The transfer portal is open for 44 more days. Things are going to change frequently. We're not going to do a separate thread every day for it. But now and again, I'll try to give you an overarching view of where we think things stand.
Our portal coverage is sponsored by our friends at Billiards on Broadway. They've got the best burger in town and a great selection of local beers on tap. They've been kind enough to provide a few gift cards for us to use as promotional giveaways throughout the portal window period. So here's what we're gong to do for the first one. REPLY TO THIS THREAD with the prospect you believe will be Missouri's first commitment out of the transfer portal. You can see all of the players currently in the portal here (or at least the ones we know of and have uploaded). The contest is simple: The first person to accurately predict Mizzou's first transfer commitment will get a $50 Billiards gift card.
Now on to today's report:
*Yesterday was built up as this hugely momentous day. And in some ways it was. But in terms of actual news, it really wasn't. It was the equivalent of National Signing Day. There were a handful of surprises along the way, but for the most part, you already knew everything that was going to happen. We kept track of a lot of Mizzou-related things here. The guys we expect to be in the portal pretty much are. We're following all the outgoing transfer declarations here and will add the incoming transfers when those begin to happen. As far as Mizzou goes, day one held no surprises. The Tigers have nine scholarship players who have said they're entering the portal. Not all of those have publicly said they're already in the portal, but we anticipate they either are already or will be soon. There were no new declarations Monday, which is probably good news. Eli Drinkwitz said yesterday morning the staff anticipated 12 to 14 transfers out at the beginning of this. They'll likely still get to that number. Drinkwitz said there will likely be a few guys who want to play in the bowl game and "finish what they started" who will enter the portal after the Gasparilla Bowl. My guess is that will include some players who can grad transfer. We've already reported that Luke Griffin intends to transfer, but he has not yet stated that publicly. I believe that's one that will happen after the bowl game. There will probably be some others as well. That doesn't mean it's impossible someone enters the portal between now and December 24th, but we think the actual portal entries from Mizzou will be pretty slow until after the bowl game now.
*As of this moment, we have Mizzou at 83 scholarship players including the currently committed 2023 class. Again, we may be off by a spot or two either direction, this is just our best estimate. If we're forecasting another three to five transfers out, that means Mizzou has room to add five to seven transfers. We think that number is likely to be a little bit higher by the time everything is said and done (especially when you add in guys that might still declare for the NFL Draft). So let's guess Mizzou has room to add ten more players, whether those be traditional prospects or transfers.
*The focus is going to be quarterback just like it was last year. I just don't think it's going to play out nearly as publicly as it did last year. In the last cycle, we all knew Missouri was chasing a QB transfer and nobody tried to hide it. I'm not sure that's the case this year. The way things went down last year I think is going to cause Missouri to try to keep the QB chase a little bit more low-key this time around. I do strongly believe the Tigers will add a QB transfer to this class.
First, let's talk about what that means: It's my impression that Missouri will add a transfer and will basically have a three-man QB competition in spring football and fall camp. That will include Brady Cook, who I expect to stick around at least through spring football and compete for the job. It will also include Sam Horn. The third player in the competition will be whatever transfer Missouri brings in. I do not believe this means the staff is giving up on Horn in any way. I do believe it means they don't KNOW that he's going to be ready to be the starting quarterback next year. He could be, but if there was no doubt, there would be little need to bring in a transfer to compete for the job. It's at least a question mark.
Next, who are the possibilities for that transfer QB? So far, there are three names out there.
Tony Muskett, QB, Monmouth - Threw for 1,997 yards 17 TD and 8 INT in eight games this past season. For his career: 5,687 passing yards, 51 TD, 16 INT at a 64% completion percentage
Missouri offered Muskett on Friday. He is a Virginia native who has already reported offers from the following programs in addition to Mizzou: Georgia Southern, Miami (Ohio), Bowling Green, Coastal Carolina, Arkansas State, Ball State, Troy, Virginia.
Devin Leary, QB, NC State - Leary was recruited to NC State by Eli Drinkwitz. Drinkwitz was the OC during Leary's redshirt season. Leary played in six games this year, completing 61% of his passes for 1235 yards, 11 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. For his career, he has 6807 yards, 62 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. His breakout came in 2021 when he threw for 3433 yards, 35 touchdowns and five interceptions. He is viewed as one of the top quarterbacks in the portal so far. Leary was the preseason ACC player of the year, but suffered a torn pectoral muscle against Florida State and missed the rest of the season. The upside is clear. The competition will be fierce. Notre Dame was the first school mentioned to me when I asked someone at NC State where he might land. Drinkwitz appeared to be surprised when Leary entered the portal in the middle of his Zoom call with us yesterday morning. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't.
Kedon Slovis, QB, Pittsburgh - Slovis played his first three seasons at USC. He threw for 3509 yards, 30 touchdowns and 9 interceptions as a freshman and was considered a future star and even a potential Heisman candidate. He won all five games during the regular season with USC in the COVID year in 2020 and then led the PAC-12 in passing yards in 2021, but the numbers declined in each season. Clay Helton was fired after just two games in 2021 and Slovis transferred to Pitt after the season. Big things expected, but Slovis struggled with the Panthers. He completed a career low 58% of his passes for 2391 yards, 10 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He's a pure pocket passer. He has had negative rushing yards all four years of his career. Drinkwitz was the first Power Five coach to offer Slovis a scholarship out of high school, but when USC offered, the competition was over.
We first heard Slovis' name on Saturday. Pittsburgh sources seemed convinced he was leaving and they were already hearing Missouri was going to be the destination. That appears to have been a little premature. Slovis actually texted me back last night. I had reached out to him to ask if he'd heard from Mizzou since entering the portal. His response: "I haven’t been in touch with anyone as of yet but still have some time left in the day and lots of people to get back to!" So it's not a no. He didn't say he hadn't heard from anyone at Mizzou. He just said he hadn't been in touch with anyone. The intriguing part here for me is that Drinkwitz told us yesterday morning where he was going to be recruiting this week. He's scheduled to be in Arizona today. Slovis went to high school in Scottsdale. That doesn't mean that's who Drinkwitz is going to see, but I don't know of any Arizona prospects Mizzou is recruiting off the top of my head. So I think it's possible Drink is going to see him today.
This is not an exhaustive list obviously. The portal has been open for a day. There are already a lot of quarterbacks in it. Transfers tend to handle the process quite a bit more quietly than high school kids so Mizzou may very well have contacted and even offered some guys we have no idea about. Again, I think it's going to be a little tough to track because I don't think Missouri is exactly going to be advertising that it's going after guys. If I had to handicap it as of today, I'd put Slovis as the most likely, followed by Muskett and then Leary. Mike Farrell reported yesterday he thought it would come down to Illinois or Mizzou for Leary. I don't know whether Mike's basing that on information he's got or just taking a guess. It seems pretty early in the portal window to already be able to say a kid's down to two schools, but who knows? We'll track it the best we can and keep you all informed.
Our portal coverage is sponsored by our friends at Billiards on Broadway. They've got the best burger in town and a great selection of local beers on tap. They've been kind enough to provide a few gift cards for us to use as promotional giveaways throughout the portal window period. So here's what we're gong to do for the first one. REPLY TO THIS THREAD with the prospect you believe will be Missouri's first commitment out of the transfer portal. You can see all of the players currently in the portal here (or at least the ones we know of and have uploaded). The contest is simple: The first person to accurately predict Mizzou's first transfer commitment will get a $50 Billiards gift card.
Now on to today's report:
*Yesterday was built up as this hugely momentous day. And in some ways it was. But in terms of actual news, it really wasn't. It was the equivalent of National Signing Day. There were a handful of surprises along the way, but for the most part, you already knew everything that was going to happen. We kept track of a lot of Mizzou-related things here. The guys we expect to be in the portal pretty much are. We're following all the outgoing transfer declarations here and will add the incoming transfers when those begin to happen. As far as Mizzou goes, day one held no surprises. The Tigers have nine scholarship players who have said they're entering the portal. Not all of those have publicly said they're already in the portal, but we anticipate they either are already or will be soon. There were no new declarations Monday, which is probably good news. Eli Drinkwitz said yesterday morning the staff anticipated 12 to 14 transfers out at the beginning of this. They'll likely still get to that number. Drinkwitz said there will likely be a few guys who want to play in the bowl game and "finish what they started" who will enter the portal after the Gasparilla Bowl. My guess is that will include some players who can grad transfer. We've already reported that Luke Griffin intends to transfer, but he has not yet stated that publicly. I believe that's one that will happen after the bowl game. There will probably be some others as well. That doesn't mean it's impossible someone enters the portal between now and December 24th, but we think the actual portal entries from Mizzou will be pretty slow until after the bowl game now.
*As of this moment, we have Mizzou at 83 scholarship players including the currently committed 2023 class. Again, we may be off by a spot or two either direction, this is just our best estimate. If we're forecasting another three to five transfers out, that means Mizzou has room to add five to seven transfers. We think that number is likely to be a little bit higher by the time everything is said and done (especially when you add in guys that might still declare for the NFL Draft). So let's guess Mizzou has room to add ten more players, whether those be traditional prospects or transfers.
*The focus is going to be quarterback just like it was last year. I just don't think it's going to play out nearly as publicly as it did last year. In the last cycle, we all knew Missouri was chasing a QB transfer and nobody tried to hide it. I'm not sure that's the case this year. The way things went down last year I think is going to cause Missouri to try to keep the QB chase a little bit more low-key this time around. I do strongly believe the Tigers will add a QB transfer to this class.
First, let's talk about what that means: It's my impression that Missouri will add a transfer and will basically have a three-man QB competition in spring football and fall camp. That will include Brady Cook, who I expect to stick around at least through spring football and compete for the job. It will also include Sam Horn. The third player in the competition will be whatever transfer Missouri brings in. I do not believe this means the staff is giving up on Horn in any way. I do believe it means they don't KNOW that he's going to be ready to be the starting quarterback next year. He could be, but if there was no doubt, there would be little need to bring in a transfer to compete for the job. It's at least a question mark.
Next, who are the possibilities for that transfer QB? So far, there are three names out there.
Tony Muskett, QB, Monmouth - Threw for 1,997 yards 17 TD and 8 INT in eight games this past season. For his career: 5,687 passing yards, 51 TD, 16 INT at a 64% completion percentage
Missouri offered Muskett on Friday. He is a Virginia native who has already reported offers from the following programs in addition to Mizzou: Georgia Southern, Miami (Ohio), Bowling Green, Coastal Carolina, Arkansas State, Ball State, Troy, Virginia.
Devin Leary, QB, NC State - Leary was recruited to NC State by Eli Drinkwitz. Drinkwitz was the OC during Leary's redshirt season. Leary played in six games this year, completing 61% of his passes for 1235 yards, 11 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. For his career, he has 6807 yards, 62 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. His breakout came in 2021 when he threw for 3433 yards, 35 touchdowns and five interceptions. He is viewed as one of the top quarterbacks in the portal so far. Leary was the preseason ACC player of the year, but suffered a torn pectoral muscle against Florida State and missed the rest of the season. The upside is clear. The competition will be fierce. Notre Dame was the first school mentioned to me when I asked someone at NC State where he might land. Drinkwitz appeared to be surprised when Leary entered the portal in the middle of his Zoom call with us yesterday morning. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't.
Kedon Slovis, QB, Pittsburgh - Slovis played his first three seasons at USC. He threw for 3509 yards, 30 touchdowns and 9 interceptions as a freshman and was considered a future star and even a potential Heisman candidate. He won all five games during the regular season with USC in the COVID year in 2020 and then led the PAC-12 in passing yards in 2021, but the numbers declined in each season. Clay Helton was fired after just two games in 2021 and Slovis transferred to Pitt after the season. Big things expected, but Slovis struggled with the Panthers. He completed a career low 58% of his passes for 2391 yards, 10 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He's a pure pocket passer. He has had negative rushing yards all four years of his career. Drinkwitz was the first Power Five coach to offer Slovis a scholarship out of high school, but when USC offered, the competition was over.
We first heard Slovis' name on Saturday. Pittsburgh sources seemed convinced he was leaving and they were already hearing Missouri was going to be the destination. That appears to have been a little premature. Slovis actually texted me back last night. I had reached out to him to ask if he'd heard from Mizzou since entering the portal. His response: "I haven’t been in touch with anyone as of yet but still have some time left in the day and lots of people to get back to!" So it's not a no. He didn't say he hadn't heard from anyone at Mizzou. He just said he hadn't been in touch with anyone. The intriguing part here for me is that Drinkwitz told us yesterday morning where he was going to be recruiting this week. He's scheduled to be in Arizona today. Slovis went to high school in Scottsdale. That doesn't mean that's who Drinkwitz is going to see, but I don't know of any Arizona prospects Mizzou is recruiting off the top of my head. So I think it's possible Drink is going to see him today.
This is not an exhaustive list obviously. The portal has been open for a day. There are already a lot of quarterbacks in it. Transfers tend to handle the process quite a bit more quietly than high school kids so Mizzou may very well have contacted and even offered some guys we have no idea about. Again, I think it's going to be a little tough to track because I don't think Missouri is exactly going to be advertising that it's going after guys. If I had to handicap it as of today, I'd put Slovis as the most likely, followed by Muskett and then Leary. Mike Farrell reported yesterday he thought it would come down to Illinois or Mizzou for Leary. I don't know whether Mike's basing that on information he's got or just taking a guess. It seems pretty early in the portal window to already be able to say a kid's down to two schools, but who knows? We'll track it the best we can and keep you all informed.
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