In the new era of college football, the transfer portal has become a significant component of roster construction. Throughout the college football season, On3 is breaking down the top 10 transfer portal impact players based on weekly performances. Here are the most impactful transfer portal players from Week 11:
Cal transfer quarterback Fernando Mendoza delivered a pass to Omar Cooper Jr. in the back of the end zone at Penn State, with Cooper jumping to bring in the ball and get his foot down for a touchdown with 36 seconds remaining. The touchdown was the go-ahead score for No. 2 Indiana to escape Happy Valley with a 27-24 win. Mendoza led a 10-play, 80-yard drive to pull out the win, and finished the game 19 of 30 for 238 total yards and two touchdowns.
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In his second start of the season and Auburn’s first game of the post-Hugh Freeze era, Ashton Daniels gave the Tigers a notable spark on offense. The Stanford transfer threw for 353 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 89 yards and two scores. Daniels was 31 of 44 passing and connected with star wide receiver Cam Coleman 10 times on the day. Georgia Tech transfer Eric Singleton brought in 11 catches for 102 yards and a touchdown, too.
Cal opted to go for the win on fourth down against Louisville on Saturday night. Oregon transfer and true freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele rolled left and hit his wide receiver Jacob De Jesus for a 3-yard touchdown to capture the road win. Sagapolutele completed 30 of 47 passes for 323 yards and two touchdowns in the win as the Bears stopped a two-game losing streak and became bowl eligible for the third consecutive season.
BYU transfer quarterback Jake Retzlaff accounted for four touchdowns as Tulane knocked off Memphis on Friday night to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive. Retzlaff was 16 for 23 for 332 yards in the win, throwing for three touchdowns. He also rushed for 56 yards and another score on the ground. Tulane’s offense averaged 8.2 yards per play as two of Retzlaff’s touchdowns were for over 50 yards.
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Stanford transfer EDGE David Bailey continues to prove why he was one of the top players to hit the portal this past offseason. The Texas Tech pass rushers registered three quarterback hits and five hurries against BYU. The pressure on BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier showed, as the Cougars were held to 188 passing yards.
NC State transfer wide receiver KC Concepcion continues to impress this season at Texas A&M. Against Missouri on Saturday, Concepcion caught a quick screen pass from quarterback Marcel Reed and took it 48 yards for a touchdown. He finished with four catches for 84 yards on the day.
With Wake Forest looking to pull the upset over No. 12 Virginia, wide receiver Carlos Hernandez returned a punt 88 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter that was the only touchdown in Wake Forest’s win over the Cavaliers. The 88-yard return is the second-longest punt return in program history. The Washington State transfer finished with three punt returns for a total of 124 yards.
Colorado transfer Nikhai Hill-Green has not started a game at linebacker yet for Alabama, but continues to come up big for the Tide. In Saturday’s win over LSU, Hill-Green finished with five tackles, including a tackle for loss. That included a perfect forced fumble in the first quarter that he quickly jumped on for the turnover.
Former UCLA transfer T.J. Harden rushed for a season-high 130 yards on Saturday at Boston College. The ACC Running Back of the Week notched 16 carries in the win and averaged 8.1 yards per carry. He also had a long of 53 yards against the Eagles. Harden has rushed for 613 yards and six touchdowns this season.
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The former UNLV transfer had a standout performance in the win at Louisville. Jacob De Jesus pulled in the winning touchdown in overtime to help Cal reach bowl eligibility. The wideout finished the day with career highs of 16 receptions and 158 yards.
