College Football Sleepers - Top 10 Running Back Impact Transfers Of 2023

The transfer portal has 2,655 entrants since December, an increase of nearly 600 players since last year despite the NCAA introducing "windows" in which players can announce a transfer. It didn't have the crazy jump that it did from 2021 to 2022, but that's still a lot of moving parts. Nearly half of all FBS players have entered the transfer portal at some time in the last 24 months with some returning to their current schools. College football free agency is much wackier than the NFL will ever be.

We will start the last great college football season (yes, the expanded playoff is going to kill the fun of the regular season, and don't even get me started on realignment) by taking a look at the transfers who will make an immediate impact at their new schools for both our fantasy and DFS lineups from day one. There were so many skill players that I decided to break it down by position to celebrate the sheer number of talented players on the move.

196 running backs joined the transfer portal at some time in the last year with 109 of them finding homes. That is a much worse percentage than last year. We still have about a month to go for the rest of these "free agents" to find homes, and some of them could have a huge impact. If Dae Dae Hunter, Kobe Lewis, or King Doerue land in a good spot, any of the three (especially Hunter) would crack this list.

RB Transfer Impacts Last Season

The running backs were a lot more of a crapshoot than the quarterbacks were. All 10 quarterbacks that I highlighted made impacts, even if they weren't the 10 biggest impacts. They were at least all in the top 25 or so. That wasn't the case for the running backs.

Jahmyr Gibbs and Travis Dye were the top two of my picks and that was about right. Noah Cain and Jarek Broussard were good contributors for their new teams, but neither led the team in rushing. Tiyon Evans and Xazavian Valladay were good as well, even if they were in timeshares. Trelon Smith barely saw the field for Arkansas and Christian Beal-Smith only rushed for 156 yards for the Gamecocks. Ky Thomas didn't really play for Minnesota and found himself a new home again this year (Kent State).

Looking to 2023, there seem to be more impactful guys in the portal in terms of overall numbers, but none will have quite the impact that Gibbs did last season. His turn to the Tide turned him into a mid-first-round pick, which is unheard of for running backs anymore.

10. Elijah Collins, Oklahoma State (from Michigan State)

Collins burst on the scene with 988 rushing yards as a redshirt freshman for Sparty back in 2019 but has just 510 rushing yards in parts of three seasons since. Injuries, ineffectiveness, and incoming transfers hindered his growth. Now Collins will look for a new start in Stillwater. Most Cowboys fans will barely recognize this team. They lost a lot of everything. Collins has the upper hand over freshman Hudson Devins for now, but he'll have to produce to keep it that way.

9. MarShawn Lloyd, USC (from South Carolina)

Talent-wise, Lloyd might be the best player on this list. However, he is joining a stacked team so we really don't know how big of a role he will have in this offense. Austin Jones is expected to take over as lead back with Travis Dye out of the picture. Lloyd will still have a decent-sized role on this team if Jones's role from last year is any indication. Lloyd could fly up this list should Jones happen to get injured again.

8. Alton McCaskill, Colorado (from Houston)

McCaskill burst onto the scene for the Cougars in 2021 running for 961 yards and 16 touchdowns as a freshman. A torn ACL in spring practice last season cost him the entire 2022 season. He resurfaced in the Rockies with Deion Sanders and company for 2023.

Kentucky transfer Kavosiey Smoke is also in Deion's backfield, but McCaskill should see the field more. Assuming that he still has all of that explosiveness that he showed for Houston, Smoke will mostly be a short-yardage back. That will cost McCaskill some touchdowns, but he will ultimately still be a major factor in fantasy.

Alton McCaskill is a big pickup for Colorado.

Him missing all of 2022 is one reason why Houston had a disappointing season

And bc the defense gave up 100 points a game pic.twitter.com/zT7Z2Axk1C

— John “Supi” Supowitz (@ImThatSupi) June 2, 2023

If the Colorado RB room weren't so loaded and McCaskill wasn't coming off an ACL tear, I would have him higher on the list. The potential is there for McCaskill to have the biggest impact on this list. I remember how good he was for Houston in 2021. Do you?

7. Blake Watson, Memphis (from Old Dominion)

Watson was the guy that derailed Coastal Carolina's season last year when he busted loose for 259 yards and three touchdowns on just 19 carries. Watson has 2,033 rushing yards over his two full seasons with the Monarchs and is primed to take over the Memphis backfield. He fits well in this system and is a good receiver out of the backfield.

6. Carson Steele, UCLA (from Ball State)

For the first time since 2017, UCLA will have a starting quarterback other than Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The Bruins are planning on starting another true freshman under center in Dante Moore, so expect a heavy dose of both Steele and T.J. Harden. Based on talent alone, Steele may be the most talented back in the portal this year. While this is a good landing spot in a Chip Kelly offense with a freshman under center, I don't like the fact that he didn't win the job outright. That keeps him out of the top 5.

5. Aidan Robbins, BYU (from UNLV)

Robbins ran for 1,011 yards last season behind a sketchy offensive line and while sharing carries in the backfield. Now imagine what he can do on a team that lives to run the football.  Robbins has managed to hold off Colorado transfer Deion Smith for the starting job, but both of them will see plenty of action. Kedon Slovis is the quarterback. BYU might end up running more than usual this season...

4. Re'Mahn Davis, Kentucky (from Vanderbilt)

Davis ran for 1,042 yards for Vanderbilt last year in a shared backfield. Kavosiey Smoke ran for the Rockies, so Davis is the lead guy in Lexington this year on a team that is breaking in another transfer quarterback. The Wildcats love to run the ball and will do it often. Devin Leary might steal some touchdowns from Davis, but there aren't any proven commodities behind him. This is his job to lose.

3. Jaylan Knighton, SMU (from Miami (FL))

Knighton ran for 423 yards on only 78 carries last season and is an excellent receiver out of the backfield. SMU, despite being a spread offense, uses their backs liberally. Knighton has held off Kansas transfer Velton Gardner and could have a monster season for the Ponies if he can stay on the field.

2. Sean Tyler, Minnesota (from Western Michigan)

Tyler has racked up 2,177 rushing yards in the past two seasons for the Broncos despite sharing a backfield. Minnesota leaned heavily on Mohamed Ibrahim during his time in Minneapolis, but Tyler's size will work against him here. Bryce Williams is still going to be a big piece of the offense and Minnesota has some talented receivers, but I've seen enough of Tyler to know how good he is.

Coming off back-to-back 1000 seasons at Western Michigan, Sean Tyler is now taking his talents to the B1G and the U. of Minnesota. He's joining a run-first offense and will get a lot of opportunities to handle the football. Big things are expected. pic.twitter.com/5aQDBY82e4

— Perch The Cabbie (@Perchthecabbie) May 13, 2023

1. Treshaun Ward, Kansas State (from Florida State)

The Wildcats' offense ran through Deuce Vaughn last year even with the improved play of Will Howard. Ward is the kind of back that the Wildcats love and the fans are going to love it too. Ward has averaged 6.5 yards per carry over the last two seasons at Florida State. He hasn't hit 100 carries in a season yet, but in this offense, he might hit that mark before the end of September. K-State returns most of an offensive line that was a big strength last season. The sky in the limit for Ward in the Little Apple.

Honorable Mention: Kobe Pace, Virginia (from Clemson); Marquez Cooper, Ball State (from Kent State); Harrison Waylee, Wyoming (from Northern Illinois); Dominic Richardson, Baylor (from Oklahoma State); Dillon Johnson, Washington (from Mississippi State); Brian Battie, Auburn (from South Florida)

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