10 College Football Transfer Players to Watch in Spring Practice 2015
In college football, transfers have become a way of life. Maybe a program goes through a coaching change. Or over-recruits a position, creating too much competition. Maybe a player’s grades aren't high enough, or the program just isn’t what the player expected when he signed his national letter of intent.
Regardless of the reason, a number of players each year are seeking a new start, a new beginning or—in some cases—a final chance. Spring is a time for renewal and rebirth, and as spring practice begins, it represents a chance for these players to get a new shot.
These players, and others like them, will be transfers well worth watching in spring practice. Wescott Ebert of SB Nation breaks down instant-impact recruits across the nation here.
This slideshow is a look at 10 players who could have an impact this spring.
10. Auburn QB Jason Smith
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Gus Malzahn’s hurry-up, no-huddle offense thrives with versatile players, which makes Jason Smith especially intriguing.
He originally signed with Auburn in 2013 but failed to qualify academically. He went to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, redshirted one season and enjoyed a standout season as a dual-threat quarterback. He is rated as the nation’s No. 1 junior college athlete, per 247Sports.
Smith can hurt defenses with his arm or with his legs. He is expected to challenge Jeremy Johnson for the open quarterback position, but he could also fit in as a wide receiver or all-around athlete in Auburn’s offense.
Either way, the Tigers offense will be more exciting with him in the fold.
9. South Carolina DE Marquavius Lewis
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Last fall, South Carolina’s defense was, in a word, awful.
The Gamecocks were shredded by Texas A&M and quarterback Kenny Hill in a 52-28 season-opening defeat, and matters never really got much better. USC’s defense allowed 30.4 points per game, No. 91 nationally, and Steve Spurrier revamped his defensive staff, bringing in Jon Hoke as co-defensive coordinator.
Hoke needs players who can contribute immediately, which is where Marquavius Lewis fits in. Lewis grew up not far from South Carolina’s campus in Greenwood, South Carolina, and excelled at Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College.
He is a talented edge-rusher who is equally impressive against the pass and the run, and he is a productive playmaker who will make life tough for SEC offensive tackles. He’ll make himself immediately known in Columbia in 2015.
8. Tennessee RB Alvin Kamara
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Alvin Kamara took a circuitous route between two of the SEC’s biggest rivals. Considered one of the nation’s top tailbacks when he signed with Alabama in 2013, he redshirted and never played a down for the Crimson Tide.
He transferred to Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College and thrived, rushing for 1,211 yards and 18 touchdowns in nine games. He then returned to the SEC, signing with one of the Tide’s top rivals in Tennessee. At UT, Kamara joins a young program on the rise.
Jalen Hurd is the Volunteers’ top tailback, but Kamara (5'11", 195 lbs) is a quick change-of-pace back who could have an immediate impact this fall. He’s an excellent addition to the Vols offense, even if he took the long way there.
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7. Mississippi State WR Donald Gray
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Last fall, Dak Prescott emerged as one of college football’s top quarterbacks. His play was a huge reason why Mississippi State emerged from SEC West mediocrity to ascend to the No.1 spot in the national polls and earn an Orange Bowl berth.
But Prescott needs more playmakers, particularly in the passing game.
That’s why a player like Donald Gray is so important. Gray originally signed with Mississippi State out of high school in 2013 but wound up at Copiah-Lincoln Community College. He was rated by 247Sports as the nation's top junior college wide receiver.
He is a versatile player who could play either wide receiver or safety but will immediately make the Bulldogs offense better with excellent athleticism. Prescott is surely glad Gray decided to return.
6. Ole Miss DT D.J. Jones
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Ole Miss had one of the nation’s best defenses in 2014, but the Rebels are always looking to improve. Their defensive line was nasty, and the addition of East Mississippi Community College defensive tackle D.J. Jones assures it’ll stay that way this fall.
Jones is 6’2”, 310 pounds and was committed to Florida State before flipping to Ole Miss in December. He has excellent pass-rush skills and was a constant disruptor for EMCC, a junior-college power that won national titles in each of his two seasons.
While SEC play will be a big step up in quality, Jones has the skills to make his presence immediately known, especially to offensive linemen this fall.
5. Arizona State LB Davon Durant
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Todd Graham is building an excellent program in Tempe. The much-traveled coach is settling in at Arizona State, leading the Sun Devils to back-to-back 10-win seasons. ASU fans want the program to take the next step, but that won’t happen unless defensive improvement occurs.
Last fall, the Sun Devils allowed 27.9 points per game, No. 76 nationally, and allowed at least 30 points in five Pac-12 games. Butler County (Kansas) Community College transfer linebacker Davon Durant could help that leaky defense improve quickly.
At 6’2”, 240 pounds, Durant is an athletic, rangy outside linebacker and a physical player who is a punishing hitter. He’ll make an early impact for a defense that needs more of that this fall.
4. Ole Miss QB Chad Kelly
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For Chad Kelly, Ole Miss isn’t a second chance. It is a final chance.
Kelly, the nephew of Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly, is unquestionably talented but unquestionably volatile. In fact, he’s fortunate to even have the opportunity to go through spring practice with Ole Miss and compete for the job left open by Bo Wallace’s graduation.
During his lone season at Clemson, Kelly showed flashes of his potential, but he flamed out the following spring during a three-way quarterback competition with Cole Stoudt and Deshaun Watson. He was removed from the field during the spring game following an on-field argument with Clemson coaches, and he booted from the program after a subsequent verbal confrontation with coach Dabo Swinney.
Kelly transferred to East Mississippi Community College and excelled, catching the attention of Hugh Freeze and Ole Miss and winning a junior college national title.
But after signing with the Rebels, he was involved in an ugly altercation outside a Buffalo bar in which he allegedly punched a bouncer and told bouncers he was "going to get my AK-47 and spray this place," per Joseph Popiolkowski and Keith McShea of The Buffalo News.
Kelly was charged with seven separate misdemeanors or violations, putting his Ole Miss career in jeopardy before it even began.
However, Freeze is standing behind Kelly, per Hugh Kellenberger of The Clarion-Ledger.
"My thought process is really simple: I balance on the scales an opportunity for a young man to rewrite his story with the possibility of me having embarrassment. That's really how I see it. If me getting embarrassed is the worst thing that happens to me in life than I'll be OK. I've been embarrassed before and I will be again.
He has some redeeming qualities that hopefully we can help and put some structure around him to rewrite his story in a positive way. I sure hope and pray like heck that he doesn't embarrass our team, university and myself but that is a possibility. That's certainly something I know, that I recognize and that I own.
"
Kelly is on his final chance, but he has dynamic talent as a runner and passer. If he can stay on the straight and narrow, he will be an excellent fit with the Ole Miss offense.
3. Louisville DE Devonte Fields
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Bobby Petrino received a second chance at Louisville, and he isn’t afraid of giving second chances, either. He showed as much when he signed defensive end Devonte Fields, who excelled at TCU but brings a checkered past to Louisville’s program.
Fields was the Big 12 Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2012 and was tabbed as the league’s preseason Defensive Player of the Year last fall. But he was dismissed from TCU’s program after being accused of misdemeanor assault on his then-girlfriend. His girlfriend’s cheek was swollen with a small cut under her eye, and Fields punched in a window from the outside in a house that she was inside, according to Deanna Boyd of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
He excelled at Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College, and Louisville opted to take a chance on him. Fields has dynamic pass-rushing talent and will make an immediate impact for the Cardinal defense this spring and fall.
Will Petrino’s gamble pay off? We’ll see.
2. Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield
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Two years ago, Baker Mayfield looked like Texas Tech’s next great quarterback. Mayfield won the starting role as a freshman in Kliff Kingsbury’s first season, throwing for 2,315 yards with 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions while playing in eight games.
But he had a falling-out with Kingsbury’s staff at season’s end, leaving the team before its bowl game, which was started and won by Davis Webb. He went through an ugly breakup with the Red Raiders, telling ESPN.com’s Jake Trotter that Kingsbury “wasn’t behind” him.
Although Tech initially blocked his transfer to Oklahoma, Mayfield landed there and was on scholarship in 2014. Last fall, incumbent quarterback Trevor Knight struggled, throwing 14 touchdowns against 12 interceptions.
OU coach Bob Stoops revamped the offense, hiring East Carolina offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley to install the "Air Raid" passing system, which just happens to be the system Mayfield worked in at Texas Tech. He’ll have a clear opportunity to compete with Knight in spring drills and perhaps win the role outright before summer.
1. Auburn RB Jovon Robinson
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For Jovon Robinson, practicing with Auburn during its recent Outback Bowl practices wasn’t so much a welcome as a welcome back.
Robinson had originally signed with Auburn in 2012 and practiced with the Tigers before it was revealed that one of his high school grades was changed by his high school counselor, allowing him to become eligible. He was declared ineligible by the NCAA and headed to Georgia Military College for two seasons.
In 2013, he rushed for 2,387 yards and 34 touchdowns. Robinson is a physical, bruising back, and he arrives at Auburn at a perfect time. The Tigers are trying to replace the SEC’s leading rusher, Cameron Artis-Payne, who rushed for 1,608 yards and 13 touchdowns last fall. The No. 2 tailback, Corey Grant, also graduated, leaving plenty of opportunity in the backfield.
Robinson is far from the only tailback on the roster, but he appears the best bet to step in and carry a heavy load in Gus Malzahn’s offense. Welcome back, indeed.
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