Portal Fact or Fiction: Louisville's Haul, Dabo's Portal Problems, KJ Jefferson Bounce-Back

Originally posted on Mike Farrell Sports
By Mike Farrell | Last updated 2/26/24

In today’s Fact or Fiction — transfer portal edition — I look at three big recent topics from the transfer portal and decide whether the statement is indeed FACT or if it’s FICTION.

1. Louisville has the best class in the ACC.

Farrell’s take: FACT

Florida State makes a really good case with fewer commits, but what Louisville has done could make them a real threat in the ACC after reaching the title game in Jeff Brohm’s first season. DE Tyler Baron is going to be elite off the edge, RB Penny Boone could be nasty, and WR Caullin Lacy is the best addition you’ve never heard of. Watch out for the Cardinals.

Former Tennessee EDGE Tyler Baron has flipped from Ole Miss to Louisville!

A top-25 player in the portal, Baron ranked second on the team with six sacks in 2023. HUGE get for the Cards’ defense pic.twitter.com/bnUrVZBHhg
— Dalton Pence (@dpence_) January 17, 2024

2. Transfers don’t want to go to Clemson.

Farrell’s take: FACT

This is kind of a bold statement, but Dabo Swinney took a shot at more portal players than in the past and struck out, and it got me wondering. Why? Personally, his mantra of his locker room being his portal and the assumed favoritism of his players over a transfer, I think, keeps players away. Fair or not, it seems Clemson is not a place transfers want to go, which is odd because they are such a successful program. It’s gotta be the perceived loyalty, right?

3. KJ Jefferson has a bounce-back year for UCF.

Farrell’s take: FACT

Gus Malzahn will use Jefferson and his mobility much better than Arkansas did last season and put him in more favorable positions, so I think a solid year is ahead. He won’t be a superstar, but he won’t need to be in the run-heavy offense. He just needs to cut down on his mistakes and he can do that in this offense.

This article first appeared on Mike Farrell Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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