Tulane Running Back Makhi Hughes Considered Best Remaining Player in Portal
The former Tulane Green Wave star running back is going to make some new team very happy next season after entering the transfer portal a couple of days ago.
Makhi Hughes put his name into the portal late in the process, but that doesn't mean he isn't one of the best players available.
On3 has Hughes listed as both the best best player left remaining and the third-overall player of this cycle.
The back was assigned a 96.22 grade as a transfer, making him a four-star pickup. That is about as good as a team can get since very few transfers receive a five-star rating.
He was just a three-star player with an 83.01 grade coming out of high school and few expected him to become as good of a player as he has been in college.
The Green Wave star had 523 carries for 2,779 yards with 22 touchdowns in two seasons as a starter in New Orleans.
For long stretches in games, the offense would run completely through him. It took a lot of weight off the shoulders of the quarterback and led to Hughes being one of the best backs in the country.
The Alabama native doesn't do much as a receiver but can make a play when necessary. He has 30 catches for 243 yards and two touchdowns in his career.
The running back position will look completely different at Tulane next year.
Along with Hughes, Shaadie Clayton-Johnson also left.
Clayton-Johnson had 132 carries with 710 yards and three touchdowns in as many seasons with the program. While he wasn't an All-American, he had a role and likely would have seen an increased workload in his final college campaign with Hughes gone .
The Green Wave have at least secured a back of their own, bringing in FAU Owls transfer Zuberi Mobley who was both a three-star transfer and high school recruit coming out of Miami. He is a smaller back, but has shown flashes as a backup for the Owls.
Entering his final year of eligibility, he has 223 carries for 1,116 yards with seven touchdowns as a rusher. He has also caught 21 passes for 170 yards and another score.
Those number don't jump off the paper, but he could see much better results in a bigger role.
Tulane will need new players to step up across the board on offense, with players coming and going at pretty much every position.
