The second football transfer portal window is now open. Utah State survived the first window quite well, especially relative to how it fared in the 2022-23 offseason. This window opened April 16 and will close on April 30 with an exception for graduate transfers who are able to enter the portal after the deadline on the 30th.
Check in here regularly to see the latest in who is coming and going for the Aggies.
As a bit of a peek behind the curtain here. When Cache Valley Daily went through its recent makeover, my fall edition of this tracker basically got wiped because the format couldn’t be transferred. It’s actually still online, but it’s merely a skeleton that doesn’t contain the full list of transfers. And I didn’t back up that data anywhere so I don’t have a copy of that list, only the numbers that still appear on the husk of that article which remains. But I can still quickly summarize how many left, which key players left, and also who committed to staying.
Fall/Winter Portal Window Summary
- Graduated/Retired: 10
- Transfers IN: 21
- Transfers OUT: 25
- Starters that transferred: Ralph Frias (OL), Devin Dye (S)
Players that committed to staying during fall/winter portal window
- Cooper Legas (QB)
- Davon Booth (RB)
- Robert Briggs (RB)
- Rahsul Faison (RB)
- Jalen Royals (WR)
- Anthony Switzer (LB)
- Ike Larsen (S)
Specifying that these players committed to staying during the first portal window may be important as one player who committed to staying, Poukesi Vakauta, still wound up in the transfer portal. That’s not meant to be a judgement on anyone, just a commentary on how things can change for players and teams in the course of a few short months.
Spring Window Tracker
LATEST UPDATE: April 16
Transferring OUT
McCae Hillstead
- Position: Quarterback
- Entered Portal: April 16
- 2023 Snaps Played: 319
- 2023 Overall Stats: 94/158 (59.5%) pass comp/att, 1,062 pass yards, 11 TDs, 8 INT
Hillstead started four games for the Aggies this last season, first taking the reigns in Utah State’s loss to Air Force and getting his first official start against James Madison. He set a freshman record with 399 passing yards against JMU. Injuries eventually forced Hillstead back to the bench and Cooper Legas took over as the full-time starter. With Spencer Petras and Legas being the top to candidates to start this season, it’s unlikely Hillstead would have seen any time this season.
Sir Mells
- Position: Defensive Tackle
- Entered Portal: April 16
- 2023 Snaps Played: 157
- 2023 Overall Stats: 12 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 1.0 sack
Mells transferred to USU last year and appeared in 12 of the Aggies’ 13 games. He only played more than 16 snaps in a game once, though, serving mostly as a rotation DT to spell the starters for a couple snaps at a time.
Poukesi Vakauta
- Position: Defensive Tackle
- Entered Portal: April 16
- 2023 Snaps Played: 209
- 2023 Overall Stats: 5 tackles, 0.5 TFL
Vakauta spent four years with the Aggies, appearing in 30 total games. And while he’s consistently averaged around 27 snaps per game, he’s never been a regular starter which could be part of the motivation to transfer.
Transferring IN
There are no transfers that have committed to Utah State during the spring transfer portal window.
