How did NC State Players that Transferred Last Season Fare This Season?

The Transfer Portal officially opens on December 9th. Before the madness begins, let’s take a look at how the NC State players that entered the Portal last offseason fared at their new homes this season.

Safety Cecil Powell played in 12 games for Troy this season, starting 1. He had 24 tackles and 1 pass breakup. Powell played in 302 snaps, and had a PFF grade of 57.5. For comparison, he only played in 43 snaps at NC State last year. Powell saw his playing time and production dramatically increase as a result of transferring. This was Powell’s final year of eligibility

He was at NC State from 2019-2023.

Powell Transfer Analysis: Win

Linebacker DaeJuan Thompson played in 8 games for Garden City Community College this season, recording 21 tackles, a sack and 2 forced fumbles. Thompson spent two years at NC State. Thompson is an example of when the Transfer Portal doesn’t go the way the player might have envisioned. I doubt the former 4-star prospect expected to end up at a Community College after entering the Portal. With that being said, he did get more experience this season. Thompson only played in 1 game on Special Teams in 2023 for the Wolfpack. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

Thompson Transfer Analysis: Loss

You have to be excited for Running Back Delbert Mimms, who spent 5 seasons in Raleigh. He landed at Eastern Michigan, and had a breakout season in his final year of eligibility. Mimms rushed for career highs in every category this year. He rushed the ball 184 times for 805 yards and 9 touchdowns, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. He also had 19 receptions for 145 yards and a touchdown. Every one of those stats represents a career high. Mimms’ PFF grade this year was 72.5.

Mimms Transfer Analysis: Win

Offensive Guard Lyndon Cooper started in all 11 of the games he played in for Pitt this year, recording a PFF grade of 67.4. Cooper went out and found a starting job at an ACC school, and it. paid dividends for him. In 2023, he started in 5 of the 8 games he played in, recording a PFF Grade of 49.5. Cooper has 1 more year of eligibility.

Cooper Transfer Analysis: Win

Wide Receiver Anthony Smith also found tremendous success through entering the Transfer Portal. He set career highs in every receiving category, with 38 receptions for 767 yards and 6 touchdowns. Smith earned All-AAC honors this season. I’m so glad to see Smith get the opportunities that I wish he would have had at NC State. I always thought Smith had under utilized potential. Smith has 1 more year of eligibility.

Smith Transfer Analysis: Win

When Defensive Tackle CJ Clark decided to transfer last offseason, I was shocked, considering that he started every single game for the Wolfpack in 2023. Sure, Clark is on a Miami team that went 10-2 this season, and ranked 12th in the College Football Playoff Rankings, but his playing time decreased significantly. Clark has played in all 12 games, but has only started 2. He has played in 305 snaps this year, compared to 451 last year. Clark has 18 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks. All of those numbers are down from last year.

Clark Transfer Analysis: Loss

Quarterback MJ Morris memorably decided to stop playing in the middle of the season last year, so that he could redshirt and transfer. Morris didn’t win the starting job out of Fall Camp at Maryland this year, and played in a reserve role in his first 6 appearances this season. He started his first game of the season this past week, and the result was dismal, throwing for 112 yards and 3 interceptions against Penn State. Morris played in 130 snaps this season. Had Morris stayed, he wouldn’t likely have won the starting job. NC State planned to go get a veteran Transfer in the Portal. With that being said, there’s no way that this was what Morris was hoping for when he left Raleigh. He has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

Morris Transfer Analysis: Loss

Safety Jakeen Harris opened the 2023 season as a starter at NC State, but suffered a season ending injury in the season opener. Harris played plenty of snaps at NC State, but he hadn’t been a starter in every game since the 2020 season. Last offseason, Harris transferred to UNC, and despite the fact he transferred to the Wolfpack’s rival, he did land himself a starting job in Chapel Hill, starting every game. Harris made the most of the opportunity laid before him, grading out as the highest graded player on the Tar Heels defense (73.7).

Harris Transfer Analysis: Win

After spending his first two seasons in Raleigh, Running Back Michael Allen transferred to UNLV last offseason. After three games, Allen decided to sit out the rest of the season, so that he could redshirt the season. In those three games, Allen rushed for 108 yards, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

Allen Transfer Analysis: Loss

After catching 11 balls for 195 yards as a Sophomore at NC State last season, Wide Receiver Terrell Timmons transferred to Colorado last offseason. Timmons played in limited action in the first 6 games, catching only 4 passes for 22 yards. He was injured in the 6th game, and missed the next three games due to injury. Timmons returned to play in Colorado’s final 3 games of the regular season, but didn’t record a catch. He is the 2nd lowest graded player on Colorado’s offense according to PFF. He has 1 year of eligibility remaining.

Timmons Transfer Analysis: Loss

Defensive Back Nate Evans only played 1 game as a member of the Wolfpack’s defense in his three seasons in Raleigh, playing 14 snaps against Charleston Southern in 2022. In 2021, Evans played on Special Teams in 3 games, and in 2023 he didn’t see the field at all. Last offseason, he transferred to Delaware, and he got what he was looking for: playing time. He played 364 snaps in 11 games, recording 16 tackles and a team high 6 pass breakups. Evans’ PFF grade was 74.5. These are the stories from the Transfer Portal you love to see. Evans has 1 year of eligibility remaining.

Evans Transfer Analysis: Loss

Defensive Tackle Nick Campbell played in 1 game in each of his 2 seasons at NC State. Last offseason he transferred to Appalachian State. This year, Campbell played in 7 games, recording 7 tackles in 73 snaps. He has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

Campbell Transfer Analysis: Win

Wide Receiver Porter Rooks was highly touted 4-Star prospect in NC State’s 2020 recruiting class, but it never came together for him in Raleigh. After catching 13 passes for 166 yards in his 4th year in the Red and White, he transferred to Eastern Michigan last offseason looking for a place to shine. Unfortunately, Rooks missed the entire season due to a knee injury. He redshirted this season, and has 1 year of eligibility remaining.

Rooks Transfer Analysis: N/A

Wide Receiver Julian Gray is another former 4-star prospect who went looking for more production in the Transfer Portal last offseason, transferring to Liberty. He missed a few games early in the season, but finished the regular season with 7 receptions for 97 yards and 2 touchdowns in 7 games. In 2022 and 2023, Gray’s numbers exceeded what he put on the stat sheet this season, but to be fair, he missed 5 games this year. Even so, it looks like he had a lesser role in the Flames offense this year when he was healthy, than he did at NC State the past two years. He has 1 year of eligibility remaining.

Gray Transfer Analysis: Loss

Tight End Chris Toudle battled injuries this year at Western Michigan, which is sad, because this was his final year of eligibility. After not catching a single pass at NC State in 2023, Toudle did manage to snag 8 catches for 91 yards and a touchdown for Western Michigan this year in 7 games.

Toudle Transfer Analysis: Win

Running Back Jordan Houston started the 2023 season as NC State’s starting Running Back, and he was still the starter when he decided to sit out the rest of the season in order to redshirt and transfer. While I don’t think he would have started in Raleigh this year, I wouldn’t say that Houston found what he was looking for transferring to Marshall. Houston played in all 12 regular season games for the Thundering Herd this year, but he only started in 3 of them. He finished the regular season with 475 yards rushing (5.1 yards per carry) and a touchdown, and caught 13 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown.

Houston Transfer Analysis: Mid

Offensive Lineman Jaleel Davis found what he was looking for in the Transfer Portal last offseason…a genuine opportunity at FIU. After not playing a single snap last year in Raleigh, and playing 3 snaps in 2022, Davis played 317 snaps this year down in the Sunshine State, playing in all 12 games, starting in 4. He has 1 year of eligibility remaining.

Davis Transfer Analysis: Win

Linebacker Torren Wright was a 4-Star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, who redshirted his first year, and played in 7 games on Special Teams at NC State last year. Looking for a prominent role elsewhere, Wright transferred to Temple last offseason. Sadly, Wright suffered a season ending injury in the first game of the season against Oklahoma. Wright has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

Wright Transfer Analysis: N/A

Wide Receiver Josh Crabtree played in 8 snaps combined in 2021 and 2022, and didn’t play a single snap last season at NC State. He did play on Special Teams in pretty much every game in his final two seasons in Raleigh. This year, Crabtree had 4 receptions for 35 yards in 6 games at Murray State.

Crabtree Transfer Analysis: Win