Out with the old, in with the new. That’s a reality each year with college football, the transfer portal and recruiting in its current state.
At least part of that formula looks favorable this year for both BYU and Utah when compared to their Big 12 counterparts according to one metric — 247 Sports’ net rating gain in the transfer portal.
247 Sports’ Brandon Marcello took a deep-dive look at each of the Power Four conferences to determine what he labeled winners and losers in the portal for each league based on the quality of their additions versus their departures from the portal this offseason.
In the case of the Big 12, the Cougars and Utes came out on top. BYU was No. 1, with Utah not far behind at No. 2.
As previously mentioned, net rating gain was the determining factor in making these rankings. 247 Sports rates many of the athletes in the transfer portal with a player rating, and those ratings were used to determine that net rating gain, subtracting the average player rating from departing players of that from the average player rating from incoming transfers to come up with a +/- rating.
Why is BYU No. 1 among Big 12 teams in 247 Sports’ net rating gain?
Keep in mind when considering that BYU landed No. 1 in this metric, the Cougars are second-to-last in the league in 247 Sports’ transfer portal team rankings this cycle, their nine incoming transfers is the third-fewest in the Big 12.
BYU is seen as one of the most talent-deficient teams in the Big 12 heading into the 2024 season. In rating the team units at each league school against their conference peers, Phil Steele rated the Cougars 11th or worse league-wide in all positions except special teams, where they are sixth.
What aids BYU’s cause in terms of the net rating gain, though, is it didn’t have a lot of top-end talent leave this offseason after a 5-7 season saw the Cougars fall short of making the postseason in 2023.
The Cougars’ transfer departures had an 83.13 average player rating, two points lower than the next-closest Big 12 team, an indication of the dearth of losses for BYU.
BYU’s nine transfer newcomers have an average player rating of 86.29, and when you subtract the average player rating of the team’s transfer departures from that number, it gives the Cougars a net rating gain of +3.16.
Since Marcello published his Big 12 story on June 9, BYU has reportedly added another player, former Cal tight end Marquis Montgomery, as a preferred walk-on.
247 Sports has placed Montgomery among BYU’s transfer additions, adjusting their average player rating to 86.13. Even with that slight adjustment, though, the Cougars still have a Big 12-leading net rating gain of +3.00.
“BYU may have recorded the Big 12′s second-lowest ranking in the transfer portal, but context is king: the Cougars’ additions far outweighed the losses. The Cougars definitely upgraded their roster with (10) additions compared to 16 departures, including two 2-star prospects,” Marcello wrote.
“The biggest loss was defensive lineman Danny Saili, who chose Arkansas. The biggest additions included former Baylor and South Florida quarterback Gerry Bohanon, who is battling for the starting job, and a pair of much-needed pass rushers. The Cougars didn’t have the bodies to pressure quarterbacks last season, ranking last in the Big 12 with only 0.92 sacks per game, and they may have corrected that with the addition of FCS Weber State pass rusher Jack Kelly and UCLA’s Choe Bryant-Strother. Kelly had 10.5 sacks last season.”
Saili never even suited up for BYU, joining the Cougars as a 2024 signing class addition out of the junior college ranks before leaving the school after spring ball.
BYU also had two players who were two-star talents out of high school that hit the portal.
As for additions, Kelly is the clear top-end talent coming in. He is the lone four-star transfer recruit BYU hauled in, among seven others who were rated three stars as transfers. Bryant-Strother is a recent addition for the Cougars as well.
Why is Utah No. 2 among Big 12 teams in 247 Sports’ net rating gain?
Unlike the Cougars, the Utes have high expectations — perhaps even College Football Playoff aspirations — with Cam Rising and Brant Kuithe leading a group of players back after an injury-filled 2023 season.
As such, Utah has geared up for a run at the Big 12 championship in its first year in the league, with 12 incoming transfers, a quarter of whom are rated as four-star players — former USC wide receiver Dorian Singer, former Washington receiver Taeshaun Lyons and former UCLA tight end Carsen Ryan.
That is the second-most four-star transfers in the Big 12, behind a whopping eight for transfer-heavy Colorado under Deion Sanders.
Utah’s incoming transfers have an average player rating of 88.25, compared to an average rating of 85.68 from its 24 departed transfers. That +2.57 net rating gain is second-best in the league, and nearly a full point ahead of the team in third place.
“Utah has always pursued quality over quantity in the portal, particularly for a program known for its development of high school players. Heck, Cam Rising is entering his seventh year as a college quarterback (six at Utah). When players depart Utah, it’s not usually for a better team (only 37.5% of departures landed with Power 4 teams), but the additions are usually highly-regarded prospects and that leads to a gigantic bump in the net rating every year,” Marcello wrote.
“The best player in the haul is USC receiver Dorian Singer (90), who immediately sparked the Utes with five catches for 92 yards in the spring game. He surpassed 1,100 yards in 2022 when he played for Arizona but blended in the background under the bright lights of Los Angeles at USC. Will he reemerge as an all-conference star in Salt Lake City? Other notable additions include Washington receiver Taeshaun Lyons (90) and UCLA tight end Carsen Ryan (90).”
Why Utah football’s transfer class is in a class of its own
While BYU rates high in net ranking gain, the Cougars are near the bottom in transfer portal metrics in other areas.
Their 2024 transfer class is ranked 15th out of 16 league teams in terms of transfer portal additions, while their 86.13 average player rating for incoming transfers is last in the Big 12.
While Utah is ranked sixth among Big 12 teams in 247 Sports’ team rankings of its overall transfer class — which is skewed by the uneven number of incoming transfers coming in at different schools — the Utes’ 88.25 average player rating leads the conference and is more than one point better than any other team in the league.
Those transfer team rankings, for instance, favor Colorado in terms of overall transfer additions — the Buffaloes’ 42 incoming transfers are 13 more than the next-closest school. The other four Big 12 teams in front of Utah in the transfer team rankings all added at least 24, double (or more) than the sheer number the Utes brought in.
That emphasizes the quality of transfer Utah is bringing in.
How did all 16 Big 12 teams rate in 247 Sports’ net rating gain?
Here’s a look at how each Big 12 team stacked up in 247 Sports’ look at net rating gain (with Montgomery now included in BYU’s numbers):
Team — Incoming avg. player ranking — Departed avg. player ranking — net rating gain
1. BYU — 86.13 (10 incoming) — 83.13 (16 departures) — +3.00.
2. Utah — 88.25 (12 incoming) — 85.68 (24 departures) — +2.57.
3. Kansas — 87 (10 incoming) — 85.33 (13 departures) — +1.67.
4. Cincinnati — 86.71 (25 incoming) — 85.1 (33 departures) — +1.61.
5. Kansas State — 87.13 (10 incoming) — 85.73 (17 departures) — +1.4.
6. West Virginia — 86.69 (13 incoming) — 85.32 (25 departures) — +1.37.
7. Colorado — 87.43 (42 incoming) — 86.14 (41 departures) — +1.29.
8. Baylor — 87.07 (15 incoming) — 85.8 (15 departures) — +1.27.
9. Oklahoma State — 86.88 (8 incoming) — 85.7 (11 departures) — +1.18.
10. Texas Tech — 87.07 (16 incoming) — 85.9 (23 departures) — +1.17.
11. UCF — 87.19 (27 incoming) — 86.25 (27 departures) — +0.94.
12. Arizona State — 86.56 (29 incoming) — 85.88 (29 departures) — +0.68.
13. Arizona — 86.27 (23 incoming) — 85.71 (28 departures) — +0.56.
14. Houston — 86.44 (27 incoming) — 86.33 (33 departures) — +0.11.
15. Iowa State — 86.57 (7 incoming) — 85.55 (22 departures) — +0.02.
16. TCU — 87.17 (24 incoming) — 87.32 (19 departures) — -0.15.
