The Big Ten has grown with four Pac-12 programs, and it added a boost to the league’s activity during the spring portal. Some teams were more active than others, which is reflected in its grades of the spring window for transfers.
Illinois: C-
Key additions: None.
Key subtractions: Andrew Dennis, OL (Michigan State); Joey Okla, OL (Wisconsin); Zachary Tobe, S (Georgia Tech).
Outlook: Illinois lost 17 players to the transfer portal this spring.
Offensive linemen Dennis and Okla, particularly Dennis, a former Rivals.com four-star prospect, were losses to fellow Big Ten programs. Tobe, a freshman, is headed to Georgia Tech after having 25 tackles and five passes defended.
Illinois also lost linebacker Jared Badie (San Diego State), center Will Leys (San Jose State) and cornerback Elijah Mc-Cantos (Appalachian State).
*****
Indiana: B-
Key additions: D’Angelo Ponds, CB (James Madison); D.J. Warnell, S (Arizona).
Key subtractions: Trenton Howland, RB (Oklahoma State); Philip Blidi, DL (Auburn).
Outlook: Indiana landed coveted James Madison cornerback Ponds, who was considered a freshman All-American. He had 52 tackles, two interceptions and 12 passes defended last fall.
Running back Solomon Vanhorse and defensive lineman Tyrique Tucker also followed the JMU-to-Indiana pipeline. Warnell has also arrived from Arizona to help at safety.
Indiana lost 19 players to the portal this spring, so the roster has turned over.
*****
Iowa: C+
Key additions: Cade Borud, OL (North Dakota).
Key subtractions: Kadyn Proctor, OL (Alabama).
Outlook: The lone player Iowa has added is interior offensive lineman Borud of North Dakota, who Rivals.com ranks at No. 512 overall.
Iowa lost the prize it never quite had in star left tackle Proctor, who left Alabama to go back home, only to transfer back to the Crimson Tide. Quarterback Deacon Hill and wide receiver Jacob Bostic also entered the portal.
*****
Maryland: C
Key additions: None
Key subtractions: Jaishawn Barham, LB (Michigan); Corey Dyches, TE (California).
Outlook: Maryland ended up losing just four players this spring, though Barham and Dyches were key cogs. Dyches caught 49 passes for 491 yards and two touchdowns last fall. Barham tallied 37 tackles, three sacks and one interception on defense.
*****
Michigan: C+
Key additions: C.J. Charleston, WR (Youngstown State); Amorion Walker, DB (Ole Miss).
Key subtractions: DJ Waller Jr., DB (Kentucky); Jeremiah Beasley, LB (Missouri); Amir Herring, OL (Kansas).
Outlook: Charleston caught 33 passes for 503 yards and four touchdowns last year. Michigan also brought back Walker, who entered the portal last winter and went to Ole Miss this spring. He had played defensive back in the past for the Wolverines.
*****
Michigan State: B-
Key additions: Ru’Quan Buckley, DL (Nebraska); Andrew Dennis, OL (Illinois); Ed Woods, CB (Arizona State); Tyler Gillison, OLB (Cincinnati); Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams, RB (UMass).
Key subtractions: Simeon Barrow, DL (Miami); Derrick Harmon, DL (Oregon); Braden Miller, OL (California); Bai Jobe, DE (Kansas); Andrew Depaepe, DE (uncommitted).
Outlook: Michigan State has been busy with players coming and going this spring.
The addition of 5-foot-10, 205-pound Lynch-Adams could be a big one. He rushed 236 times for 1,157 yards and 12 touchdowns at UMass, which was his fifth year of college. He played his first two years at Rutgers.
Dennis was a four-star prospect coming out high school by Rivals.com and Gillison is another player with upside and youth.
The Spartans’ defensive line took a huge hit with the losses of Barrow and Harmon, plus younger prospects Jobe and Depaepe. The addition of Buckley from Nebraska could lead to the 6-foot-5, 295-pounder to play right away this season.
*****
Minnesota: B
Key additions: Aluma Nkele, OL (UTEP); Adam Kissayi, DE (Clemson); Jaxon Howard, OLB (LSU); Tyler Williams, WR (Georgia).
Key subtractions: Cade McConnell, OG (Vanderbilt).
Outlook: Minnesota bolstered the lines with UTEP massive tackle Nkele and Clemson defensive end Kissayi. The Gophers also brought home Howard, a linebacker from LSU, and got wide receiver Williams of Georgia. Virginia Tech quarterback Dylan Wittke is the last addition.
Minnesota guard McConnell is off to Vanderbilt, but the rest of the various outgoing transfers were solid but unproven prep products.
*****
Nebraska: C-
Key additions: None.
Key subtractions: Corey Collier Jr., DB (Florida A&M); Ru’Quan Buckley, DL (Michigan State).
Outlook: Nebraska held steady, which usually means the bottom of the roster is engaged and ready to compete for playing time. The Cornhuskers only lost six players to the portal this spring.
Nebraska also hasn’t really lost anyone of note with Collier Jr. ranked the highest by Rivals.com and going to Florida A&M.
*****
Northwestern: B-
Key additions: Jack Bailey, OL (Colorado); Matt Keeler, OL (Texas Tech); Noah Taylor, LB (Cornell).
Key subtractions: Jaheem Joseph, DB (West Virginia); Garnett Hollis, DB (West Virginia); Brendan Sullivan, QB (uncommitted).
Outlook: Northwestern had a quiet spring and only lost four players to the transfer portal, but did add two linemen in Bailey and Keeler to bolster the trenches.
Taylor had 74 tackles and a sack at Cornell and brings a veteran presence at linebacker.
Joseph and Hollis will bolster West Virginia‘s secondary, with Hollis having 49 tackles and one interception and Joseph adding 24 tackles and three interceptions.
Sullivan threw for 714 yards and six touchdowns in about four games where he played extensively.
*****
Ohio State: C-
Key additions: None.
Key subtractions: Kyion Grayes II, WR (California); Dallan Hayden, RB (Colorado); Cedrick Hawkins, S (UCF); Enokk Vimahi, OL (Washington); Ja’Had Carter, S (uncommitted).
Outlook: Ohio State did its heavy lifting in the portal during the winter period. What the spring showed is that Ohio State is feeling good about its two-deep following spring practices.
Ohio State lost six players, with four already having found a home.
****
Oregon: B-
Key additions: Derrick Harmon, DL (Michigan State); Peyton Woodyard, S (Alabama).
Key subtractions: Ben Roberts, DL (uncommitted); Michael Wooten, OL (Arizona).
Outlook: The 6-foot-5, 320-pound Harmon has started 15 of 28 games and has 71 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in his career. He is a crucial addition for Oregon‘s present.
Woodyard will be at Oregon for the next four years after signing with Alabama in the class of 2024. The 6-foot-2, 188-pound safety was ranked No. 60 overall by Rivals and the No. 6 prospect overall from California in the previous recruiting cycle.
*****
Penn State: C-
Key additions: None.
Key subtractions: King Mack, S (Uncommitted); KeAndre Lambert-Smith, WR (Auburn).
Outlook: Like Ohio State, Penn State did its heavy lifting in the transfer portal during the winter, but lost eight players this spring.
Penn State lost leading receiver Lambert-Smith, who had 53 catches for 673 yards and four touchdowns last fall. He caught four passes for 123 yards and two scores in the season opener vs. West Virginia on Sept. 2.
Mack was ranked No. 149 by Rivals.com in the class of 2023 and had three tackles last year.
*****
Purdue: C+
Key additions: RJ Lopez, K (UCLA); Keelan Crimmins, P (Mississippi State).
Key subtractions: Christian Womack, RB (uncommitted).
Outlook: Purdue took care of business on special teams with UCLA kicker Lopez, who left after coach Chip Kelly became the offensive coordinator at Ohio State. He went 6 of 11 on field goals with a long of 47, and went 31 of 32 on extra points.
Crimmons, who is from Australia, had a successful freshman year averaging 40.9 yards on 49 punts at Mississippi State.
*****
Rutgers: C
Key additions: Shedrick Rhodes Jr., OL (Ohio).
Key subtractions: Gavin Wimsatt, QB (Kentucky); Rene Konga, DL (Louisville).
Outlook: Rhodes started all 12 games for the Bobcats in 2023, with the 6-foot-6, 322-pounder playing right tackle in the first 11 contests, and then right guard in the final game. He was the lone spring portal addition thus far.
Rutgers only lost two key cogs with defensive lineman Konga going to Louisville and quarterback Wimsatt headed to Kentucky, and three players total.
Rutgers also held steady this spring, feeling good about who it brought in last winter and what the depth chart is like after spring football.
****
UCLA: B-
Key additions: Dermaricus Davis, QB (Washington); Bryce Pierre, TE (Arizona State); Reuben Unije, OL (Louisville).
Key subtractions: Kyle Ford, WR (USC); Collin Schlee, QB (Virginia Tech); Benjamin Roy, OL (uncommitted); Bruno Fina, OL (uncommitted).
Outlook: Richter should bolster the special teams for UCLA. He averaged 43.1 yards on 23 punts last year.
Davis was in the class of 2024 and signed with Washington, but following the coaching change, he is headed back home to UCLA.
The 6-foot-5, 310-pound Unije has bounced around from junior college to Houston to Louisville, but he started 11 games at right tackle for the Cougars in 2023.
****
USC: B-
Key additions: Jay Fair, WR (Auburn); Greedy Vance Jr., DB (Florida State); Kyle Ford, WR (UCLA).
Key subtractions: Ceyair Wright, CB (uncommitted); Tre’Quan Fegans, CB (Central Florida); Jason Zandamela, OL (Florida).
Outlook: USC was definitely busy the last five weeks or so, with players coming and going.
Landing wide receivers Fair and Ford will bolster that unit, with Ford the rare player to attend USC then UCLA and back to USC. Fair caught 31 passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns for Auburn, and Ford had 22 catches for 236 yards and a score for UCLA.
Vance played his first two years at Louisville and then two years at Florida State. He had 18 tackles, one interception and three passes defended this past fall.
*****
Washington: B+
Key additions: Keleki Latu, TE (Nevada); Kevin Green, WR (Arizona); Jayden Wayne, DE (Miami).
Key subtractions: Dermaricus Davis, QB (UCLA); Davon Banks, CB (Uncommitted).
Outlook: Washington made sure to fortify its lines in the trenches, with offensive linemen Enokk Vimahi (Ohio State), D’Angalo Titialii (Portland State) and Logan Sagapolu (Miami), plus promising freshman defensive end Wayne, who is coming back home.
Green and running back Jordan Washington followed the Arizona coaches to Washington, and they have time on their side. Green caught eight passes for 97 yards, and Washington was a Rivals.com three-star prospect in the class of 2024.
The 6-7, 230-pound Latu caught 14 passes for 179 yards and he previously played two years at California.
Wisconsin: C
Key additions: Leyton Nelson, OL (Vanderbilt); Joey Okla, OL (Illinois).
Key subtractions: Nick Evers, QB (Connecticut); Gio Paez, DL (LSU); T.J. Bollers, DL (California).
Outlook: Wisconsin has a pair of transfers in Nelson from Vanderbilt and Okla from Illinois.
Quarterback Evers, who arrived from Wisconsin from Oklahoma, is on his way to Connecticut. Defensive tackle Paez is headed to LSU, and Bollers is going to California.
