Former Arkansas State University kicker Blake Grupe never had any plans of leaving Jonesboro. Before August 2020, when the NCAA granted all student-athletes an extra year of eligibility, he figured this past fall would be his last season of college football.
But after a 2021 campaign in which he became the Red Wolves' all-time scoring leader while also setting multiple other records, Grupe went home to Sedalia, Mo., and reconsidered things.
Once he entered the transfer portal, it only took a matter of days for Grupe to find a new spot.
"Notre Dame reached out and it was over," Grupe said. "How could you not want to be a part of the winning tradition, be a part of the school's tradition and everything that makes Notre Dame football the way it is? There were other schools that reached out but ... I'm where I want to be."
Although the college football offseason has been drastically altered by the evolution of the transfer portal, its impact on ASU has been limited thus far -- at least from the perspective of outgoing players. Grupe, quarterback Layne Hatcher and defensive back Jarius Reimonenq are the only three starters from the 2021 finale who entered the portal, with as many 14 starters set to return to Coach Butch Jones' 2022 squad.
What's even more critical for the Red Wolves' future is the way in which they're utilizing the portal to add to an already impressive recruiting class.
"We're going to win with high school football players. We're going to develop this program," Jones said during his Dec. 15 news conference at the start of the early signing period. "Then we'll try to correct some deficiencies that we have in our program through the transfer portal."
One of those issues was a bloated roster and sorting out scholarships over future years. With 50-plus newcomers last fall, Jones and his staff had to tap into some of their 2022 counters -- each school is allowed 25 new players plus up to seven additional spots based on outgoing transfers.
At least 12 players from last season are gone, opening up scholarships and enabling ASU to add those extra counters this season.
The Red Wolves are set to add seven new players, including a trio of in-state pieces in defensive end Blayne Toll (Hazen), athlete Ja'Quez Cross (Fordyce) and running back Tharon Davis (Newport), who posted his commitment on social media Sunday night after spending 2021 as a walk-on at Memphis.
Although Cross and Davis will be part of skill-position groups that are loaded with contributors, Toll -- who spent the latter half of the season with ASU -- and former Alabama linebacker King Mwikuta could very likely be contributors on the defensive line from Day 1.
Mwikuta, a unanimous four-star recruit out of Georgia in the Class of 2019, posted his announcement on social media just days after playing for the Crimson Tide in their College Football Playoff National Championship loss to Georgia.
Together, they give the Red Wolves some much-needed defensive end depth -- Kivon Bennett and Joe Ozougwu combined for nearly 90% of ASU's snaps at the two edge spots, per Pro Football Focus, but Ozougwu is gone and Bennett has one more season of eligibility.
Not even six hours after Mwikuta's announcement, the Red Wolves dropped another commitment, adding linebacker Jordan Carmouche from Houston.
"Really, what sold me was Coach Jones," Carmouche said. "It's really just a family atmosphere and the way he had players he coached in the past...and they still call him today, just saying what's up."
Carmouche could slot into the Mike linebacker spot vacated by Caleb Bonner, who played all but 26 defensive snaps last season. ASU never settled on a partner for Bonner, alternating mostly between Dane Motley and Jaden Harris.
Although Carmouche has one year of eligibility, he likely fills a critical spot in a Red Wolf defense that was gashed at times in the fall while giving Jones and ASU's staff time to develop the position for future seasons.
"This is my last year, so I was more worried about the depth chart than the facilities or the uniforms -- that's for freshmen," Carmouche said. "I'm just thankful...that I was able to find this place and call it home."
INCOMING TRANSFERS
Pos;Name;Ht;Wt;Previous school;Years left
LB;Jordan Carmouche;6-2;230;Houston;1
RB/WR;Ja’Quez Cross;5-11;185;Purdue;4
RB;Tharon Davis;5-10;171;Memphis;4
LB;King Mwikuta;6-5;243;Alabama;3
DB;Eddie Smith;6-0;190;Illinois/Alabama;2
DL;Tank Sugick;6-2;297;Vanderbilt;4
DE;Blayne Toll;6-6;245;Colorado/Arkansas;3