Who's Back, Who's Gone, and Who's New | Part 1
Roster turnover has always been a big part of college football, but rosters are more in flux than ever since the implementation of the one-time transfer rule. Now it’s not just about who a program loses to the NFL Draft or graduation. It’s also about who they lose and who they gain in the transfer portal as well.
It’s hard to keep track of who’s back, who’s gone, and who’s new for each program, but I’m looking at every Notre Dame opponent for those three categories and with an added bonus of who you’ll likely learn more about when these teams face the Irish.
(Part one covers the first half of the season and part two will cover the home stretch for the Irish)
Ohio State
73% of returning production (25th)
Who’s back:
The Buckeyes are bringing back three skill players who could all be in contention for the best player at their position in college football.
RB TreyVeon Henderson is going to be a problem and he is complemented by some good depth behind him. Most teams are crippled if they lose players like Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson at receiver, but Jaxon Smith-Nijiba was their leading receiver last season and should be a finalist for the Biletnikoff this fall. They have former top recruits Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr. ready to emerge as well.
QB CJ Stroud should be a Heisman contender and the offensive line is loaded with former blue-chip prospects like Paris Johnson, Donovan Jackson, and Luke Wypler. It’s tough to find a weakness with this group.
The defense has experience returning in the secondary led by S Ronnie Hickman and a ton of experience coming back at linebacker, though the group wasn’t great last year.
The defensive line might be as talented as any in the country with edge rushers Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloa looking to become breakout starters.
There’s a reason why Vegas has set the line where it has for their matchup with Notre Dame. They are bringing a lot back.
Who’s gone:
Wilson and Olave were first round picks and even with the young talent waiting in the wings, it might not be seamless to replace those two. They lost some other key pieces like DT Haskell Garrett, LT Nicholas Petit-Frere, and TEJeremy Ruckert to the NFL as well.
One thing that didn’t really hurt them was the portal. The players they lost were mostly depth pieces and they needed most of them to get off the books to be under the 85 scholarship limit. S Bryson Shaw is a perfect example where it might look like a bigger loss on paper than it actually is. He started for them last season, but was going to lose his starting job this season.
Who’s new:
Adding K Parker Lewis from USC is one of those moves that could end up being important. He was good for the Trojans.
DB Tanner McCallister from Oklahoma State should be a starter who can play the nickel for OSU.
DeaMonte Trayanum was a running back at Arizona State, but he was also a very good linebacker prospect in high school. He’s switching to linebacker and may be a factor at that position.
The Buckeyes also signed seven top-100 prospects this cycle including S Sonny Styles, LB CJ Hicks, and plenty of skill talent. It’s a safe bet that at least one or two of those freshmen will make an impact for them immediately.
Perhaps the biggest addition is defensive coordinator Jim Knowles from Oklahoma State. They greatly underachieved on defense the last two years and Knowles’ could help them get back to where they were when Jeff Hafley was running the defense.
We’ll see if that will take a little bit to happen or if they are still figuring things out in week one.
Name to know:
There are way too many to list with OSU because there’s a half dozen players who didn’t do much last season with the potential to become stars for them in 2022. Harrison Jr. might be the most obvious choice, though.
He had 11 catches in ‘21, but three of those were touchdowns in the Rose Bowl.
Marshall
54% returning production 105th
Who’s back:
Marshall certainly has a few players who won’t look out of place competing against Notre Dame.
RB Rasheen Ali rushed for 1,401 yards last season and probably could have left for Power 5 opportunities if he wanted to.
There are two NFL prospects in the secondary in Steven Gilmore and Micah Abraham. They combined for 26 passes defended last season.
LB Abraham Beauplan was highly productive and was voted first team All-Conference USA last season.
Who’s gone:
Losing S Nazeeh Johnson to the NFL Draft is a blow even with those two coming back in the secondary.
OL Alex Mollette and Will Ulmer are both going to be in NFL camps and were good for them. They won’t be easy to replace.
Maybe the biggest loss is starting QB Grant Wells to Virginia Tech. That’s something that is always going to be tough for Group of 5 programs to deal with. Just like that they lose their starting to a bigger program.
Who’s new:
They signed 23 3-star high school prospects and are adding 11 transfers, eight from Power 5 programs. They get the Power 5 guys who were disappointments at their previous schools like former FSU RB Khalan Laborn, though. They aren’t getting guys who are highly productive.
34 new players in all means they are going to need to find themselves when they travel to South Bend. That’s not exactly comforting for a team with a lot to replace.
Name to know:
Normally Laborn would stick out because he was a top rated prospect out of high school, but he’s coming in at a position with an established star already there. DT Anthony Watts from Purdue could end up being a player for them. He sat out 2021 with an injury, but had 19 starts in his career before that.
California
53% returning production 110th
Who’s back:
WR Jeremiah Hunter averaged 18.5 yards per catch last season and is the top target returning.
DL Brett Johnson is back after being out with an injury in 2021. He’s a very good player who’s best football should be ahead of him.
They have some good young linebackers in Femi Oladejo and Nate Rutchena and the depth there is solid.
Who’s gone:
They lost two NFL Draft picks, including former ND commit Elijah Hicks. He was their only all-conference performer last season. They have had good play from the secondary under Justin Wilcox so losing Hicks feels like something they can overcome.
Here’s the part that really sucks for a middle tier Power 5 program: they lose good players who are simply looking for better opportunities.
They lost a 2nd team All Pac-12 guard to Oklahoma, a DL starter to Indiana, and their leading rusher to BYU. The OL and the RB hurt the most because the offense is also losing WR Trevon Clark (19.9 per catch) and QB Chase Garbers. Garbers might not have had flashy numbers, but he was an above average Pac-12 QB.
The offensive line has some depth issues and the offense hasn’t been good in recent years.
Who’s new:
They signed the 55th ranked class in the country with one 4-star recruit, RB Jadyn Ott. Ott might have to be a player for them right away after losing Christopher Brooks to BYU.
They are adding 6 transfers. The most important one is QB Jack Plummer from Purdue. He started against Notre Dame last season, but struggled in that matchup. He ultimately lost the starting job there, but projects to be the guy for Cal.
LB Jackson Sirmon from Washington looks like a massive pickup for their defense. He led them in tackles.
Former 4-star DE Xavier Carlton, who started two games at Utah last year, is only adding to what should be one of the better groups on their team.
Cal’s defense should be solid at worst.
Name to know:
Cal got a big recruiting win in 2021 when they landed 4-star WR J. Michael Sturdivant. He held a Notre Dame offer.
Sturdivant impressed in the spring and they need him to make a big step to give the offense a spark.
North Carolina
64% returning production 73rd
Who’s back:
The offense is once again going to have to replace some skill talent, but at least they have one of the best receivers in college football coming back. Josh Downs is a problem.
Offensive coordinator Phil Longo will likely still have that group humming with Downs and other emerging, but it’s the defense that is genuinely intriguing.
DT Myles Murphy is a big time player and there are former ISD Fab 50 prospects like Desmond Evans and Keeshawn Silver who should be in line to have great seasons.
This could be the year that CB Tony Grimes, another Fab 50 prospect, makes the leap. It didn’t happen for him last year. Cam’ron Kelly is a good player at safety and they have plenty of raw talent in the secondary.
LB Cedric Gray was highly productive (100 tackles) and he could be one of the better outside linebackers in the ACC this fall.
Who’s gone:
They lost four NFL Draft picks, including both starting guards. That’s an issue for an OL that has been inconsistent.
QB Sam Howell and leading rusher Ty Chandler are both gone. Howell was so good in every season he played at UNC and finding someone who can match what he did will be difficult. Drake Maye and Jacolby Criswell are battling it out and reviews have been positive for both heading into the summer. Maye is another Fab 50 kid (Mack Brown didn’t forget how to recruit).
These three players are maybe the most substantial losses. LB Jeremiah Gemmel was their best player on defense last season. DL Tomari Fox is suspended by the NCAA for a banned substance and his brother Tomon Fox led them in tackles for loss last year and had been their best pass rusher.
Who’s new:
They signed the 11th ranked class in the country and should have at least two immediate contributors in OL Zach Rice and DT Travis Shaw. I would be surprised if both aren’t starting at some point this season. We’ll see if it’s in time for Notre Dame’s visit to Chapel Hill.
They also added a couple of players who ND fans will be familiar with in LB Sebastian Cheeks and WR Andre Greene. They have worse depth chart issues at receiver than Notre Dame does, which should signal to everyone that Greene needs to help them this season.
They added a couple of Ohio St transfers on defense, who didn’t play much for the Buckeyes, but the bigger gets in the portal were Spencer Holland, a first-team Ivy League OT, and OLB Noah Taylor who had 12 Havoc plays and led UVA in TFLs. Throw in Corey Gaynor, a two-year starting C at Miami, and those OL transfers on top of adding Rice could help greatly improve them up front.
Maybe the biggest development on defense is bringing back Gene Chizik to replace Jay Bateman as coordinator. Chizik had been working the media for the last little while and hasn’t run a defense since UNC’s back in 2015 and 2016. Those groups finished 51st in F+ in both years.
He inherited a lot of players who everyone in the country wanted to sign, so he should be in a good position to turn things around for them.
Name to know:
Chandler was very good for them after transferring from Tennessee, but they have some internal candidates who could break out from the backfield this year. British Brooks averaged over 9 yards per carry last season and could be the next great UNC back.
BYU
85% returning production (2nd)
Who’s back:
Who isn’t back is the question. Just about everybody is back, led by QB Jaren Hall (top-20 in total offense) and WRs Puka Nacua (18 per reception) and Gunner Romney. Just about everyone is back on the OL as well. Just about everyone with experience is returning on defense too. They are 2nd in returning production for a reason.
LB Ben Bywater and LB Max Tooley, their two leading tacklers, are that BYU combination of young in eligibility, but older in reality. An inexperienced defense in 2021 is now a veteran defense in many ways.
The defense was bad last season, 99th in EPA per play, so the hope for them is that experience helps them be much better in ‘22.
Who’s gone:
RB Tyson Allgeier was the only BYU player drafted. He ran 1,606 yards last season and guys like that don’t grow on trees. It’s just one notable loss, but it’s a pretty big one.
Who’s new:
Transfer RB Christopher Brooks led Cal in rushing and so that could soften the blow of losing Allgeier.
Outside of Brooks, the most intriguing of the handful of transfers they added was OT Kingsley Suamatala, a former Fab-50 prospect who was at Oregon for one year.
They never typically sign a splashy recruiting class and many of the players end up going on missions, but it should be acknowledged that 15 players they signed from the 2020 class are returning from their missions for this year. Some might greyshirt, but there will be others who will contribute for them this year.
Name to know:
DB Micah Harper started five games as a freshman in 2020, but tore his ACL and missed last season. He could be a big piece in helping the Cougars get back to playing good defense again. They finished 11th in F+ in 2020 when Harper started those games.
Stanford
83% returning production (5th)
Who’s back:
Another team with just about everybody back. Unlike BYU, it might not be a good thing for a team that went 3-9 last season.
Tanner McKee is back at quarterback as is most of the receiving group. Stanford badly needs someone to emerge there because McKee has been limited by the talent he has to throw to. They don’t have an obvious big play threat and finished 120th in receptions of 30-yards or more.
One good option he does have is TE Benjamin Yurosek. He’s probably the best TE Notre Dame will see all season outside of practice.
Everybody is back who played a lot on the OL. Is that a good thing? They had a veteran group last year and still finished 96th in pass blocking grade according to PFF and 108th in sack rate. They were 123rd in Stuff Rate as well. The running game was also bad.
CB Kyu Blu Kelly stepped up big for them last year and was one of the best corners in the Pac-12. He’s one of the only defenders who surpassed expectations last season.
They have players returning on all three levels. It’s hard to find any of the types of future NFL players that Stanford used to have at all three levels, though. Who’s gone:
Their best pass rusher, Gabe Reid, transferred to Utah. DL Thomas Booker was their only player drafted and not having him makes them worse up front. They lost their top-two running backs, one of whom transferred to USC.
Who’s new:
They signed the 28th ranked recruiting class in the country and they are bringing in some good front seven talent like David Bailey, Ernest Cooper, and Tevarua Tafiti. They may need one or three of them to contribute immediately. Adding Patrick Fields from OU at safety in the portal is a big deal for them. He was a three-year starter and one of their better players. It’s the only transfer they landed, but it was a significant addition. Name to know: RB EJ Smith only had 26 carries last fall, but he showed promise. That promise needs to become production because the son of Emmitt Smith is easily the best option returning. If they want to start looking like the Stanford of the early David Shaw years, Smith needs to have a big season.
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