Position-by-Position Look at MTSU’s Transfer Portal Haul

Jan 24

So far, the Blue Raiders have picked up eighteen commitments from the transfer portal. Head coach Derek Mason has been extremely active in the portal after it was announced that Mason would return for the 2026 season. The Blue Raiders have beaten out schools like Washington State, Missouri State, and James Madison for some of the top recruits in their class.

Quarterback

The Blue Raiders made no moves at the quarterback position, either in or out of the transfer portal, which is a win. The Blue Raiders suffer a hit to the quarterback room with Nick Vattiato running out of eligibility, but retaining Roman Gagliano and Stanley Anderson-Lofton in this transfer portal window may pay large dividends for the Blue Raiders. Sometimes, no action is better than some action. Giving the Blue Raiders a high grade for this position may seem egregious, but considering how some other teams’ quarterback rooms were decimated by the portal this offseason, this was a good cycle for MTSU at quarterback.

Grade: B-

Running Back

The Blue Raiders retained DJ Taylor, the electric hometown freshman at running back, but lost starter Jekail Middlebrook and backup Rickey Hunt Jr. to the portal. However, the Blue Raiders did nab First-Team All-GLIAC athlete Terrance Brown Jr. Brown converted to a wide receiver in his final year at Saginaw Valley State, but will play running back in Murfreesboro. Also, Derek Mason got the Kansas State transfer, Antonio Martin Jr, to commit to Middle Tennessee. Martin Jr. amassed over 1,200 yards in 2024 at Southeastern Louisiana under offensive coordinator Anthony Scelfo, who was named MTSU’s new offensive coordinator in December of 2025. Last season, Martin Jr also saw some action as a reserve running back for Kansas State, finishing with 129 rushing yards on 6.8 yards per carry. The loss of Jekail Middlebrook stings, but with the addition of proven Division 1 talent in Martin, and an opportunity for a breakout running back in Terrance Brown Jr, the Blue Raiders are in a pretty good spot in the backfield.

Grade: B

Wide Receiver

Nahzae Cox, one of the Blue Raiders’ most talented players on the roster last season, committed to Kansas during this transfer portal cycle. In the same cycle, the Blue Raiders also lost Amorion Walker to UNLV, a junior who tallied 201 yards in 2025 after transferring in from Michigan. With MTSU expected to run the ball more under new offensive coordinator Anthony Scelfo, it’s no shock that the Blue Raiders lost some receivers in the process. However, the Middle Tennessee coaching staff did land two solid wideouts, including the D2 standout slot receiver, Hogan Wasson. The Central Missouri transfer tallied over 1,000 yards last year despite only playing in ten games. In six of those games, Wasson racked up over 120 yards. The D2 All-American hopes for his talent to translate to the C-USA level. The other addition in the receiver room was Mississippi State transfer Markus Allen. The fifth-year senior has had stops at Wisconsin, Eastern Michigan, and Mississippi State, but by far his most productive year was the year he spent in Ypsilanti. Allen only had one catch for seven yards as a Bulldog, but had 651 as an Eastern Michigan Eagle. He’s found plenty of success at the Group of Five level in the past, and if he can return to his previous form, Allen will be a very productive receiver in Mufreesboro.

Grade: C+

Tight End

The only transfer portal move at tight end for MTSU was the loss of Hunter Tipton to Memphis. Tipton was a large part of MTSU’s offensive success, frequently hurdling defenders and fighting for plenty of extra yardage. Losing a 400-plus-yard tight end with no replacement doesn’t really grade out the best for MTSU. Although Evan Poticher seems ready for a starting role, the Blue Raiders could’ve benefited from a transfer body in the tight end room.

Grade: D-

Offensive Line

At a Conference-USA program, the transfer portal philosophy is pretty easy. If it’s possible, take as many high-potential former Power Four players as you can, and add C-USA and lower-level proven talent if those players become available. In the trenches, MTSU did both. Their highest-rated transfer portal get of this cycle by 247Sports is Reese Tripp from Minnesota. The 6-foot-7 lineman was rated as the No. 71 offensive lineman in the country coming out of high school by ESPN. Tripp only played in three games for the Gophers, but he likely offers a lot of potential to be a day-one starter for MTSU. Also coming to Murfreesboro next season is the highest-rated FCS guard by PFF last season, Chris Moreno. He allowed no sacks in his time at Monmouth and brings a flurry of experience to the trenches. The Blue Raiders also added West Florida transfer Trevaris Edwards, another lineman who did not allow a sack in 2025, and Virginia Union transfer Adrian Crespin, who has tallied over 25 starts and 50 pancake blocks as an All-Conference interior offensive lineman. MTSU beefed up on the line and lost only two offensive linemen to the portal, Mateo Guevara and E.J. Harris, losing a total of 27 combined starts between the two linemen. Guevara was one of the C-USA’s best last season, but with four additions to the trenches, all with pretty high potential, this cycle grades out extremely well for MTSU.

Grade: A-

Defensive Line

On the defensive line, the Blue Raiders truly did lose two of their best and most productive defensive lineman to the transfer portal. Shakai Woods, a 20-time starter in the past two years, and Anthony Bynum, a 23-time starter in two years, both decided to enter the transfer portal. The former landed at Arkansas State, and the latter landed at Georgia Southern. The two combined for 11.5 TFLs, 11 QBHs, 113 total tackles, and 5 sacks last season. To replace these big performers, MTSU added four players on the defensive line. Kaven Call, a former UCF and ETSU edge rusher, comes to MTSU after tallying 4 TFLS, 2 sacks, and 29 pressures for ETSU last season. Another addition was Trashun Griffin, an edge rusher from Troy who saw game action against Southern Miss. The Blue Raiders also grabbed a high-potential defensive tackle in Justin Bodford, who was ranked as the No. 34 defensive tackle coming out of high school by Rivals. The last addition to the room was JUCO product La'Garrius Sims, who was quite productive at East Central Community College, finishing the year with 40 tackles, 10 TFLs, and 4 sacks.

Overall, it is clear that MTSU couldn’t add as much proven talent to the defensive line as they lost to the portal. Call and Sims were great at the FCS and JUCO levels, and Griffin and Bodford could both be super productive, but in terms of how many transfers seem like definite gamechangers, there isn’t any. This position could end up being great for MTSU, but as it stands now, it doesn’t seem likely.

Grade: D

Line Backer

Similar to the defensive line, the Blue Raiders lost two very good linebackers to the portal who seemed primed for great seasons. Alex Mitchell, the senior who took a redshirt year last year, felt like a surefire pick for a breakout player on the defense. Mitchell struggled with injury, but in his time on the field, he tallied three TFLs and 28 tackles after being an extremely productive player at Chattanooga. Mitchell has now committed to App State, and legacy linebacker Muazz Byard is also changing schools, to UAB. Byard also struggled with injury in 2025, but he was a crucial player on the Blue Raider defense. He grabbed an interception against Delaware and had 4.5 TFLs on the season. The replacement player at linebacker was Jackson State transfer Ashton Taylor. The 6-foot-2 transfer was rated as a three-star transfer by 247Sports and was all over the field for Jackson State in 2024 and 2025. The fan-favorite linebacker totalled 100 tackles, 15 TFLs, 5.5 sacks, 8 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.

A similar story to other positions, Taylor was very productive at the FCS level, but it has yet to be seen if it can translate to the FBS level. However, this cycle was much kinder to the Blue Raiders at linebacker than it was at defensive line.

Grade: C-

Cornerback

At cornerback, MTSU only lost Elijah Hunter Jr. to the portal, a freshman cornerback who took the bet on himself and will drop down to the JUCO level at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. To replace Hunter Jr. and seniors lost at the position like De’Arre McDonald, MTSU added a D2 All-American, a highly-rated FCS corner who once picked off Gunner Stockton, and a former four-star recruit. The D2 All-American comes by way of Grand Valley State, Jason Hardy. A true ball hawk, he’s tallied eight interceptions in his career. The highly-rated FCS cornerback is Ricky Lee III, who spent time at UAB before transferring to Sacramento State and becoming one of the best players in that secondary. As a true freshman at UAB, he picked off Gunner Stockton, the Georgia quarterback who finished 7th in Heisman voting in 2025. The final addition to the cornerback room was James Johnson from USC, who was rated as a four-star out of high school. Johnson moved between offense and defense at USC but will likely man the defensive side at MTSU.

Grade: B+

Safety

The transfer portal giveth and the transfer portal taketh away. At cornerback, MTSU added three players and only lost one; at safety, MTSU lost three players and only added one. The safety/nickel hybrid Jared Douglas had some unfortunate injury luck after transferring in from the JUCO level, but finished his 2024 season with 24 tackles, a pass breakup, and a forced fumble. MTSU also lost Juwon Gaston, who, in his one year in Murfreesboro, led the team in interceptions and added 2.5 TFLs and 2 forced fumbles on top of that. MTSU also lost John Howse IV to Arkansas after he put up 61 total tackles, 4.5 TFLs, 2 INTs, 3 pass deflections, and one forced fumble as a Blue Raider.

At safety, MTSU did add college veteran Dyson McCutcheon. The safety logged 24 games played as a Washington Huskie, totalling 19 tackles and 3 pass deflections. McCutcheon missed the 2025 season due to injury, but has spent five years with the Washington program.

Grade: D+

Specialist

At kicker, MTSU added D3 standout Dominic Bourgeois from Susquehanna, who was 25-for-25 with a long of 45 yards on field goals at Susquehanna. Bourgeois also held kickoff duties for his team and averaged 59.7 yards on kickoffs in his career.