The college football season is halfway home, and just like we expected in the transfer portal era, several teams totally changed their trajectories with key additions.

Others are still waiting for the return on investment with some of the biggest names who entered the portal a season ago.

Looking specifically at some of the biggest portal names and their impact on new teams thus far is a tricky exercise. After all, in some cases like those of young quarterbacks Julian Sayin (from Alabama to Ohio State) and Dante Moore (from UCLA to Oregon) the idea was never for those guys to start this year. So giving them a grade wouldn't exactly be fair.

There are plenty of guys who factored directly into the 2024 plans, though, and it's important to look at just how they're doing. In a lot of cases, they were worth the clout. In others, though, their performance still leaves a lot to be desired.

Several players on the next few slides are young and by no means is this an indictment of their future potential. It's simply a look at what resume they've put on game film so far. Let's take a look at some of the (expected) top transfers from the '24 portal class and how they've graded out so far.

Isaiah Bond, Texas Wide Receiver

When Isaiah Bond left Tuscaloosa for Texas right around the time of Nick Saban's decision to retire, the Longhorns were the destination for one of the top playmakers in the entire portal cycle.

So far, the 5'11", 180-pound junior from Buford, Georgia, hasn't disappointed—but he hasn't wowed, either.

Even during a quarterback shuffle that saw the injured Quinn Ewers replaced by Arch Manning and Ewers returning, Bond has posted the best stats of any Texas perimeter weapon. He has 21 catches for 369 yards and three touchdowns to lead the team.

Those aren't bad numbers, but we're going to be tough in this grading system, and a deeper look shows Bond has yet to find the end zone in a game against Power Four competition. He got hurt early in the Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma and had just one catch for five yards.

Still, coach Steve Sarkisian seems confident Bond's ailment is just a minor ankle injury, and he may suit up this week for Georgia. It would be a great opportunity for him to boost his numbers in a marquee game for the nation's top-ranked team.

The 'Horns have blown out some opponents, so Bond hasn't played a bunch of complete games. But Bond has more spark in him than what he's shown so far. Could this week be a breakout performance?

Grade: B+

Aidan Chiles, Michigan State Quarterback

The biggest key to coach Jonathan Smith's rebuild of the Michigan State program came over with him from Oregon State when Aidan Chiles followed him from Corvallis.

But things haven't gone as hoped so far for the sophomore quarterback.

It was never going to be easy for Chiles to come into the Big Ten and "wow" everybody when the 3-3 Spartans have so many holes, so he gets a little grace from that. The bad news is Iowa, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Rutgers remain on the schedule.

It's not going to be easy for the 6'3", 217-pound California native to improve on stats that so far have seen him complete less than 57 percent of his passes for 1,212 yards, five touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Chiles hasn't been the threat with his legs that Sparty fans hoped for, either, amassing just 117 yards on the ground with three touchdowns. Michigan State hasn't helped him at all with an inconsistent rushing attack, which has led to more dependency on Chiles' passing. It's a reason why the Spartans lead the league in turnovers and are on a three-game losing streak.

There is a learning curve for Chiles, but after looking sharp in limited action as a true freshman a year ago, this has been a bit of a jolt to reality. Nobody should give up on his immense potential yet, but he has a long way to go.

Grade: D

Caleb Downs, Ohio State Safety

Perhaps the biggest transfer portal prize occurred when Ohio State beat out Georgia for elite Alabama freshman safety Caleb Downs, who expected to become one of the biggest defensive stars in the Big Ten.

Downs hasn't quite made that level of impact so far for the Buckeyes, but he is still a special talent who is coming off his best game in a 32-31 loss to Oregon in which he finished with eight total tackles, one for loss and two passes broken up as a bright spot in an otherwise-drab defensive performance.

The Buckeyes still have a strong chance at the College Football Playoff, and they need more of the Downs we saw on Saturday to get there. For the year, he is fourth on the team with 25 tackles and has added half a sack. But he doesn't have any interceptions yet.

This is a guy who showed out for the Tide a season ago in a Freshman All-American campaign where the argument could be made he was one of the top two or three players on the back end of any defense regardless of class.

Perhaps his absence in the statistical columns comes from his ability to keep plays from happening. Offenses try to stay away from him, he has been strong against the run and he has terrific range as a ball-hawking safety.

He just needs some game-changing plays.

Grade: B

Trevor Etienne, Georgia Running Back

When you leave an SEC program for a hated rival and run your mouth by throwing some shade after leaving, the spotlight is going to be a little brighter on you wherever you wind up.

That's the case for Georgia running back Trevor Etienne, who left Florida for the Bulldogs following the 2023 season. After an offseason arrest, the junior brother of former Clemson running back Travis Etienne hasn't been the force everybody expected just yet in Athens.

There is still plenty of time for him to live up to expectations, but in five games (he was suspended for the season opener against Clemson), Etienne is seventh in the SEC, averaging 67 yards per game.

Etienne has 63 carries for 335 yards and four scores so far, which leads the Dawgs, but he hasn't provided the rushing spark yet to help quarterback Carson Beck, so Georgia has yet to play its best football.

In four games against Power Four competition, Etienne has averaged more than five yards per carry just once, which was in his best game against Auburn (88 rushing yards). Following two seasons in Gainesville in which he finished with more than 700 yards on the ground, Etienne was expected to lead the charge for UGA this year.

He needs to play better than he has, and maybe he will find his sea legs the second half of the season.

Grade: C

Dillon Gabriel, Oregon Quarterback

It's not easy for a veteran quarterback to step into an elite program and acclimate to everybody around him quickly, which led to a few early season hiccups for Dillon Gabriel.

If anybody is equipped to handle that particular pressure, though, it's the longtime college quarterback who left Central Florida to help Oklahoma navigate the beginning of the Brent Venables era in Norman before going to Oregon to try to win a national title in his final year.

He's off to a great start.

Gabriel has been brilliant so far, and he etched his name firmly in the Heisman Trophy race with a massive game in the Ducks' epic 32-31 win over Ohio State, completing 68 percent of his passes for 341 yards and a pair of scores while running for another one.

For the year, Gabriel has completed 76 percent of his passes for 1,790 yards, 13 touchdowns and three interceptions, and he has added four rushing scores so far, too, for the Big Ten's top program.

"Every time I went and looked at his eyes tonight I saw a guy who was composed and ready for his next moment," Oregon coach Dan Lanning told the Associated Press' Anne M. Peterson after the win over the Buckeyes. "He played really, really well tonight in some really big moments."

Gabriel is a veteran having exactly the type of season the Ducks had hoped, and he should have been ranked much higher in the portal rankings.

Grade: A+

Lance Heard, Tennessee Offensive Tackle

One of the most difficult positions in all of college football for a newcomer to excel is along the offensive front, and that's especially the case when you're protecting a quarterback's blind side.

The transition from reserve offensive tackle last year as a true freshman to starter at left tackle for a College Football Playoff contender as a redshirt freshman has not been easy for Tennessee's Lance Heard.

He was banged up in the preseason and has missed time this year for the Vols, including the crucial road game against Oklahoma. In the past two games (a loss to Arkansas and a narrow win over Florida), Heard struggled—to put it lightly—protecting quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

Life isn't easy in the SEC, and Heard is finding that out after being one of the top offensive linemen in the portal. After being filled with excitement over landing a player with four seasons remaining, his performance so far has drawn the ire of Vols fans.

But Heard still has a lot of talent. He needs to get in better game shape after missing so much practice time, and there were points during the comeback win over the Gators where he looked big and athletic paving the way for running back Dylan Sampson.

Tennessee has to get major improvement from its offensive line in general and Heard specifically if it is going to compete. He isn't in danger of losing his position, and he is a key to the rest of the season and the Vols' future.

Grade: D-

Will Howard, Ohio State Quarterback

Ohio State retooled its quarterback room in a huge way in the offseason, bringing in Will Howard from Kansas State and plugging in freshman Julian Sayin as the future.

Even though the Buckeyes lost at Oregon on Saturday, their decision still looks like the right one, and there hasn't been anything from either signal-caller that makes you think they made a wrong choice.

Howard has been excellent so far, and he was against Oregon, too. For the year, the senior is showcasing his NFL ability by completing 73 percent of his passes for 1,574 yards, 14 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He has five rushing touchdowns, and though he hasn't been the threat with his legs that he was in Manhattan, the Buckeyes don't need him to be.

First-year offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has meshed well with Howard, who is showing everybody he is a high-level quarterback. At 6'4", 235 pounds, he has the size, arm strength and athletic ability to shine on the next level.

This Ohio State team still absolutely can win a national championship, and they have weapons all over the field on both sides of the ball. Howard is proving to be the perfect maestro to make it all tick, and Sayin will have to wait his turn.

Grade: A

Quinshon Judkins, Ohio State Running Back

Ohio State's "Portal-palooza" didn't end with quarterback, though. We've already mentioned safety Caleb Downs to go along with Will Howard, and coach Ryan Day went out and got the best transfer runner, too, in Quinshon Judkins.

It was a bit of a surprise when the Alabama native left Ole Miss where he was the showcase offensive centerpiece during his first two years at the program. But he made the business decision to head to Columbus and form a 1-2 punch with TreVeyon Henderson.

Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, though, Judkins' big-game prowess doesn't match his statistical success.

If you just take a glimpse at his numbers, 71 rushes for 491 yards and six touchdowns looks strong. But Judkins' only two games in which he eclipsed 100 yards came against Marshall and Western Michigan.

During the past two "tough" tilts against Iowa and Oregon, he ran for 78 yards and zero scores against the Hawkeyes and was rendered a nonfactor against the Ducks with 23 yards on 11 carries. Derrick Harmon also took the ball away from Judkins, leading to a fumble and a big Ducks score.

Nobody is saying Judkins has been a disappointment. He is a major weapon capable of breaking out at any time. But that big-game performance was troubling.

Grade: B

Jabbar Muhammad, Oregon Cornerback

When Jabbar Muhammad left Washington for rival Oregon as the two programs were entering the Big Ten, it was a huge deal for the Ducks. They were getting perhaps the best cornerback in the portal who could step in and shore up a need.

Muhammad has had one side of the field on lockdown in Eugene ever since.

If you want to look at statistics, you won't find any eye-popping numbers for cornerbacks. But that doesn't mean the senior's impact hasn't been felt. He has 19 tackles so far this year and six passes defended. Though Muhammad has yet to seize a pick, he has been the team's best cornerback all year.

Opponents just don't throw his way a lot.

A year ago, Muhammad was a key defensive piece in the Huskies' march to the national championship game, and he may be duplicating those efforts this year. He did get beat once by freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith, but Muhammad also had a huge pass breakup to help secure the game.

When he's left on an island, Muhammad still makes plays, and even though he hasn't gotten those game-changers yet, he is a shutdown guy who coach Dan Lanning can depend on every game.

Grade: B+

Walter Nolen, Ole Miss Defensive Tackle

The tantalizing potential of Walter Nolen has always been something noticed by everybody from recruiting analysts to NFL scouts. He is just massive, athletic and has the ability to disrupt every single play.

But Nolen never quite lived up to the massive expectations of being the former No. 1-ranked recruit in the nation during two seasons at Texas A&M.

After transferring to Ole Miss, though, the defensive tackle has been a part of an elite unit that is perhaps the nation's best defensive line. It's largely because he is wreaking havoc and collapsing plays from the interior of the line.

A couple of weeks ago against South Carolina, Nolen was the SEC's defensive lineman of the week with a pair of sacks. So far this season, he has 26 tackles, including 2.5 sacks, a pass defended and a fumble recovery. He was a force in back-to-back games against the Gamecocks and in a loss against Kentucky.

Though Nolen's impact wasn't felt in statistics during the difficult overtime loss to LSU, he drew a couple of holding calls against him and could have gotten a couple more. He was a force all night.

This is exactly the type of player everybody thought he would be, and he has first-round pick written all over him. The best part for the Rebels is he can still be better.

Grade: A-

Kadyn Proctor, Alabama Offensive Tackle

A year ago while starting as a true freshman, Alabama's Kadyn Proctor had his fair share of growing pains and disappointment. He even drew some ridicule because of his former 5-star status when things didn't go his way on the field.

After an offseason odyssey that saw him transfer to home-state Iowa before deciding he wanted to be back in Tuscaloosa, his sophomore season has been scintillating.

Though he missed the first two games of the year dealing with injury, he returned in time for Wisconsin and Georgia, where he allowed just one pressure and didn't draw a penalty in either game. He also caused a social media ruckus by blocking two Dawgs at once.

Though Kyle Kennard had his way with Alabama's offensive line in the Tide's escape win over the South Carolina Gamecocks, Proctor was mostly matched up with freshman Dylan Stewart on the other side, and he kept the first-year phenom relatively quiet.

Proctor, without question, has been Alabama's top offensive lineman so far this season, and he will face another huge challenge this week heading to Knoxville to take on Tennessee's vaunted, veteran defensive line and edge-rusher James Pearce Jr.

The second-year lineman needs to continue to improve his run-blocking, but the sophomore from Iowa has enjoyed a stellar season so far. He is showing why it was a big deal for coach Kalen DeBoer to get him back to town to anchor a unit that has been up-and-down.

Grade: A-

Nic Scourton, Texas A&M EDGE

When Nic Scourton decided to head back to the Lone Star State where he's from to finish his collegiate career at Texas A&M, he wanted to be a difference-maker.

Mission accomplished.

After a standout career at Purdue, Scourton is the linchpin for perhaps the most surprising team in the SEC so far this year, the emotional and statistical leader for an Aggies defense that has rebounded from a season-opening loss to Notre Dame to surge to 5-1 in Mike Elko's first year.

A big reason for that is Scourton, around which the Aggies' entire defense revolves, as articulated by 247Sports' Jeff Tarpley, who believes he's one of the five best edge-rushers he has covered in College Station alongside other dudes who were early NFL draft picks.

"There's no question that Scourton makes A&M's defense go," Tarpley wrote. "Because of that, the second half of the Aggies' season may be even more noteworthy than the first."

So far this season, Scourton has 17 tackles, including 4.5 sacks, two passes defended and a forced fumble. He is one of the most disruptive players at his position in the SEC, and he stands out, even on a team full of star defensive linemen.

This is Scourton's junior season, but it's hard to envision him sticking around A&M much longer if he keeps this up. NFL teams will be salivating.

Grade: A+

Evan Stewart, Oregon Wide Receiver

Texas A&M is the perfect example of how the transfer portal giveth and taketh away.

After the Jimbo Fisher era came to an end, the Aggies had to deal with several defections, and a couple of those guys (Walter Nolen and Evan Stewart) were huge losses making impacts for other teams. But then they were able to get Nic Scourton, Dezz Ricks and others.

That's the way it goes.

The Oregon Ducks certainly are thrilled with Stewart, who enjoyed a breakout performance in the huge win over Ohio State, catching seven passes for 149 yards and a touchdown.

While he had taken a bit of a back seat to Tez Johnson and Traeshon Holden during the first half of the season, Stewart stepped into the spotlight against the Buckeyes, especially after Holden was ejected for spitting on Ohio State's Davison Igbinosun.

Stewart is a junior playmaker who was a big-time weapon for the Aggies, even as they endured quarterback struggles the past two years. While he was a virtual no-show in wins over Idaho, Oregon State, UCLA and Michigan State, Stewart's biggest games come at the biggest moments.

He also eclipsed 100 yards and scored a touchdown in a close win over Boise State. Much like Texas' Isaiah Bond, he needs to get more consistent, but Stewart is an electrifying force in a three-headed receiving monster in Eugene.

Grade: B+

Princely Umanmielen, Ole Miss EDGE

Princely Umanmielen's grade may be better described as "incomplete" since he has missed the past two crucial games with an injury.

But all you can do is look at the resume on the field when he's been healthy, and the Ole Miss Rebels certainly need to get the edge-rusher back to be the disruptive unit for which they're known.

Simply put: Umanmielen is a difference-maker, and when he is on the field, the Rebels are even tougher to play.

Coach Lane Kiffin has assembled a fierce front seven that includes Jared Ivey, Walter Nolen Jr., Suntarine Perkins, Chris Paul and others, and Umanmielen fits right in. Before his injury, he registered 13 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Before getting hurt against Kentucky, he was a force with 1.5 sacks against the Wildcats.

When Umanmielen is on the field, he draws extra attention, and while you can't really double-team him because of all the other weapons for the Rebels, he is a veteran star who makes things tick on that side of the ball for defensive coordinator Pete Golding.

The 6'4", 255-pound wrecker is turning heads while he's on the field, and he is surging up draft boards. CBS Sports' Chris Trapasso has Umanmielen going second overall to the Bengals writing, "This is a multiyear high-level producer in the SEC at a premium position the Bengals need to upgrade, especially long term."

The Rebs just need him back on the field.

Grade: A

Cam Ward, Miami Quarterback

The resurrection of the Miami program revolves around quarterback Cam Ward, who is playing in a different solar system than any Hurricanes signal-caller in two decades.

He is truly showing himself to be the biggest prize in the transfer portal. After all, what are you looking for when you go out and add guys? You want somebody who can come in and change the trajectory of your program.

Right now, the Hurricanes are one of the two ACC favorites along with Clemson, and it's because of Ward's Heisman Trophy-caliber play.

With the team down big at California, he took over the game and willed them back to a stunning victory. So far this season, Ward leads the nation with nearly 370 passing yards per game. He has completed 69 percent of his passes for 2,219 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Ward could have gone to the NFL from Washington State a year ago, but he played the NIL game, transferred to Miami and he knew he probably needed to show better pocket presence to maximize his draft stock.

That's exactly what he's done this season, and he has parlayed that into showing what kind of leader he is, too. Ward already had plenty of proof that he was a premier athlete who could improvise and throw from any arm slot. Now, he's showing he's a winner and a complete quarterback.

Grade: A+