After entering the NCAA transfer portal earlier this month, former Texas A&M quarterback Haynes King announced his commitment to Georgia Tech on Sunday.
King, a former four-star high school recruit in the class of 2020, opened each of the last two seasons as the Aggies’ starting quarterback. While taking over for Kellen Mond and holding off competition from LSU transfer Max Johnson last offseason, he ultimately suffered injuries that derailed him in both seasons.
In 2021, he fractured his leg in the second game of the season against Colorado, and he suffered a shoulder injury against South Carolina after six starts this season. He finished his Texas A&M career with 1,579 passing yards, ten touchdown passes, and ten interceptions in eight starts.
He immediately becomes a contender for the starting job at Georgia Tech, as the Yellow Jackets have lost quarterbacks Jeff Sims and Taisun Phommachanh to the transfer portal this offseason.
King was one of 24 players to enter the transfer portal from Texas A&M since the end of the 2022 season. Wide receiver Chase Lane is the only other to have made a decision so far, joining King at Georgia Tech.
Lane was in and out of the starting lineup at Texas A&M and had 48 catches for 617 yards and two touchdowns.
SMU is also having quite a start to the offseason through the transfer portal with nine commitments so far.
Among those players are former Liberty University linebacker Ahmad Walker and former Miami (FL) players Jaylan Knighton, Elijah Roberts, Jordan Miller, and Key’Shawn Smith — who know head coach Rhett Lashlee from his time as the Hurricanes’ offensive coordinator.
Walker had 100 tackles, seven sacks, and an interception in two years with the Flames while playing for now-SMU defensive coordinator Scott Symons.
SMU also landed a couple of impact transfers last year with former Alabama running back Camar Wheaton and former Georgia offensive lineman Owen Condon. Wheaton averaged 5.2 yards per carry in his first season with the Mustangs.
TCU is another school capitalizing on transfer portal opportunities after a breakout season.
The Horned Frogs recently added former Alabama wide receiver JoJo Earle, former LSU receiver Jack Bech, and former Florida cornerback Avery Helm for next season. Earle is the most experienced of the three, Helm is a two-year starter, and Bech saw a decrease in production after leading LSU in receiving as a freshman in 2021.
Bech played wide receiver at LSU but is listed as a tight end in the portal.
Baylor lost former four-star quarterback Kyron Drones to Virginia Tech and added BYU offensive tackle Campbell Barrington.
Barrington was a part-time starter for the Cougars and a 2021 Freshman All-American.
Other Texas schools have not signed any highly-rated transfers yet. Still, those remaining in the portal from Texas schools include over 20 Texas A&M players, several Texas players, Texas Tech quarterback Donovan Smith, and University of Houston wide receiver Cody Jackson.
Smith made five starts for the Red Raiders this season and threw for 1,505 yards and 12 touchdowns with a 3-2 record. Jackson transferred from Oklahoma to Houston in April but left the team in October after making no catches in four games.
Former Texas offensive tackle Andrej Karic has also announced his commitment to the University of Tennessee.
Oklahoma has also seen various players enter the transfer portal, including Flower Mound product Nick Evers, a four-star quarterback coming out of high school last season. Evers has announced he will continue his college career at Wisconsin.
The Sooners have added Indiana transfer linebacker, Dasan McCullough. In his freshman season at Indiana, McCullough collected 49 tackles, with 6.5 for loss and four sacks. He was one of the top-rated players in the transfer portal.
