Michigan Football has a (largely) finalized coaching staff for the upcoming 2024 season and today marks the closing of the transfer portal window that began when Jim Harbaugh exited to the NFL. Changes may continue to rosters after spring ball, but today marks the point at which Michigan joins the rest of college football in terms of staff and roster stability, the dust settling on the changes of the winter period. That reality allows us to turn our attention to the rest of college football to see what's been going on elsewhere in the B1G, as we did last offseason. Just like last year's series, over the course of the next three pieces (we now have 17 teams to cover!) I will recap what transfer portal and NFL declarations have wrought upon Michigan's conference foes, in addition to any staff turnover. Today we are covering the six teams in what used to be the B1G East: 

Ohio State

EXITS

Ohio State lost a handful of impact players, but as a whole came out relatively unscathed from NFL Draft season (apparently due to an ambitious NIL effort to retain the roster). Elder statesmen like the LBs Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers, as well as longtime S Josh Proctor, WR Xavier Johnson, OG Matthew Jones, RB Miyan Williams, and TE Cade Stover are out the door for a mix of eligibility exhaustion and NFL Draft reasons. These were players who'd been around a long time and ultimately felt it was time (or were forced) to move on, none of them being terribly surprising. 

Relatively few underclassmen took off, the only three notable names being QB Kyle McCord, whose transfer to Syracuse was well-publicized, and then DT Michael Hall Jr. and WR Marvin Harrison Jr.. The loss of Harrison cannot be understated because he was an exceptional player, but that was mostly priced in given MHJ's supreme draft position. Hall was the best pure pass rusher on OSU's DL (or at least the best get-off) in your author's opinion, but still had room to sharpen up as a run defender. Alas, it seems he will be rounding out his form at the next level, where an NFL team will have the chance to inject some legitimate pass rush skill into the middle of their defense. 

Hmm [Patrick Barron]

ACQUISITIONS 

The upshot of shelling out massively to bring the talented junior class back for one more crack at it is Ohio State had relatively few holes to fill in the portal. Most of their moves came on the offensive side of the ball, making one of the oddest transfer portal pickups in scooping up Alabama C Seth McLaughlin, quite possibly the worst snapper your author has ever seen. Maybe McLaughlin can succeed as a guard where he's not asked to snap the ball, but putting his bad snaps aside, McLaughlin was one of the weakest members of Alabama's OL as a blocker too. Strange. 

The skill position talent changed some, with OSU outsourcing its TE spot by raiding the in-state Ohio Bobcats for Will Kacmarek. He seems middling, PFF grades in the low 60s as a MAC TE. The bigger get was star RB Quinshon Judkins from Ole Miss, who bailed on the Rebels even as Ole Miss was doing their own version of crazy dropping bags on portal targets. Judkins, paired with TreVeyon Henderson, ought to give the Bucks an elite RB combo for the 2024 season. The key to it all on offense is new QB Will Howard, though we should mention 5* Julian Sayin, who "transferred" from Alabama after Nick Saban's retirement (Sayin had just barely enrolled at Bama). Sayin is a massive get for the future, but it is likely Howard who holds the keys to whether this all-in season ends with the ultimate prize. Howard was a solid starter at Kansas State, but whether he can win a national championship is very much to be determined.

Another name we should get on the record is Chip Kelly, the new offensive coordinator. Bill O'Brien was originally hired to fulfill this role, but BO'B bailed before he ever really got started, taking the Boston College head coaching job when that opened up. Kelly then quit on coaching UCLA (where he was seemingly on the verge of being fired) to take this one. Kelly should add new flavor to the Ohio State offense and seems better fit than Ryan Day to take advantage of the mobile Will Howard's skillset. Finally on defense the Buckeyes picked up Alabama star S Caleb Downs, finishing off their massive offseason of spending to build this roster. Downs is a very good player and rounds out what may be college football's best defense in 2024. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: all the other teams]

 

[Patrick Barron]

Penn State 

EXITS

There's a decent bit of turnover in State College as a talented Penn State squad that won 10 games in 2023 sees some key players leave. But before we get to that, we should start with the coaching staff, as both coordinators departed. OC Mike Yurcich is out the door after three unsatisfactory seasons, while DC Manny Diaz took the Duke head coaching job, leaving James Franklin with two key holes in his staff. The offensive side of the ball didn't lose too much in the way of personnel, but there is some rebuilding that will need to be done on the OL. Star LT Olu Fashanu is headed for the first round of the NFL Draft, while longtime starter Caedan Wallace, the RT, has graduated. Wallace was never particularly good, but he did have immense CFB experience. The center Hunter Nourzad moves on as well but rest of the offense is pretty similar, the only other loss being TE Theo Johnson, who never really achieved his full potential with the Nittanys. 

A number of pieces depart Penn State's loaded defense, including EDGE talents Adisa Isaac and Chop Robinson, who will likely be Day 1/2 picks in the NFL Draft. LB Curtis Jacobs also declared for the Draft, while the secondary sees major turnover, with three of five starters moving on for either NFL or eligibility reasons. That includes nickel Daequan Hardy, both corners Johnny Dixon and Kobe King, and contributing S Keaton Ellis is out the door too. The front seven retains tons of talent but PSU did need to dip into the portal to patch some of this up, which will be covered below.  

Swapping B1G East spots [Patrick Barron]

ACQUISITIONS 

Again we can start with the coaching changes, as James Franklin hired Andy Kotelnicki from Kansas to be his new OC. On paper, this looks like a great move, as Kotelnicki has had a central hand in Lance Leipold's prolific offenses with the Jayhawks. Defensively, Franklin stayed in the B1G to hire a new OC in Tom Allen, the former Indiana head coach and blitz extraordinaire. Seems like a solid hire and one that should mesh well with the pass rushing talent available at his disposal. 

Franklin seems to be betting on the coaching of Kotelnicki to turn things around because he didn't add much through the portal on offense. The two names are WR Julian Fleming, of Ohio State fame, and RT Nolan Rucci of Wisconsin. Fleming generally underperformed his prodigious recruiting profile but maybe a change of scenery can bring him to the next level, while Rucci was also a former top-end recruit, but sat for much of three seasons in Madison. He graded out okay in Wisconsin's bowl game and as of right now may be a starter for PSU given the turn over at tackle. 

On defense the Nittany Lions will mostly be relying on the high end recruiting classes they've reeled in to plug the gaps, but the one place they did seek significant help was at corner. There PSU picked up CB AJ Harris from Georgia, another former 5*. I generally caution against plucking transfers from a school like Georgia, but Harris played only one season for the Dawgs, so it's less of a "bust who an elite team didn't want". I'm willing to believe Harris can be good and that this isn't another Mel Tucker SEC Corner Reclamation Project. CB Jalen Kimber was a starter at Florida and graded respectably in the SEC to PFF, which should put him in line to start for the Lions in 2024. EDGE Jalen Mayer also comes over from Wisconsin after just one season with the Badgers, but as a 3* RS Fr he's probably a few years away. 

 

[Bryan Fuller]

Michigan State 

EXITS 

Oh boy. For the second year in a row, Michigan State had one of the busiest offseasons in the (old) B1G East and this time it's even busier. Thankfully, if you're a Spartan reading this, these changes should put the program back on track to competitiveness after several seasons of decline. Mel Tucker was fired during the season for reasons unrelated to his team missing a bowl game for the second straight year, and then the rest of his staff sans one coach was dismissed after the hiring of a new coach. Nearly everything is out on the coaching side of things, which is the biggest exit of them all. 

A ton of players exited MSU through the portal, although it was actually less attrition than I anticipated, a good sign for the nascent regime. The majority of the turnover happened on the offensive side of the ball, including the exit of nearly an entire QB room. All three MSU QBs to play any substantial snaps last year are gone, Noah Kim, Katin Houser, and Sam Leavitt. Clean slate at that position. Starting TE Maliq Carr has also transferred out and two WRs, Tyrell Henry and Christian Fitzpatrick, transferred as well. Veteran WR Tre Mosley headed on to pro ambitions, as did starting OL JD Duplain and Nick Samac. Continuing in attrition on the offensive side, starting OT Spencer Brown and starting G Kevin Wigenton II portaled out as well, leaving the OL almost completely new. Only T Brandon Baldwin, who pulled his name out of the transfer portal, is back among the 2023 starters. 

The defensive side remains more intact than the offense. Some losses still happened, but not a ton major. Most of the exits were players that originally transferred in, like EDGE Tunmise Adeleye (Texas A&M), LB/EDGE Jacoby Windmon (UNLV), and LB Aaron Brule (Miss. St.). All were players Spartan insiders once told us to be VERY EXCITED about and then the end result was not much to be excited about. I don't think anyone in East Lansing is crying much about these. EDGE Zion Young seemed like a moderately interesting underclassman and he also transferred out. But beyond that, the new coaching staff managed to keep a lot of the defense at MSU, including both DTs Simeon Barrow and Derrick Harmon, as well as the vaguely scintillating young guns LB Jordan Hall, Nk Dillon Tatum, and EDGE Bai Jobe. Definitely not as ugly of a transition as it could've been. 

[MSU Athletics]

ACQUISITIONS 

We can start with the coaching staff, because Michigan State, at least on offense, is mostly copy-and-pasting the Oregon State staff. Head coach Jonathan Smith comes to East Lansing from Corvallis and brings with him a lot of his gang on the offensive side of the ball. OC Brian Lindgren, OL/run game coordinator Jim Michalczik, TE coach Brian Wozniak, and RB/AHC/ST coach Keith Bhonapha come with Smith to MSU. The only piece of the offensive staff outside of the Smith tree is Courtney Hawkins, also the only member of Tucker's staff that Smith retained (probably a smart call because MSU did have good WRs under Tucker). 

On defense, DBs coach Blue Adams and DL coach Legi Suiaunoa both come with Smith from Oregon State, but they will be serving under an exterior hire. That would be new DC Joe Rossi, who coordinated defenses at Minnesota under PJ Fleck. Rossi seems fine, having put together some strong B1G West defenses in 2021 and 2022, though the play did decline considerably in 2023, leaving me a tiny bit concerned about the coaching. Rossi will coach the LBs, leaving CBs coach Demetrice Martin the only other member of the staff I didn't yet mention, the third external hire Smith made. Martin played at MSU long ago and then has coached corners at a few different places, Washington under Sarkisian, UCLA under Jim Mora Jr., Arizona under Kevin Sumlin, Colorado under Mel Tucker, and Oregon under Dan Lanning. 

[Sean Meagher/The Oregonian]

In totality, the new staff seems like a good idea. It's a lot of the same staff Smith had at Oregon State (plus a few external hires with sound logic) and given that he did a good job with the Beavs, you have to expect the staff will at least be competent in East Lansing. They will have all new players to coach up, especially on the offensive side after so much of the existing roster was scrapped. The crown jewel is QB Aidan Chiles, a high-end recruit who Smith had been grooming to start at Oregon State and should be ready to take the wheel in East Lansing. There's a new backup QB behind him, Tommy Schuster from North Dakota, who was a good FCS QB. 

Elsewhere on the offense, there's a new starting TE, Jack Velling from Oregon State who was 2nd Team All-PAC 12. The running back room stays intact while the WR room gets a new face in TJ Sheffield, who stays in the conference switching over from Purdue and could be a lead weapon for Chiles. The OL picks up a couple new pieces to fit with Baldwin and the returning OL depth, Tanner Miller, an IOL who was 1st Team All-PAC 12 from Oregon State, and Luke Newman, an elite FCS LT at Holy Cross. 

Defensively there weren't as many adds with Smith keeping a lot of the roster together, but a few pieces that should play real roles in 2024 transfer in. D'Quan Douse was a starting DT at Georgia Tech to middling PFF grades and he should slide into MSU's solid DT rotation. Quindarius Dunnigan was a good starting EDGE at Middle Tennessee, which you figure puts him in line for playing time with the Green and White. LB Wayne Matthews III was an elite player for Old Dominion and could help shore up what has been a consistently weak LB position for the last couple years. LB Jordan Turner from Wisconsin should help in that endeavor, a decently graded B1G 'backer who played mostly MIKE for the Badgers this past season. One final note: MSU brought in a new long snapper and a punter from WMU, a sign that Smith is on the offensive to keep special teams issues, which plagued State the last few years, in check. 

 

[David Wilcomes]

Maryland 

EXITS

After a second straight season that concluded with 8 wins and a bowl victory, the Maryland Terrapins are bidding adieu to a lot of players from the nucleus of those two teams. The most notable of which is QB Taulia Tagovailoa, whose curious request for an eligibility waiver was denied by the NCAA. His top TE Corey Dyches is in the portal with no current destination (reserve RB Antwain Littleton II is also portaling out), while WR Jeshaun Jones is headed to the NFL alongside Taulia. The Terps did manage to keep RB Roman Hemby and the other two receivers Kaiden Prather/Tai Felton, but suffered heavy losses on the offensive line, including tackles Gottlieb Ayedze and Delmar Glaze. The new QB (presumably Billy Edwards Jr.) will have a lot of weapons to play with but may be under considerable fire from opposing pass rushes. 

The defensive side of the ball was much less affected by transfer and NFL Draft declaration season, as the team reports seven returning starters in a recent press release. The starters they did lose will hurt, though, worst of which probably being LB Jaishawn Barham, who transferred to none other than Michigan. Maryland did manage to retain its other two LBs Ruben Hyppolite II and Fa'Najae Gotay, but to lose a hyper talented second-year player like Barham hurts. The other exits were in the secondary, multi-time Dangerman S Beau Brade and two starting corners in Tarheeb Still and Ja'Quan Sheppard, who are all testing NFL waters. Those will both leave a bit of a dent in what was once a very talented secondary room back in 2022. The exit of backup corner Corey Coley Jr. through the transfer route means the job of rebuilding the secondary is a little bit harder, though otherwise Maryland mostly made it out okay on defense. Riyad Wilmot, a backup EDGE, transferred out but that doesn't strike me as a seismic loss. 

ACQUISITIONS 

Maryland didn't do a ton in the portal during the winter period but have scooped up some players who figure to be plausible fits. Josh Kaltenberger is an interior OL from Purdue who wasn't particularly great last season but does have B1G experience and will make an attempt to patch up some of the departed depth. Two other OL names join the picture, former 4* G Aliou Bah, who couldn't find playing time at Georgia in two seasons, and Alan Herron, who played at D2 "Shorter University". Not exactly the most confidence inspiring collection of names, but OL is always slim pickings in the portal and if nothing else, these are more bodies for the depth chart as the Terps look to patch together their unit up front on offense. 

MJ Morris started four games at QB for NC State last season, not faring particularly well but he joins the Terps as a way to help challenge Edwards for the starting job, giving Maryland two darts at the dart board. The only notable defensive name at this stage is someone who should legitimately help the secondary, CB Jalen Huskey from Bowling Green. I scouted Huskey for the matchup this past season and he was one of the better pieces on the BGSU defense, so that's a respectable pickup for the Terps. 

 

[Bryan Fuller]

Rutgers

EXITS

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are coming off their best season since the inaugural campaign in the B1G, finishing 7-6 with a bowl win over Miami. The downside is the attrition that comes with that kind of season, not devastating but some significant players are exiting. Before I get to that, it is important to note that the offense's best player opted to stay, RB Kyle Monangai running it back for the 2024 campaign. That's big for Rutgers, but he will be running behind a different OL. G Curtis Dunlap Jr. ran out of eligibility, while reserve OLs Kamar Missouri and Mike Ciaffoni have entered the portal. Rutgers is still waiting on clarification for a potential Medshirt for OT Reggie Sutton, who suffered a horrific injury back in 2022 and returned to join the team during last season. 

Elsewhere on the offense, backup QB Evan Simon, who started a decent bit during the 2022 campaign, has exited. Alongside him on the way out are starting TE (and one-time Wildcat QB) Johnny Langan, plus two of the top three WRs by snaps, JaQuae Jackson and Isaiah Washington. One more name out the door is RB/WR hybrid Aaron Young, but that isn't the biggest loss with Monangai returning. Overall it will be a pretty different looking offense for returning QB Gavin Wimsatt, or perhaps a mystery new QB I will reveal in a few moments. 

Defensively Rutgers did a pretty good job keeping the band together. They couldn't keep fending off the NFL for CB Max Melton, who was probably their best defensive player, but both starting EDGE guys Wesley Bailey and Aaron Lewis are back (losing SAM Mohamed Toure is a bit of a bummer). While two of their rotational tackles, Mayan Ahanotu and Isaiah Iton depart, as does LB Deion Jennings, the rest of the defense is in good shape. S Flip Dixon is running it back, along with LB Tyreem Powell and CB Robert Longerbeam. The framework for a solid B1G defense is sill here. 

[Patrick Barron]

ACQUISITIONS 

Like last year, not a ton of portal shopping for Rutgers but they did land a Minnesota piece for the second straight offseason. This one is not nearly as exciting as snaring Dixon last offseason, but Rutgers managed to reel in QB Athan Kaliakmanis. Yes, that Athan Kaliakmanis. The Greek Gunslinger went from being talked about as a possible legendary Minnesota QB by PJ Fleck to a Rutgers Scarlet Knight in the span of only a few months. Kaliakmanis, as readers of my columns will recall, was bad at football last fall but maybe a move to Rutgers and a reunion with old OC Kirk Ciarrocca will restore some of that fabled gusto that Fleck used to extoll. 

Beyond Kaliakmanis, not a ton else going on here. Rutgers is helping out its defensive interior attrition by bringing in DT Malcolm Ray from Florida State, a rotational tackle with a middling PFF grade. Okay. WR Dymere Miller stays in state by up-transferring from Monmouth, where he was a dominant FCS receiver. That's all I have at this time from Rutgers, who continue to behave like a respectable football program that promotes from within because it believes it can recruit and develop well. We live in the twilight zone. 

 

[Bryan Fuller]

Indiana 

EXITS 

The most volcanic roster reshuffling in the entire (old) B1G is what happened at Indiana in the offseason (Washington from the new B1G gives it a run for its money), as the entire program under Tom Allen has been scrapped in favor of a new staff and a brand new roster of players and coaches. The plunger on the TNT was pushed down and we are here sorting through the wreckage. The only coach who remains from Allen's staff is Bob Bostad, the old Wisconsin OL coach who had only been at IU for one season. The rest of the staff is gone and only a few notable players roll over, WR Donaven McCulley + two starting OL (Carter Smith/Mike Katic) on offense. On defense, the corners, EDGE Lanell Carr and DT Phil Blidi return, but most everything else has been blown to pieces. 

It's probably easier to answer what didn't exit than what did, which is what I attempted to do in the above category. The list of what exited is exhaustive, primary QB Brendan Sorsby (+ injured QB Dexter Williams), the two leading RBs Josh Henderson and Jaylin Lucas (also a return specialist), 3/5 of the starting OL in Khalil Benson, Matthew Bedford, and Old Friend Zach Carpenter (now at Miami (FL)), and receivers Dequece Carter and Cam Camper. *deep breath* 

On defense, Dangerman Aaron Casey was out of eligibility, as was EDGE Andre Carter, who will test NFL Draft waters. Longtime HSP Noah Pierre has moved on, while S Louis Moore has transferred to Ole Miss. Fellow starting S Philip Dunnam has left the program, with an unknown destination following a mixup that initially seemed to indicate he was returning. EDGE Anthony Jones is gone, though he struggled mightily last season, as are reserve tackles LeDarrius Cox and Patrick Lucas Jr.. More of the defense returns than the offense, but this roster was thoroughly gutted, partially through players moving on to other opportunities/NFL and partially because the new coaching staff wants to totally re-make this group. 

[JMU Athletics]

ACQUISITIONS 

Now it's time to introduce the new coaching staff. Head Coach Curt Cignetti comes to Indiana from James Madison, where he went 52-9 as the Dukes moved up from FCS to FBS. What he's bringing to Indiana is an even more aggressive copy&paste attempt than what Jonathan Smith is doing at MSU, bringing seven JMU coaches with him and a large array of players. Both his offensive and defensive coordinators are the same guys he had at JMU, so there's not a ton to evaluate in the way of coaching moves. The JMU program has been put on wheels and rolled to Bloomington, Indiana. Now we get to find out if it works in the B1G. 

The QB spot is interestingly one of the few places where Cignetti is not leaning on a JMU guy, instead plucking Kurtis Rourke from the Ohio Bobcats, who was a highly successful MAC QB. At the very least, you figure that Rourke gives Indiana a pretty high floor in the way of QB play. Most interesting about JMU's portal pursuits is they went absolutely crazy in recruiting skill position talent, RB/WR specifically. By my count they landed four RBs from the portal(!!) and all of them were contributors or starters at their old school. In addition, they landed four WRs(!!), which, when put next to the returning McCulley, gives JMU a ton of names. 

These portal pickups aren't D2 randos or guys who couldn't play at their old school. These were players who logged playing time at their old school and all agreed to join this clown car depth chart at INDIANA of all places. Again, we live in the twilight zone. The RB list is as follows, with PFF notes in parentheses: Justice Ellison from Wake Forest (rotational but good), Tyson Lawton from JMU (rotational and solid), Kaelon Black from JMU (solid reserve back), and Elijah Green from UNC (missed most of 2023 but was good and productive in 2022). Likewise, here is the WR list: Myles Price from Texas Tech (TT's #4 receiver, pretty decent), Elijah Sarratt from JMU (elite player for the Dukes), Miles Cross from Ohio (one of Rourke's top targets, solid player), and Ke'Shawn Williams from Wake Forest (solid rotational WR). Got all that? 

[The Daily Hoosier]

As if there weren't names on offense in those three paragraphs, Cignetti continued to change the roster on the line, starting at TE. Zach Horton comes with him from JMU after starting with the Dukes to modest PFF grades. Along the offensive line Cignetti also brought G/T Nick Kidwell and Tyler Stephens with him. Kidwell started the 2023 season but then missed the rest of the year with injury, while Stephens was a starter for the past two seasons but PFF does not think fondly of his work. G Trey Wedig comes over from Wisconsin, having started some games the last two years to decent results. These three players, combined with the returning Katic and Smith, figure to be the framework for Indiana's 2024 OL. 

The changes weren't as steep on defense, but there are still six new players to introduce on this side of the ball. Mikail Kamara was a solid starter for JMU at the EDGE spot and one can see him sliding in to replace Andre Carter on the defensive line pretty easily. Two new LBs come with Cignetti from JMU as well, Jailin Walker, who graded out as an elite player, and Aiden Fisher, who was a respectable starter. Troy's Jayden McDonald joins the fold, also a LB, suddenly giving the Hoosiers quite a bit of depth at the linebacker position. They needed help at safety after the departures of Moore and Dunnam, which Cignetti filled by snagging both of Old Dominion's safeties, Terry Jones and Shawn Asbury II. Both started for the Monarchs last season and both did so with positive PFF grades. These six pickups help fill a lot of the immediate holes for Indiana's roster, but long-term development of the depth will still need to be done on defense through the next several recruiting classes.