When an elite talent like Cam Ward, Caleb Downs and Walter Nolen enters the NCAA transfer portal, everybody wants them and not many can afford them.
The battles for the most coveted college football players in the portal get all the attention in December and January. Year after year, though, there are hundreds of transfer transactions that fly under the national radar but end up seriously paying off.
Four weeks into the 2024 college football season, let's celebrate some of these September surprises from the portal. To be clear, this is not a redo of our preseason all-transfer team. Consider it more like an all-sleeper team.
The following players did not make our top 100 newcomers list in August but are already making a big impression. Some of them moved up to bigger programs, and a few moved down. Most are experienced players who've helped address big needs. All of them appear to have found good new homes after transferring this offseason.
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Offense | Defense | Special teams
OFFENSE
QB: Eli Holstein, Pitt (via Alabama)
The comeback kid was an easy pick for this squad. After redshirting during his lone season at Alabama, Holstein has quickly emerged as a game-changer for Pitt and currently ranks fifth in FBS in total offense. His Panthers have rallied back from double-digit, fourth-quarter deficits to stun Cincinnati and West Virginia in consecutive weeks. Holstein has pulled that off by throwing for 939 yards with nine touchdowns and just two interceptions in the first three games of his career and has already earned ACC Rookie of the Week three times.
