Top players to know in college footballs transfer portal: Cam Ward, Kyle McCord and more -

The Athletic has live coverage of the college football transfer portal window.

College football’s busiest month of player movement is officially underway. On Monday, the NCAA transfer portal opened to all college football players, who now have a 30-day window (from Dec. 4 to Jan. 2) to notify teams of their intent to transfer.

Graduate transfers and players whose head coaches have been fired were already able to enter their names in the portal, but there will be a flood of new names exploring their options this week now that the regular season is complete.

Unsure where to start amid the Day 1 chaos? Below is a list of some of the biggest names in the portal to keep an eye on. And follow our live coverage throughout the transfer portal entry window here.

Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel: If Gabriel doesn’t like the draft feedback he gets and wants to play one final college season, he’s going to have a nice list of options. The safe move would be going to Mississippi State to play in the same offensive scheme with his longtime coach Jeff Lebby, the Bulldogs’ newly hired head coach. But there are quite a few big-time programs on the West Coast — particularly Oregon, Washington and USC — with high-speed offenses that could be a good fit for the Hawaii native.

Washington State QB Cam Ward: The FCS transfer from Incarnate Word has flashed impressive talent and upside during his two seasons in Pullman, where he has thrown for 7,165 yards with 61 total touchdowns and 16 interceptions while playing in offenses that let him run the show (39.3 passes per game). His decision might come down to his NFL Draft feedback, though Ward seems capable of raising his stock quite a bit with one more strong college season.

Ohio State QB Kyle McCord: After sitting behind C.J. Stroud for two years, McCord beat out Devin Brown for the job in preseason camp and helped Ohio State to an 11-1 record, completing 65.8 percent of his passes and tallying 3,170 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions. He signed with Ohio State as a five-star recruit in the Class of 2021 out of Philadelphia’s St. Joseph’s Prep and has one year of eligibility remaining.

North Texas WR Ja’Mori Maclin: The cousin of former All-American wideout Jeremy Maclin spent two years as a reserve at Missouri before transferring and getting his career rolling in Denton. Maclin earned second-team All-AAC honors this season after catching 57 passes for 1,004 yards and 11 touchdowns. Lots of Power 5 schools are lining up for the chance to sign him, including Colorado, LSU, Ole Miss and Texas A&M.

Penn DL Joey Slackman: Few players have been more popular in the portal than Slackman. The 6-foot-4, 300-pound former wrestler was a first-team All-Ivy selection this season after logging 50 tackles, 12 TFLs and four sacks in nine games. Now the senior is ready to see if he can make the move up, and more than 20 schools have extended offers.

Duke QB Riley Leonard: Leonard and his Blue Devils burst onto the scene in 2022. He finished third in the ACC in total offense after putting up 3,666 yards with 33 total touchdowns and just six interceptions and guided Duke to a surprise nine-win season in coach Mike Elko’s debut season, then opened this season with a bang in a 28-7 upset of Clemson. Notre Dame has emerged as the favorite to land Leonard as the successor to Sam Hartman.

Kansas State QB Will Howard: The 6-foot-5, 242-pound senior has steadily developed into a high-quality quarterback who led Kansas State to a Big 12 championship victory over TCU last season. Howard wasn’t quite as efficient this season as he was during his strong finish to 2022, but he still ranked No. 3 in the Big 12 in total offense with a career-best 2,994 total yards and 33 touchdowns with 11 turnovers.

FIU WR Kris Mitchell: The fifth-year senior wideout put his name in the portal to explore his options after having a career year at FIU, where he led Conference USA in receiving with 64 catches for 1,118 yards and six touchdowns. Mitchell has already taken a visit to Notre Dame, one of many programs in this cycle looking to reload at receiver.

Middle Tennessee DT Marley Cook: The coaching change at Middle Tennessee prompted many of their best players to test the portal. Cook, a 6-foot-2, 298-pound junior, has been a two-year starter for the Blue Raiders and is commanding serious interest. He has offers from more than a dozen Power 5 schools and is planning to take visits to Miami and Ohio State.

Utah QB Bryson Barnes: The pig farmer is on the market! With Cameron Rising set to return to the Utes in 2024, Barnes is exploring his options. The former walk-on threw for 1,517 yards, rushed for 267 yards and scored 15 total TDs with nine interceptions in 10 games for Utah this season. Barnes had some big-time moments for this program — the comeback win over USC certainly stands out — and proved he can play at this level.

Shorter OL Alan Herron: Coaches are always looking for starter-caliber offensive line and are happy to take them wherever they can get them. Herron, a 6-foot-6, 315-pound transfer from the Division II ranks, has seen his recruitment take off in recent weeks starting with an offer from Texas Tech followed by 12 more Power 5 programs including Penn State, Miami, Auburn and Clemson. Yes, you read that right: Clemson offered a transfer!

(Photo of Cameron Ward: James Snook / USA Today)

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