Five years ago, you’d see maybe two or three transfer athletes on the A-State roster with at least one unfairly overhyped as a “game changer” for the program – such undue pressure was put upon the likes of Cam Echols-Luper, Kendall Sanders, Michael Dyer and Chad Voytik, among many others. The expectations set by the media (mea culpa) and sometimes by the coaching staff was grossly unfair on these guys. How ridiculous is it to believe that the addition of one football player can make more than a reasonable impact in the wins and losses column?

Triple-jump to 2023. Today, nearly every college football roster features roughly a dozen transfer athletes at least. Who are these guys? The stories vary. Some are six year vagabonds looking for one last shot at glory. Others are passed-over malcontents and NIL hunters. Most are guys hungry for playing time and a chance to place their own dent in the universe. Heck, some just want to be closer to home.

Coach Butch Jones has made it a point to rebuild the shaky Arkansas State roster the old fashioned way – high school recruits who require reps in the gym and on the practice field. But he’s also been successful at reaching into the portal and finding players who he can plug into the lineup immediately. Instant contributors like Johnnie Lang, Joe Ozougwu, Eddie Smith, Kivon Bennett, John Mincey, Justin Blackman and Jordan Rhodes held the line for Arkansas State as the program works itself back into contention.

Who will we depend on in 2023? Just as it was his first two off seasons, Butch Jones and his staff have reached deep into the Portal, pulling gems from within its inky depths. Because it’s June, and we have nothing else to talk about, we’ve put together a list of five guys we’d love to see pan out for 2023.

Jacob Bayer, OL, Lamar

Center has been an issue during the Butch Jones error, with the lack of depth and catastrophic injuries at OL forcing guys into a role that they may not have been best suited. Enter Jacob Bayer, the 6’3″ 315-pound junior who has garnered great praise from the staff. The Mulleted One started 22 games in two years at Lamar, where he helped the Cardinals accrue nearly 350 yards of total offense per game in 2022.

JT Shrout, QB, Colorado

Promising freshman Jaylen Raynor and highly touted sophomore Jaxon Dailey provide the competition, but it looks like the Tennessee/Colorado transfer has the inside track on the position behind center. The 6’3″, 215-pound Shrout is a redshirt senior pocket-passer known for having a solid arm – qualities that fit Coach Jones’ idea of a QB. Shrout has never found the perfect situation – his stats at Colorado were tarnished by the team’s overall struggles. Let’s hope he discovered the right fit in Jonesboro.

Courtney Jackson, WR, Syracuse

Many eyes were on Corey Rucker and Jeff Foreman during the A-State Spring Game, but the key to the wide receiver’s room may be the 5’11” redshirt junior from Syracuse. A three-star prospect out of high school, Jackson hauled in 63 career passes for the Orange while developing into the team’s top return man as well.

Zak Wallace, RB, UT-Martin

Wallace arrived to A-State somewhat beneath the radar, but the 200-pound redshirt junior from Benton, Arkansas looked explosive in the Spring Game, collecting 62 yards as a RB tandem with Ja’Quez Cross. The Red Wolves have had trouble establishing a “production running back” in recent years, but Wallace might be the guy having rushed for 1,012 yards on 169 carries (6.0 yards/carry) and 16 touchdowns for UT Martin in 2022, averaging 92.0 yards per game.

Jalen Cunningham, OL, Ole Miss

Butch Jones and his staff snagged three big bodies from Ole Miss, including the 6’7″ behemoth Tobias Braun and 6’5″ redshirt senior Hamilton Hall. But at this moment, it appears that the 6’5″ 300-pound Cunningham is making the deepest impact on the line of the three. Cunningham was a starter on the offensive line during the Spring Game, making his presence known among a group that has gotten noticibly bigger this season.

PHOTO CREDIT: It’s all mine baby