Breaking Down The Incoming Transfers: Offense
As it presently stands, the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders have 15 incoming transfers, coming by the way of the portal. There are nine guys on the offensive side of the ball, and there is six on the defensive side of the ball.
Eight of the incoming guys are coming from power four programs.
For this article, we zero in on the offensive players.
Those guys are:
- Gamarion Carter. Vanderbilt. Wide Receiver
- Ellis Adams. Tennessee Tech. Offensive Lineman
- Brian Brewton. UCONN. Running Back
- Miles Butler. Central Arkansas. Wide Receiver
- Ryan Hoerstkamp. Missouri. Tight End.
- Omari Kelly. Auburn. Wide receiver.
- Marcus Miller. UNLV. Offensive Line
- Hayes Sutton. Duke. Wide receiver
- Xavier Williams. UCF. QB
If you are a fan of the Blue Raiders, in the most recent years, you have probably asked yourself, "Where's the beef in the trenches?"
You want beef, well you have beef with Ellis Adams.He stands over 6'4, and a weight that eclipses the 340 pound mark. Adams is an offensive lineman who transferred to MT from Tennessee Tech.
Ellis came through the high school ranks, as was in the 2019 signing class for the Golden Eagles. In 2019, Adams appeared in four games. During his second season, he competed in two games. In his third and fourth year he played in nine games each. Last season he appeared in four games.
Adams' Rivals profile indicates his weight is north of 360 pounds. If that is indeed accurate, from an outsiders perspective, he may need to shed some weight. Regardless, he is a good piece of clay to work with.
When firing up the tape for Vanderbilt wide receiver transfer, Gamarion Carter, the one word that comes to mind is "playmaker."
Carter flashed during spring camp, showcasing his ability.
Here is one clip inside Floyd Stadium.
Carter arrived on West End in 2021. He redshirted that season, and did not appear in any games. In 2022 he appeared in eight games, catching six receptions for 127 yards.
In his third stint, Carter appeared in seven games, and had one game with two snags for a career high 48 yards.
Here is his high school tape.
Brian Brewton is a dynamic tailback who signed with UCONN for the 2020 recruiting class. On top of the offer from the Huskies, Brewton boasted offers from: St. Thomas College, Kansas, Boston College, and Missouri.
During his first campaign with him receiving playing time, Brewton played sparingly, getting six carries for 26 yards.
Second season he had 20 carries for 85 yards, which is five yards per carry.
In 2023, he had 3 carries for 19 yards.
Brewton was a prolific returner for the Huskies. Here is some of his highlights.
Receiver Myles Butler, entered the transfer portal, leaving Central Arkansas, on April 18.
He gave his official pledge to the Blue Raiders on May 14.
He ultimately chose the Blue Raiders over offers from Charlotte and Bowling Green.
In high school, he was sifting through offers from: Troy, Delta State. Austin Peay, Indiana, and Bethune Cookman.
Last season Butler accumulated 453 receiving yards, on 35 catches.During the year before that, he had 22 snags for 442 yards.During his first year playing he had two catches for 39 yards.
At 6'2, Butler is a guy who can play inside, but is also capable of sliding outside.
MTSU fans have been clamoring for guys capable of playing high level football. Ryan Hoerstkamp seems to fit this mold. Hoerstkamp is a tight end who signed with the Missouri Tigers for the class of 2021. He was issued a red shirt while at Missouri.
He was red shirted for 2021, even though he did play in the max four games that season. That season he started in the Armed Forces Bowl.
During his red shirt freshman campaign at Missouri, he appeared in nine ballgames. He was utilized primarily as a blocking tight end. In that 2022 season, he started in two games.
This past season in 2023, he participated In just one game.
In mid-April Hoerstkamp announced that he was entering the transfer portal.
On May 17 he announced that he was picking the Blue Raiders.
Hoerstkamp was fairly highly touted when coming up through the high school ranks.
He boasted offers from: Alabama, Washington, Arizona, UCF, Indiana, Texas Tech, Michigan State, Missouri, Dartmouth, Kansas State, Cincinnati, Arkansas State, Memphis, Arkansas, South Dakota, Kentucky and others.
Omari Kelly is a wide receiver who brings some pedigree to the table. Kelly was dubbed a four-star coming out of high school, where he ultimately signed with Auburn.
He was in the class of 2022, and was heralded as a blue chip prospect.
He had some heavy hitters vying for his services. Some of the big boys who offered included: Auburn, Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Louisville, Miami, Notre Dame Oklahoma, Tennessee, LSU, West Virginia and Virginia Tech.
As a freshman at Auburn, he earned playing time right off of the bat. He played in every single game in 2022. He had a handful of pass receptions.
Last season, in 2023, he was more of a rotational piece in a loaded wideout room.
Last December, on December 1, he announced his was entering the portal.
Just 17 days later, on December 18, he picked Middle Tennessee State.
Kelly was an early enrollee at MTSU and shined in spring ball.
Middle Tennessee State added more beef to the trenches, landing UNLV transfer, Marcus Miller. Miller is a towering figure, with a height over 6'4 and a weight hovering around the 300 pound mark. He picked the Blue Raiders on April 29. He was in the portal only 18 days, considering he entered the portal on April 11.
Miller spent his first year in Las Vegas in 2020 as a red shirted member of the team. Rivals had Miller had him pegged as a two-star during the evaluation process.
During high school he boasted offers from: UNLV, Wyoming, William and Mary, Utah State, UTEP, San Jose State, New Mexico State, Nevada, Hawaii, Eastern Washington, and Sacramento State.
Shane Pickering, recruiting analyst at GoMiddle, had an article on Miller, when Miller opted to become a Blue Raider.
During the portal period, Middle Tennessee State landed a wide receiver who has been around the block. Hayes Sutton picked the Blue Raiders on April 28.
Sutton was in the class of 2019 coming out of high school, and he picked the Ivy League route, signing with Brown.
Sutton spent multiple seasons at Brown, where he shined. As a freshman he snagged 19 balls for 163 yards. In 2021 56 receptions for 528 yards. His last season at Brown he 47 grabs for 433 yards.
Before ultimately ending up in Murfreesboro, Sutton picked Duke after his stint with Brown.
MTSU added another quarterback to the roster with the addition of Xavier Williams.
Williams was a two star who signed with Charlotte coming out of high school.
He red shirted in 2021. In 2022, as a 49er, he had six appearances with one start. As a passer, he was 34 for 67, throwing for 420 yards and two touchdowns.
Williams transferred to Central Florida before picking the Blue Raiders while in the transfer portal.
Williams picked the Blue Raiders on May 4
While in the portal the first time at Charlotte, he was sifting through suitors from: UCF, Syracuse and Kent State.