Key Pac-12 Running Back Transfers Coming In and Going Out
Much of the maneuvering among running back transfers has been completed in the Pac-12, and it appears UCLA, which brought in Michigan transfer Zach Charbonnet, and USC, which landed Texas transfer Keaontay Ingram, made the most important additions at the position.
Three former Cal running backs entered their names in the transfer portal and only one (Bradrick Shaw) has committed to a new school (Northern Iowa). But one ex-Golden Bears player no longer in the transfer portal is fullback Drew Schlegel. He started three of Cal’s four games in 2020 as a grad transfer but has decided not to play college football anymore and removed his name from the portal.
Utah has had a makeover at the running back position, with two potential impact players coming in and three going out.
Here are the running backs coming in and going out of each Pac-12 school via transfer.
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ARIZONA
IN
Drake Anderson: From Northwestern to Arizona
Anderson was Northwestern’s second-leading rusher as a sophomore in 2020, gaining 256 yards and averaging 4.1 yards per carry while playing in seven games, including three starts. He rushed for 103 yards in the season-opening win over Maryland and was the team’s leading rusher heading into the final regular-season game against Illinois. However, Anderson fumbled on his only carry against the Illini and never saw the field again. He did not play in the Big Ten title game against Ohio State and entered the transfer portal before the Wildcats’ bowl game win against Auburn. Anderson was Northwestern’s leading rusher in 2019 as a redshirt freshman, gaining 634 yards, including 141 yards against UNLV.
Drake Anderson. Photo by David Banks, USA TODAY Sports
OUT
None
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ARIZONA STATE
IN
None
OUT
Demetrious Flowers: From Arizona State to undecided
As a redshirt freshman in 2020, Flowers did not participate in preseason practice for personal reasons and did not play during the season. As a true freshman in 2019, he played in two games and carried 11 times for 31 yards, all against Florida State in a bowl game.
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CAL
IN
None
OUT
Bradrick Shaw: From Cal to Northern Iowa
Shaw played in three of Cal’s four games in 2020 and finished with 11 carries for 18 yards and a 1.6 yards-per-attempt average. He was used mostly in short-yardage situations. Shaw came to Cal during the summer of 2020 as a grad transfer from Wisconsin, where he rushed for 938 yards over three seasons with the Badgers. Shaw committed to Northern Iowa, an FCS school, on April 22.
DeShawn Collins: From Cal to undecided
Collins ran for 199 yards as a Cal junior in 2019, and he rushed for 105 yards on 15 carries against USC that season. He opted out of the 2020 season before entering the transfer portal. He came to Cal after playing two seasons of junior college ball at City College of San Francisco.
Zach Angelillo (fullback): From Cal to undecided
Angelillo was switched from linebacker to fullback during the spring of 2020, but Angelillo did not get on the field in 2020 as a senior. He is heading elsewhere as a grad transfer.
Drew Schlegel (fullback): From Cal to out of football
Schlegel put his name in the transfer portal following the 2020 season, when he was a graduate student and played in all four games, including three starts, as a lead blocker. He did not have any carries and caught two passes for 14 yards. However, some time after entering the transfer portal Schlegel decided he did not want to play college football anymore and removed his name from the portal.
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COLORADO
IN
None
OUT
Jaren Mangham: From Colorado to South Florida
Mangham played in four of the Buffaloes' five games as a sophomore in 2020 and rushed for 35 yards on 23 attempts, an average of 1.5 yards per carry. As a true freshman in 2019, Mangham played in all 12 games with one start and ran for 441 yards and three touchdowns and caught 10 passes for 41 yards. In the one start, he ran for 77 yards against UCLA.
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OREGON
IN
None
OUT
Cyrus Habibi-Likio: From Oregon to Boise State
Habibi-Likio played in all seven of Oregon’s games in 2020 as a fourth-year junior, but his production declined sharply from previous seasons. He carried 19 times for 36 yards, a 1.9-yards-per-carry average and four touchdowns this past season. In 2019, he rushed for 337 yards, 10 touchdowns and 20 first downs and was the Ducks’ primary short-yardage back. Habibi-Likio had seven rushing touchdowns in 2018 as a redshirt freshman.
Jayvaun Wilson: From Oregon to UNLV
Wilson was a four-star recruit but never played in his two seasons at Oregon. He rejoins Marcus Arroyo, who is the head coach at UNLV after being the offensive coordinator at Oregon during Wilson’s freshman year.
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OREGON STATE
IN
Deshaun Fenwick (all-purpose back): From South Carolina to Oregon State
Fenwick was South Carolina’s second-leading rusher as a redshirt sophomore in 2020, when he ran for 297 yards and averaged 5.5 yards per carry and also caught 14 passes for 108 yards. Fenwick played in eight of the Gamecocks’ 10 games, and played behind sophomore Kevin Harris, who rushed for 1,138 yards in eight games. Fenwick’s best game in 2020 came against Mississippi, when he ran for 82 yards on nine carries. As a redshirt freshman in 2019, he rushed for 102 yards against Vanderbilt.
OUT
Calvin Tyler: From Oregon State to Utah State
The 5-foot-8, 215-pound Tyler played in three games in 2020 and rushed for 45 yards on 15 carries (3.0 yards per attempt) as a fourth-year junior. He had 12 carries for 68 yards in 2019.
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STANFORD
IN
None
OUT
None
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UCLA
IN
Zach Charbonnet: From Michigan to UCLA
Charbonnet was Michigan’s second-leading rusher as a sophomore in 2020, when he ran for 124 yards. His impressive average of 6.5 yards per attempt might be a little misleading since he had only 19 carries, one of which went for 70 yards. That 70-yard run came in the season opener against Minnesota. Charbonnet was more productive in 2019 as a freshman, when he was a starter in the opener, appeared in all 13 games and ran for a team-high 726 yards and 11 touchdowns. That season he ran for 118 yards against Illinois and 84 yards in a bowl game against Alabama. He is from southern California (Camarillo).
OUT
Jahmon McClendon: From UCLA to undecided
McClendon entered the transfer portal back in October and has not yet found a home. He did not play a down as a true freshman in 2019, and was in the transfer portal before the 2020 season began.
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USC
IN
Keaontay Ingram: From Texas to USC
Ingram’s production declined in 2020 as a junior after two big seasons. This past season he played in six of Texas’ 10 games, including three starts, and rushed for 250 yards and a 4.7-yards-per-carry average. His best game came against Texas Tech, when he rushed for 89 yards on 12 carries. He suffered a season-ending ankle injury on Oct. 31, and missed the final five games. As a sophomore in 2019, Ingram started 13 games, rushed for 853 yards, averaged 5.9 yards per carry and caught 29 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns. He rushed for 100 yards or more four times in 2019. As a freshman in 2018, he played in 13 games, made two starts, rushed for 708 yards and caught 27 passes for 127 yards.
Keaontay Ingram. Photo by Daniel Dunn, USA TODAY Sports
OUT
Markese Stepp: From USC to Nebraska
The 235-pound Stepp played in five of USC’s six games last season as a sophomore and ran for 165 yards and a 3.7 yards-per-carry average. His best game came against Arizona, when he rushed for 82 yards on 12 carries. In 2019 as a freshman, Stepp played in seven games, ran for 307 yards and averaged 5.7 yards per carry before an ankle injury ended his season.
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UTAH
IN
T.J. Pledger: From Oklahoma to Utah
Pledger was Oklahoma’s second-leading rusher as a junior in 2020, when he ran for 451 yards and averaged 4.7 yards per carry and caught nine passes for 77 yards. He rushed for 131 yards against Texas and 121 yards against TCU. His playing time declined toward the end of the season, and after getting just one carry in the Big Ten championship game against Iowa State, he entered the transfer portal.
Chris Curry: From LSU to Utah
Curry was LSU’s No. 3 rusher in 2020, when he ran for 145 yards and 3.2 yards per carry in nine games as a third-year sophomore. In 2019, Curry appeared in seven games, rushing for 189 yards, but he ran for 90 yards in the Tigers’ College Football Playoff semifinal win over Oklahoma.
OUT
Jordan Wilmore: From Utah to Fresno State
Wilmore played in just two games in 2020 and ran for 54 yards on 18 attempts (3.0 yards per carry) as a sophomore. He played in 12 games and registered 209 rushing yards in 2019 as a freshman.
Devin Brumfield: From Utah to Tulane
Brumfield played in four of the Utes’ five games in 2020 and ran for 85 yards on 21 carries (4.0 yards per attempt) and had five receptions for 26 yards. He would have been Utah’s top returning rusher in 2021 after last season’s leading rusher, Ty Jordan, died last December. Brumfield grew up in Louisiana, which is where Tulane is located.
T.J. Green: From Utah to Liberty
Green entered the transfer portal in October, before the 2020 season began. He has 23 carries for 68 yards in 2019 as a third-year sophomore at Utah, and had 36 carries for 190 yards as a redshirt freshman.
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WASHINGTON
IN
None
OUT
None
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WASHINGTON STATE
IN
Nakia Watson: From Wisconsin to Washington State
Watson was a starter in four of the five games he played for Wisconsin as a third-year sophomore in 2020. He ran for 62 yards in the opener against Illinois and 65 in the second game against Michigan. His playing time decreased as the season went on, and he missed the final two games of the season due to injury. Watson finished the season as the team’s third-leading rusher with 191 yards and an average of 3.6 yards per carry. As a redshirt freshman in 2019, Watson rushed for 237 yards and a 4.5 average per carry as the backup to All-American Jonathan Taylor
OUT
Clay Markoff (fullback): From Washington State to undecided
Markoff arrived at Washington State as a walk-on and played mostly on special teams in his five years at WSU. He had four carries for 14 yards as a redshirt senior in 2020.
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Cover photo of Zach Charbonnet by Jesse Johnson, USA TODAY Sports
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