first-round pick in the NFL draft a few weeks ago. Will Juncaj follow the same path? Arkansas certainly hopes so, as Junkaj totaled 55 tackles and a staggering 15 sacks last season in Albany.
It’s a big step toward the SEC, but Juncaj clearly has elite skills and could be a major contributor for the Razorbacks.
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Quincy Wiggins, Colorado
A five-star recruit ranked No. 16 overall in the 2022 class, Wiggins is the third-best strong-side defensive end behind Danny Sutton and Mikel Williams. LSU didn’t see his career take off, so he entered the portal and headed to Colorado.
From a physical standpoint, there’s no question that Wiggins has what it takes to be a special player for Buffalo and beyond, but he didn’t really make an impact in Baton Rouge.
