Transfer portal no. 1 of 247Sports TE Holden Staes commits to Tennessee
Former Notre Dame tight end Holden Staes, the No. 1 player at his position in the 247 Sports Transfer Portal rankings, has committed to Tennessee.
He’s the first prospect out of the portal this cycle for coach Josh Heupel and his staff.
The 6-foot-4, 242-pound Staes caught 15 passes for 176 yards and four touch downs for the Irish last fall. He is ranked 15th overall in the 247Sports rankings.
Staes is excited about his weekend visit to Knoxville with Go Vols 247 member Ryan Callahan. “I would say the three things I liked the most were just the opportunity I got to see here and the proximity to home.
I really enjoyed interacting with the coaching staff, seeing the guys on the offensive side of the ball and seeing what they do on film with the tight ends.
And of course the environment that Tennessee has to offer, just playing in a huge stadium, playing in front of a huge crowd and of course playing meaningful games in the SEC.
Washington and Oklahoma were a few other schools heavily considered by Staes. More Staes on Vols here. Coming out of high school, 247Sports ranked Staes 21st in the nation in the 2022 class.
How the NCAA transfer portal is causing schools to miss out on high school prospects like Jacob Emmers Jacob Emmers is a compelling example in the debate about how the NCAA transfer portal is hurting high school recruiting
ARLINGTON, Texas – There’s an ongoing discussion about whether the extra year of eligibility due to COVID and the NCAA transfer portal is hurting high school recruiting.
One of the best cases to support this theory is Jacob Emmers. The 2024 Anna (Texas) winner just got the state championship by defeating Anna against Tyler (Texas) Chapel Hill.
After suffering an injury early in the game, Emmers saw only limited action catching two balls for 14 yards. However, for the past two years he has been a production machine for the North Texas energy program.
In two seasons, Emmers totaled 121 receptions for 1,241 yards and 29 touchdowns. Listed at 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, Emmers ran an 11.08 in the 100 meters as a junior.
His production and athleticism alone should make him a favorite target for most Group of Five and several Power Five programs. Although Emmers has 18 offers, many of those schools have dropped recruiting him in favor of a portal receiver.
Nowadays, in the era of football, building team talent quickly has become the norm and a preferred strategy. When he spoke to Emmers after his win, he said Tulsa was the only program communicating with him.
While others have reached out, Emmers says contact disappears out of nowhere.
It’s a harsh reality for high school prospects these days, and both prospects and schools are trying to figure out how to adapt to the changing face of college football.
The cycle feeds itself because Emmers could potentially end up somewhere like Tulsa and after a year or two of production become a coveted portal player, undercutting another high school player’s recruiting.
The Tulsa staff has been relentlessly recruiting the North Texas region throughout the cycle and it’s paying off. If the Golden Hurricanes can land Emmers, they could get a bargain.
Perhaps a brilliant performance in the national finals would have brought him more attention, but Anna’s early injury and defensive dominance didn’t necessitate it. Either way, schools are missing a player with intriguing potential.
