Well, let the dominoes fall...

We're deep at TE. Like Coach Gould said, "If you're good, they (NFL) find you."

Too many years of eligibility is detrimental to the college game. You get guys hopping around without the degree objective as a stabilizing influence, so then teams rent a roster.
It won’t be as bad after the COVID classes attrit.

We will miss him. But I’m confused on how you can leave a graduate program to play football as a grad student at another university. Usually grad programs are competitive to get into. And when you do there’s a commitment to your major prof.

To the extent that Davis takes it as serious, it puts them at a disadvantage, Majority of schools will just let someone enroll. Does NCAA even require a degree objective? If they do it’s likely a second BA would do, something you could gain in a quarter or two.

lol, this is athletics

https://www.redshirtsports.xyz/2023-fcs-transfer-portal-tracker
BIg Sky teams:
1. UNC: 11
2. Idaho St: 9
3. Idaho: 7

N. Arizona: RJ Martinez

Wow, I don’t know how some of these teams can replenish their roster when 10-15 or more players leave through the transfer portal.

Castles is listed as a “junior” on this year’s roster. Don’t know if that is a true academic listing or athletic eligibility listing. Anyway I don’t see how he is currently a graduate student. As for commitment to a major professor, there really is none other than losing funding (teaching or research assistant). And as Davis Aggie said - this is athletics :-).

He’s probably graduating this year which is college year five for him. Maybe he’s graduating this quarter.

He said he's entering the portal as a grad transfer

So is that his current status, or the status he’ll have when he transfers? He can be a current undergraduate and still a graduate student at his next institution, if he graduates in the meantime. Not saying if he is or is not a graduate student here but logically he doesn’t have to be.

when he transfers

Cal Poly stud FR TE Josh Cuevas. He would be a good pickup.
and Utah Tech may lose their star RB

By my count (and I did in manually off top of my head so it prob “mostly accurate”) 12 starting FCS QB’s are in the portal. Few others that started half the year and lost job like Carson Camp & Trent Green’s kid at Long Island. This is the most talent I’ve seen in the portal. Lots of starters/contributors looking for changes.

Zakary Rachow, reserve UC Davis OL, did not play this season

Big step up.

Congrats McCallan!

Awesome! I hope he really shines there.

Wow, big time program. I hope he gets plenty of playing time.

Hope McCallan holds up physically.

HE’S A VOLUNTEER NOW … UC Davis standout tight end McCallan Castles entered the transfer portal and was immediately scooped up by Tennessee of the Southeastern Conference.

“Entering the transfer portal as a grad transfer,” Castles tweeted. “Very excited to announce my commitment to Tennessee!”

Castles, considered a sure NFL bet, suffered internal injuries after being sandwiched by two defenders on a pass reception against Sacramento State three weeks ago and spent several days in the hospital
.
A two-year starter, the 6-5, 233-pound Castles was the third-leading Aggie receiver in 2022 with 30 catches for 347 yards and two touchdowns, earning second-team All-Big Sky honors.

In 2021, Castles had 27 receptions for 363 yards and four scores.

Added Castles, “I think going to the next level is to play with and against the best. The SEC offers the best talent and obviously it’s good to play against high-level guys. I think the way Coach (Josh) Heupel uses his offense, he is going to maximize what I do best.”

Tennessee, which plays its home games in 102,000-seat Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, upset Alabama this season and finished 10-2. The Volunteers will meet Clemson in the Orange Bowl, Dec. 30 in Miami.

https://www.davisenterprise.com/sports/bob-dunning-lots-of-changes-in-the-big-sky-conference/

went to several games back in the early 90s when I was in grad school there. Big time football and fan base there. Pretty much everyone at the stadium or watching on TV. PA announcer starts with “it’s football time in Tennessee”. Then band strikes up Rocky Top and all sing along (at least the chorus). For those who haven’t seen a game they’re definitely a bucket list place.

05 just moved out to the Nashville area, and went to a Tennessee game not too long ago, quite the experience for him.

Cameron Skattebo

Do you think Stanford is calling?

Sac has some very good playmakers at WR and RB and their LBers are very physical and quick to the ball. I wonder how many more might hit the portal now.

Oops threw it in the wrong thread. This wont be the last for the Hornets.
Re Stanford: is size an issue at p5? Maybe, maybe not. Could he get in based on their transfer history? Taylor looks like hes going to push more into the portal which is smart given the gaping holes on the farm and the fact they have 16 in the portal already.

From 247....
New Stanford football coach Troy Taylor plans to recruit the transfer portal, which is something that is unfamiliar territory for the Cardinal program. During the past five seasons in Palo Alto, Stanford had only one player on the roster via the transfer portal. That one player was Patrick Fields. He transferred from Oklahoma as a graduate transfer and got accepted into the university before joining the football team. Taylor says recruiting from the transfer portal will be a higher priority at the school.

“We talked about that,” Taylor told 247Sports about recruiting via the transfer portal. “(Stanford) is totally open to that as long as the student-athletes are good fits… It’s about fit and finding the right student-athletes who can be successful and our drawn here. If they’re in the transfer portal, reach out to them and see if it’s a possibility.”

Taylor used the transfer portal heavily to build the Sac program so he knows how to recruit from it and he was certainly successful quickly. This year's Sac roster included 13 transfers from other 4 year programs including 4 from power conferences. There were also 16 JC transfers on the roster although they are not from the portal.

So it seems that his method of achieving success quickly is to bring in lots of players that have significant experience at the college level either through the portal or from JC programs.