College Football Transfer Player Rankings for 2023

Taking a look at where college football's top transfer portal players are headed for the 2023 season

Another offseason means another tidal wave of players rushing for the exits in the wide open college football transfer portal, hoping to take a chance on themselves and get another shot with a new school next season.

Top quarterbacks, wide receivers, and players at all positions have taken advantage of the new transfer portal, a year after an estimated 3,000-plus made the move.

Like this past season, the 2023 college football year will look different at many prominent schools when looking at the incoming talent all over their rosters.

Keep up: College football transfer tracker for 2023's top players

Which players should you be keeping an eye on as we get closer to the 2023 season? 

Which will have the biggest impact on their new schools and go on to influence the conference and College Football Playoff races?

College Football Transfer Player Rankings for 2023

10. Dorian Singer

USC landed a major transfer wide receiver in Dorian Singer / USA Today Images

Where he plays: Wide receiver

Where he was: Arizona

Where he went: USC

Need to know: The 6-foot-1 sophomore is coming off a banner campaign in which he led the Pac-12 with 1,105 receiving yards, catching six touchdowns, and averaging 92.08 yards per game. USC is the perfect landing spot for a productive pass catcher with smart route-running ability and yards after the catch potential in an aggressive scheme led by Heisman quarterback Caleb Williams who will keep this offense among the very best in college football again in 2023.

9. Jordan Burch

Where he plays: Defensive end

Where he was: South Carolina

Where he went: Oregon

Need to know: A major pickup for Dan Lanning, who recruited Burch when at Georgia and who now reunites with one of the premier defensive players in college football. A former 5-star recruit, Burch is an ideal plug-and-play piece for Lanning's defense, a unit that lost some important playmakers, but should still have a lot of speed and athleticism in the front seven. 

Burch, combined with a skilled offense that returns Bo Nix at quarterback, can help put Oregon in the College Football Playoff picture, tallying 60 stops, 7.5 TFLs, and 3.5 sacks in 2022 with the Gamecocks.

8. Dante Cephas

USA Today Images

Where he plays: Wide receiver

Where he was: Kent State

Where he went: Penn State

Need to know: Solid defensively and loaded with running back talent, the Nittany Lions needed a difference-maker to help 5-star quarterback Drew Allar get settled into this offense, and Cephas fits the bill perfectly. 

In the last two years, the wideout has 1,984 yards and 12 touchdowns, boasting game-changing speed who can open this offense up and balance it out, and potentially help Penn State finally challenge Ohio State and Michigan in this division race.

7. Sam Hartman

Where he plays: Quarterback

Where he was: Wake Forest

Where he went: Notre Dame

Need to know: No one can doubt Hartman's ability to stack up yards. He has nearly 13,000 in his career, scoring an ACC record 110 touchdowns. Just what the Irish offense wants as it looks to open things up after Drew Pyne transferred out and Tyler Buchner still lacks experience. Hartman is an immediate upgrade with a reliable arm, a fit in Marcus Freeman's system, and with experience against quality competition.

6. Dominic Lovett

USA Today Images

Where he plays: Wide receiver

Where he was: Missouri

Where he went: Georgia

Need to know: An important pickup for a Bulldog receiver group that includes Ladd McConkey and Brock Bowers coming back, and a reliable target for whoever inherits the quarterback position in this offense. Lovett led Mizzou with 846 yards on 56 catches this past season and averaged almost 71 per game. 

He comes in with three years of eligibility left and should pair well with Rara Thomas, another SEC transfer arriving on campus for 2023, and crucially helps in the newfound absence of outgoing transfer Adonai Mitchell.

5. Dasan McCullough

Where he plays: Linebacker

Where he was: Indiana

Where he went: Oklahoma

Need to know: A former top 50 prospect nationally in the 2022 recruiting class, McCullough recorded 49 total stops with 6.5 tackles for loss, three pass breakups, and four sacks in a superb freshman outing. Now he comes in to aid a Sooner defense that ranked 121st in yards allowed, adding versatility and some serious pass rush capability combined with promising coverage ability.

4. Fentrell Cypress

USA Today Images

Where he plays: Cornerback

Where he was: Virginia

Where he went: Florida State

Need to know: Consistently productive with a positive work ethic, "Deuce" brings a combination of perimeter speed with the added wrinkle of playing solid run defense in short yardage situations. 

He joined a Seminole pass defense that ranked No. 4 in air yards surrendered but still wanted for lack of a true No. 1 lock-down corner. Florida State's defense took a very positive step this offseason adding to its back seven arsenal, especially combined with the return of edge rusher Jared Verse.

3. Denver Harris

Where he plays: Cornerback

Where he was: Texas A&M

Where he went: LSU

Need to know: A former five-star piece of A&M's historic recruiting class a year ago, Harris saw limited action before being suspended by the team. Now moving inside the SEC West to that division's reigning champion, Harris brings a natural feel for the position, fluid in changing direction, light on his feet, and boasting promising ball skills. LSU has some experience at the corners coming into 2023, and feels it has some time to develop Harris into the playmaker that it once targeted as a recruit.

2. Devin Leary

Where he plays: Quarterback

Where he was: NC State

Where he went: Kentucky

Need to know: A multiple-year starter who dealt with a pectoral injury this past season, Leary has a big arm, passing for over 3,400 yards and 35 touchdowns in 2021, and steps into the spot left vacant by NFL-bound Will Levis. Leary has the potential to lift Kentucky's offense to new heights with a big arm and should fit well into Liam Coen's pro-style scheme and keep the Wildcats in contention to challenge a new-look Tennessee for that No. 2 spot in the SEC East.

1. Travis Hunter

USA Today Images

Where he plays: Cornerback

Where he was: Jackson State

Where he went: Colorado

Need to know: As expected, the former No. 1 cornerback prospect who Deion Sanders famously flipped from Florida State is following Prime to the Pac-12. He's familiar with Sanders' system and is a major upgrade to the Buffaloes' secondary, to say the least. 

PFF estimated that Hunter allowed just 16 catches and no touchdowns in pass coverage, and he's a pretty decent threat on offense, too, catching 14 passes for 144 yards and four touchdowns.

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