Best Transfers Who Are Ineligible Going Into the 2023 College Football Season
The transfer portal has become one of the primary ways for schools to stock their roster with talent and attempt to elevate the overall talent level for each season. Thousands of players enter the portal, and the vast majority are granted immediate eligibility. However, the NCAA deemed some potential difference makers ineligible for the 2023 season. The reasons for the ineligibility vary, but the outcome is the same.
These players are the best of the group that cannot participate in the 2023 campaign.
Devontez Walker – North Carolina Tar Heels
Walker was the sixth-ranked transfer in the portal, but he will not be playing in the 2023 season. Walker began his career with North Carolina Central before transferring to Kent State University and starring for Sean Lewis‘s high-powered offense during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Walker was an All-MAC selection last season with nearly 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was listed as a preseason member of the All-ACC team and named to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List. The NCAA ruled the transfer to UNC was technically his second transfer. North Carolina’s appeal of the decision was denied.
Tyler Brown – Colorado Buffaloes
Deion Sanders makes headlines for nearly everything he does, and he was back in the spotlight earlier this week. The new Colorado head coach raged against the NCAA’s decision to deny offensive lineman Tyler Brown eligibility for the 2023 season. Brown began his career at Louisiana before transferring to play the 2022 season at Jackson State for Sanders. Brown cited mental health issues as a reason he should be granted a waiver of immediate eligibility to play with the Buffaloes for the 2023 season. Brown was an FCS-All-American at Jackson State and was expected to play immediately at Colorado.
Jake Smith – Arizona State Sun Devils
Smith was expected to start for first-year head coach Kenny Dillingham and the rebuilding Arizona State Sun Devils. However, the NCAA ruled this was his second transfer, and he must sit out. Smith began his career at Texas before transferring to USC. He did not play a single down for the Trojans as he dealt with injuries at Southern California. Smith was changed to a “medical non-counter,” which would have meant he could play right away when he transferred, but that rule was changed. Since this was Smith’s third school before graduation, he was deemed ineligible.
Darrell Jackson Jr. – Florida State Seminoles
Perhaps the player most consequential to the College Football Playoff landscape, Florida State transfer Darrell Jackson Jr. was denied eligibility by the NCAA. The defensive tackle transferred from Miami to Tallahassee to be closer to his sick mother, but the hardship waiver was denied. Jackson Jr. was only at Miami for one season, so this was his second transfer. He began his career at Maryland. Jackson Jr. was expected to be a part of the rotation on the line for the Seminoles as they push for a conference title under Mike Norvell.
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