BYU Football Boasts Top Transfers In Big 12 For 2023 Season

PROVO, Utah – BYU football will have a different look in 2023. The most significant change is that Independence is gone, and membership in the Big 12 Conference is replacing it.

Instead of stacking themselves against the entire nation, BYU takes focus on a league for the first time since 2010. That was when BYU was a member of the Mountain West.

The newness of 2023 also is evident for BYU, with many transfers at key positions.

BYU added 11 transfers from FBS programs during the winter transfer portal cycle. There will be another transfer portal window in May that will lend itself to more activity. But for now, BYU has 11 transfers currently competing in spring practices.

Of those 11, two are in 247Sports’ Composite Transfer Portal Top 100 rankings. Those two players are running back Aidan Robbins (No. 46) and Eddie Heckard (No. 73).

BYU is among five Big 12 teams with at least two transfers in 247Sports’ Top 100.

Including Robbins and Heckard to BYU, Big 12 teams accounted for 14 of the Top 100 transfers in the 2023 cycle.

Top Transfer Portal players in Big 12 for the 2023 season

Here are the transfers in the Big 12 that are in 247Sports’ Composite Top 100.

• Adonai Mitchell, Texas | No. 13 | Wide Receiver (from Georgia)
• Dasan McCullough, Oklahoma | No. 16 | Linebacker (from Indiana)
• Rondell Bothroyd, Oklahoma | No. 43 | Defensive Line (from Wake Forest)
• Aidan Robbins, BYU | No. 46 | Running Back (from UNLV)
• Treshaun Ward, Kansas State | No. 55 | Running Back (from Florida State)
• Gavin Holmes, Texas | No. 62 | Cornerback (from Wake Forest)
• Devin Carter, West Virginia | No. 65 | Wide Receiver (from NC State)
• Walter Rouse, Oklahoma | No. 66 | Offensive Tackle (from Stanford)
• Clark Barrington, Baylor | No. 69 | Offensive Line (from BYU)
• Eddie Heckard, BYU | No. 73 | Cornerback (from Weber State)
• D’Zhaun Stribling, Oklahoma State | No. 74 | Wide Receiver (from Washington State)
• Tommy Brockermeyer, TCU | No. 79 | Offensive Tackle (from Alabama)
• JoJo Earle, TCU | No. 84 | Wide Receiver (from Alabama)
• Dominic Richardson, Baylor | No. 85 | Running Back (from Oklahoma State)

Big 12 teams produced another 17 transfers in 247Sports’ rankings from 101-200 for the 2023 cycle. Which includes BYU quarterback Kedon Slovis from Pitt. Slovis appears at No. 189 in the portal rankings.

BYU will face nine of these top transfers during its inaugural conference schedule.

Top transfers for BYU football

Adding running back Aidan Robbins from UNLV out of the portal was a significant addition for BYU. The Cougars are replacing former Cal grad transfer Chris Brooks and five-year veteran Lopini Katoa at running back. Robbins was a 1,000-yard rusher for the Rebels and is ranked the second overall running back transfer in the 2023 cycle.

#BYU CB Eddie Heckard is excited for the challenge of defending pass-heavy offenses in the Big 12 Conference.#BYUFootball pic.twitter.com/53wxwmDQbV

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) March 7, 2023

Coming out of high school, Robbins was heavily pursued by BYU before he signed with the hometown Louisville Cardinals. Robbins told KSL Sports he still keeps up with some of the former BYU players that recruited him to Provo in QB Zach Wilson and WR Micah Simon.

Eddie Heckard was an FCS All-American at Weber State that turned down opportunities at UCLA and Cincinnati to sign with BYU football out of the portal. Heckard projects as a starter at cornerback and could also play in the slot on defense or nickel.

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Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU moving to the Big 12 Conference on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.

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