Former Notre Dame tight end Holden Staes, the No. 1 ranked player at his position in the 247Sports Transfer Portal Rankings, has committed to Tennessee. He is the first pledge out of the portal this cycle for head coach Josh Heupel and his staff. The 6-foot-4, 242-pound Staes caught 15 passes for 176 yards and four touchdowns this past fall for the Irish. He is the No. 15 prospect overall in the 247Sports Rankings. Staes raved about his weekend visit to Knoxville to GoVols247 insider Ryan Callahan.
ARLINGTON, Texas— There’s been constant debate that the extra year of COVID eligibility and the NCAA Transfer Portal is hurting high school recruiting. One of the best cases to support that theory is Jacob Emmers. The 2024 Anna (Texas) receiver just wrapped up a state championship win in Anna’s defeat of Tyler (Texas) Chapel Hill. After suffering an injury early in the game, Emmers only saw limited action catching two balls for 14 yards. Still, he’s been a production machine at the North Texas-area power program over the last two years.
In two seasons, Emmers has 121 receptions for 1,241 yards and 29 touchdowns. Verified at 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, Emmers ran an 11.08 100-meter time as a junior. His production and athleticism alone should make him a favorite target for most Group of Five and several Power Five programs. While Emmers holds 18 offers, many of those schools have abandoned his recruitment in favor of taking a portal receiver. In this day and age of football, it’s become the norm and a preferred strategy for building roster talent quickly.
In speaking with Emmers after his win, he mentioned that Tulsa was the only program in communication with him. While others have reached out, Emmers said contact drops off out of nowhere. It’s the harsh reality for high school prospects these days, and one that prospects and schools alike are figuring out how to adjust to the changing face of college football. The cycle feeds itself as Emmers could conceivably end up at a place like Tulsa and after a year or two of production, become a coveted portal player diminishing the high school recruitment of another player.
