In very short order, major college football has been shaken up in ways we never could have predicted, with one declaration proving undoubtedly true in this New World Order of college sports:

The Transfer Portal giveth and the Transfer Portal taketh away.

In the past year or so, few major college football programs have experienced such frequent Portal activity – both in terms of departures and arrivals – as has Arizona State.

First-year head coach Kenny Dillingham has stayed completely true to his early vow to ‘attack the Portal’ with the bounty of acquisitions he and his staff have made since he was hired to lead the Arizona State football program.

However, before we look ahead to year one under Dillingham, which will undoubtedly be largely affected by contributions of incoming transfers, how did those who chose to leave the Sun Devil program prior to the 2022 season fare at their new collegiate locations?

In this edition of Sun Devil Science, we take a look back at all the significant transfer departures ASU experienced prior to the start of the 2022 season to assess whether the proverbial grass proved to be greener on the other side.

This list consists exclusively of transfers who left the Arizona State program after the 2021 season and prior to the beginning of the 2022 season.

WR Lonyatta Alexander, Washington

ASU: Alexander appeared in two games as a true freshman in 2021, preserving his redshirt year.

2022: After returning to his home state, the former four-star recruit appeared in 11 regular season games for Washington but caught just one pass for nine yards.

Alexander re-entered the transfer portal after his one season with the Huskies and reportedly has chosen FCS program Montana State as his third collegiate destination in as many years. He has three remaining years of playing eligibility.

LB Jordan Banks, Northwestern State

ASU: Banks came to ASU as one of the gems of its 2020 recruiting class, as he was a four-star prospect rated the No. 177 overall recruit in the nation. He boasted reported offers from the likes of Alabama, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Texas A&M, USC, and others. He appeared in three games with three tackles in the COVID impacted season of 2020 and played four games in 2021 with no statistics.

2022: Banks ended up at FCS level Northwestern State, and in nine games as a third-year redshirt freshman, he totaled 21 tackles, including 2.5 for loss with two quarterback hurries and one pass breakup. He has three remaining years of playing eligibility.

WR LV Bunkley-Shelton, Oklahoma

ASU: A standout member of ASU’s excellent recruiting haul at wide receiver for the 2020 class, Bunkley-Shelton appeared in 16 games across his two seasons as a Sun Devil, catching 44 passes for 518 yards with two touchdowns. The majority of his contributions came in 2021 when he posted 33 receptions for 418 yards and both scores. He also saw limited action as a kickoff and punt returner.

2022: Despite appearing in 12 games in his first season as a Sooner, Bunkley-Shelton managed just two receptions for 24 yards and two carries for five yards. He also returned one punt for eight yards and one kickoff for 14 yards, for a whopping total of 51 all-purpose yards for the year. He has three years to play two starting in 2023.

QB Jayden Daniels, LSU

ASU: A top-tier quarterback recruit for the 2019 class and ASU’s starting quarterback from day one, Daniels started 29 of the 30 games ASU played across the 2019-21 seasons, totaling 6,025 passing yards with 32 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while adding 1,288 rushing yards and 13 scores. His performance inarguably dipped to a dramatically low level in his third year at ASU, as he threw just ten touchdowns with ten interceptions compared to the 17-to-2 ratio he had as a true freshman two years prior.

To say Daniels’ departure from Arizona State was ‘unceremonious’ is a massive understatement as Daniels publicly announced in early December that he would return to Arizona State for the 2022 season only to reverse course and enter the Transfer Portal about two months later, ultimately choosing LSU.

2022: Daniels had a career renaissance in his first year in Baton Rouge, edging his freshman mark with a career-high 2,943 passing yards while tying his single-season career best with 17 touchdown passes with only two interceptions. He also rushed for career-highs of 885 yards with 11 touchdowns.

He made a postseason announcement that he would return for his final collegiate season to play for LSU in 2023 – though some Sun Devil fans may encourage the Tiger faithful to wait to see it before believing it.

OL Ezra Dotson-Oyetade, TCU

ASU: A four-star prospect of the 2021 class, Dotson-Oyetade did not see any game action in 2021 and redshirted as a true freshman with the Sun Devils.

2022: After transferring back to his home state to attend TCU, Dotson-Oyetade is credited with three regular season game appearances for the national runner-up Horned Frogs. He has three remaining years of eligibility.

LB Eric Gentry, USC

ASU: Gentry made a significant impact in his only season as a Sun Devil before he opted to pursue the benefits of being a member of the Trojan football program as he tallied 45 tackles in 12 games as a true freshman in 2021 at Arizona State, including 5.0 for loss with one sack and two pass breakups.

2022: Though he missed three games, Gentry was USC’s leader for the year in tackles-per-game (6.5) as he totaled 71 tackles in 11 games, including 4.0 for loss with 2.0 sacks with three pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and one interception. He did not, however, earn any measure of all-conference accolades. He has three years to play two at the college level after this season.

LB Rodney Groce, East Mississippi Community College

ASU: The Grandpa Simpson GIF personified in the world of Sun Devil football, Groce opted to transfer to Arizona State from Mississippi State in early December 2021 only to leave the program in mid-May without ever having played a down for the program.

2022: After leaving ASU this spring, Groce caught on at East Mississippi Community College and posted 71 tackles, two interceptions, and two fumble recoveries.

He has three years to play two and, in mid-December 2022, announced his commitment to UTSA.

DB Tommi Hill, Nebraska

ASU: A four-star member of ASU’s 2021 signing class, Hill had nine tackles in 11 games as a true freshman for the Sun Devils.

2022: Hill appeared in 11 games for the Cornhuskers and posted 17 tackles with four pass breakups and one quarterback hurry. He started the first four games of the season at cornerback before being relegated to a backup role. Hill was Nebraska’s top kickoff returner for the year, averaging 18.42 yards on 12 returns. He has three years to play two after this season.

DL Jermayne Lole, Louisville

ASU: One of the true heart-and-soul defenders of the first three seasons of the Herm Edwards regime at ASU, Lole had a very good true freshman season in 2018 with 27 tackles, including 5.0 for loss with 3.0 sacks in 11 games and then exploded as one of the better linemen in the conference with 72 tackles including 10.0 for loss with 6.5 sacks in 13 games in 2019. In the four games ASU played in 2020, Lole was still highly productive as he had 24 tackles, including 5.0 for loss with 1.5 sacks.

Altogether for his career at ASU, Lole appeared in 28 games and posted 123 tackles, including 20.0 for loss with 11.0 sacks, eight pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.

Amid a flurry of personal tragedies in his life, Lole missed the entire 2021 season at Arizona State due to a triceps injury and then opted to transfer to Louisville in May of 2022.

2022: Lole suffered a season-ending elbow injury in the 2022 season opener for the Cardinals. He did not record any statistics in that game. It remains to be seen what is next for his football career after only appearing in one game across the last two seasons and only five games dating back to the end of the 2019 campaign.

QB Ethan Long, Abilene Christian

ASU: He appeared in 24 games across the 2019-21 seasons in various roles, including as a quarterback and on special teams. He rushed six times for 32 yards and posted one tackle, all of which occurred as a true freshman in 2019. An inspiring jack-of-all-trades, Long was remarkably named a team captain as a true freshman.

2022: Long appeared in five games at quarterback for ACU, completing 57.01% (61-of-107) passes for 609 yards with six touchdowns and one interception, adding 12 net rushing yards on 16 carries. He also registered one tackle. He has one season of playing eligibility remaining.

OL Spencer Lovell, California

ASU: A member of Herm Edwards’ first signing class, Lovell was credited with 28 appearances as a Sun Devil, including three starts that occurred in the 2021 season.

2022: Lovell started the first three games of the 2022 season at right guard but saw no further action due to injury.

He re-entered the Transfer Portal in late December 2022 and ultimately chose Kansas as the final destination for his collegiate career.

WR Ricky Pearsall, Florida

ASU: A local standout from nearby Tempe Corona del Sol High School, according to the Rivals database, Arizona State was the only Power Five team to extend a scholarship offer to Pearsall.

After somewhat limited action as a pass-catcher his first two years (13 receptions in his first 17 games), Pearsall had a breakout year in 2021 by catching 48 passes for 580 yards with four touchdowns while rushing six times for 44 yards with a score.

The allure of being the proverbial “Hometown Hero” was not enough to keep Pearsall at ASU long-term as he entered the Transfer Portal in April of 2022 and ultimately chose to transfer to Florida.

2022: Though his overall offensive touches went down in his first year as a Gator from his final season as a Sun Devil (41 combined receptions and rushes in 2022 to 54 the previous year), his yardage increased as Pearsall had 661 receiving yards on 33 catches with five touchdowns as well as eight rushes for 113 yards and a score. His 20.0 yards per catch average represent a single-season collegiate high for Pearsall. He also returned four punts for 27 yards.

Pearsall appeared in all 13 games and had two 100-yard games, including a season-best effort of five catches for 148 yards with two touchdown receptions in a loss to Florida State to end the regular season. He has one year of playing eligibility remaining.

WR Geordon Porter, New Mexico

ASU: Porter came to ASU with high expectations as he de-committed from Notre Dame in favor of committing to Arizona State as part of Herm Edwards’ first recruiting class with the Sun Devils.

The on-field product did not match expectations as Porter played in 22 games across the 2018-21 seasons for ASU with a redshirt season in 2018. As a Sun Devil, he caught 14 passes for 250 yards and one touchdown.

2022: Porter reunited with former Sun Devil defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales, now head coach at New Mexico. In his one season with the Lobos, Porter surpassed the numbers he accumulated in four years as a Sun Devil as he caught 22 passes for 312 yards with two touchdowns, leading UNM in receiving yards and touchdown catches – New Mexico only had three touchdown passes as a team – while ranking second on the team in receptions.

Porter has re-entered the Transfer Portal for the 2023 season and has one remaining year of eligibility. As of this publishing, he has yet to choose a new program even though he entered the Portal on Dec. 5, 2022.

LB/RB DeaMonte Trayanum, Ohio State

ASU: A major acquisition in ASU’s 2020 signing class, Trayanum showed tremendous potential in the brief 2020 season as he appeared in all four games ASU played, totaling 290 rushing yards on 49 carries (5.9 avg.) with four touchdowns and added one reception for five yards. His role did not grow as many hoped and expected in 2021, as he appeared in nine games and posted 78 carries for 402 yards (5.2 avg.) with six touchdowns, along with four catches for 19 yards.

2022: Trayanum returned to his home state and switched positions as he appeared in 11 games, primarily on defense, and recorded 13 tackles. He also saw scattered time on offense at running back and registered carries in two games, including ample time against rival Michigan when he rushed 14 times for 83 yards and caught a 14-yard pass. He also had a nine-yard rush against Iowa.

He has three years to play two after this season.

OL Sione Veikoso, BYU

ASU: Veikoso appeared in one game for ASU as a true freshman, preserving his red shirt prior to leaving the program.

2022: Listed as the team’s second-string left tackle, Veikoso appeared in one regular season game last season. Veikoso tragically passed away at age 22 on Dec. 30, 2022.

WR Johnny Wilson, Florida State

ASU: As a true freshman during the COVID shortened 2020 campaign, the former four-star prospect appeared in three of the four games ASU played and caught six passes for 89 yards. In 2021, he caught 12 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown, but all of it was done across the first four games of the season. On the year, Wilson made just five game appearances for the Sun Devils.

2022: Over the course of less than a calendar year, Wilson went from a player that looked like he couldn’t catch a cold to a bona fide immediate pro prospect with high NFL upside as one of college football’s most dynamic combinations of size and athleticism as a pass-catcher.

In his first year as a Seminole, Wilson appeared in all 13 games and was the team leader in receptions (43), receiving yards (897), and touchdown catches (five). He had three 100-yard games on the year, including a seven-catch, 149-yard, two-touchdown effort against Louisville, as well as a season-ending explosion of eight catches for 202 yards in the Cheez-It Bowl against Oklahoma. He was a Second-Team All-ACC selection for his breakout 2022 season.

Others

RB Jackson He

ASU: Known most for historically becoming the first Chinese-born player to score a touchdown at the FBS level when he did so against Arizona in 2020, He was credited with four game appearances across the 2020-21 seasons for ASU.

2022: Though he entered the transfer portal in February of 2022, no information is available of He having been on another college roster for this past season.

DB Cam Phillips

ASU: Phillips appeared in 13 games across the 2018-21 seasons for the Sun Devils, totaling 74 tackles, including 3.0 for loss with eight pass deflections, two interceptions, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. His best season came as a redshirt freshman in 2019 when he ranked second on the team in tackles per game with 58 tackles in nine games, eight of which he started at safety.

2022: A truly puzzling situation for such a potentially talented defender; though he would have been a redshirt junior in 2022, there is no information available of Phillips having been on a college roster this past season. He entered the Transfer Portal in early November 2021.

K Cristian Zendejas

ASU: Zendejas joined the program in 2017 and was ASU’s primary placekicker from 2019-21. In all, he connected on 33 of 42 field goals (78.57%) during his time as a Sun Devil.

2022: Zendejas entered the Transfer Portal in late January 2022, but there is no information available indicating that he played college football this past season.

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