Dr. Saturday's impact transfers for 2016

There are a lot of familiar faces in new places in 2016. Here’s a guide to 15 players who have transferred over the past two seasons and are expected to play big roles at their new schools.

While undergraduate transfers are required to sit out a season before being eligible to play, graduate transfers can play immediately at their new schools. So a few of the players on this list were playing games in 2015, including some quarterbacks who hope to take advantage of their new surroundings.

RB Duke Catalon, Texas to Houston: Can Houston have two 1,000 yard rushers in 2016? Quarterback Greg Ward ran for 1,114 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2015 and Catalon, a Texas transfer, seems a good bet to join him in the 1,000 yard club. Houston heads into 2016 without running backs Kenneth Farrow (958 yards, 10 TDs) and Ryan Jackson (395 yards, 4 TDs), so Catalon can be the undisputed No. 1. His success may determine if Houston can repeat its breakout 2015.

QB Luke Del Rio, Alabama to Oregon State to Florida: Yes, Del Rio has spent time at three FBS schools, but is now the starter at Florida. Florida fans will be incredibly happy if the son of the Oakland Raiders coach can give the team competent quarterback play for an entire season. While Will Grier was great in 2015, his season was cut short because of a positive test for a banned supplement. With wide receivers Antonio Callaway, Brandon Powell and Ahmad Fulwood all returning, Del Rio has some weapons at his disposal. If he can avoid turnovers, Florida has a chance in the SEC East.

WR Gehrig Dieter, Bowling Green to Alabama: One of the most fun players to watch during midweek MACtion is now a member of the defending national champions. Dieter made a grad transfer to Alabama after the season and enters the season as the best fourth receiving option in the country. Dieter had 94 catches for 1,033 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2015; now he’s part of a receiving corps that includes Calvin Ridley, ArDarius Stewart and tight end O.J. Howard. We won’t be surprised if Dieter excels in the slot and gets 70 catches.

RB Keith Ford, Oklahoma to Texas A&M: Yes, there’s another key Oklahoma-to-A&M transfer for the Aggies in 2016. With running back Tra Carson departed, Ford seems to be in line for the bulk of the carries in offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone’s new Aggie offense. Ford averaged 5.6 carries on 94 carries over two seasons for the Sooners. He could keep up that average behind if an A&M offensive line that’s replacing three starters gels quickly.

QB Kenny Hill, Texas A&M to TCU: We’re going to find out if Hill can get back to the Kenny Trill days that seem like such a distant memory. But before he gets there, he first has to beat out Foster Sawyer for the quarterback job. Hill was mentioned as a Heisman contender after a blistering start to 2014. Not long after the Heisman talk started it vanished and Hill was benched. Now a member of the Horned Frogs, Hill isn’t going to be as dynamic as Trevone Boykin. But he can be a very serviceable starter.

QB Trevor Knight, Oklahoma to Texas A&M: The man also known as Sadie Robertson’s boyfriend is the guy Aggie fans are looking to for a season of quarterback stability. And while Knight has always tantalized people with flashes of greatness (the Sugar Bowl against Alabama following the 2013 season), stability hasn’t always been his thing. In three seasons of action at Oklahoma, Knight has thrown for 25 touchdowns vs. 19 interceptions and has completed 57 percent of his passes. If he takes to Mazzone’s offense, A&M could surprise in the SEC West.

WR Geno Lewis, Penn State to Oklahoma: Lewis slipped down the depth chart at Penn State in 2015 but has a chance to help replace the production Oklahoma is missing with the departure of Sterling Shepard to the NFL. Shepard had 1,288 yards and 11 scores in 2015; Oklahoma’s second-leading returning receiver is running back Joe Mixon, who had 28 catches a season ago. Lewis caught 55 passes for 751 yards in 2014. He can duplicate or exceed those numbers in OU’s Air Raid offense.

DL Dee Liner, Alabama to Arkansas State: The man with the most appropriate defensive lineman nname could immediately be one of the best defensive players in the Sun Belt. Liner had two tackles in 2014 for Alabama and sat out the 2015 season because of transfer rules. He was a four-star recruit in the class of 2013 according to Rivals and the No. 7 strongside defensive end in the country.

LB Hardy Nickerson, Cal to Illinois: Nickerson heads to the Big Ten to play for his father of the same name. Former NFL LB Hardy Nickerson Sr. is new Illinois coach Lovie Smith’s defensive coordinator and his son should step in and immediately be the best linebacker on the team. Nickerson had 112 tackles in 2015 as Cal’s starting middle linebacker and the coaching arrangement with his father isn’t new, either. Nickerson was coached by his father in high school.

QB Kevin Olsen, Miami to Charlotte: Carolina Panthers TE Greg Olsen’s brother hopes to get his college career back on track in the city where Greg plays on Sundays. Olsen spent 2015 at Riverside City College following his dismissal from Miami, where he was suspended multiple times. Charlotte may be a basement dweller in Conference USA’s East Division, but the team provides him a chance to realize the potential he showed in high school.

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QB Dakota Prukop, Montana State to Oregon: Vernon Adams has set lofty standards for Prukop. Adams, the Eastern Washington transfer, stepped in and ran Oregon’s offense very well when healthy in 2015. While he was no Marcus Mariota (who is?), Oregon’s offense was still incredibly dynamic with Adams at the helm. Can Prukop repeat that performance? He’s a better runner than Adams was at EWU and could add another dimension to an already potent rushing attack led by RB Royce Freeman.

RB Alex Ross, Oklahoma to Missouri: In three years of part-time duty at Oklahoma, Ross averaged over six yards a carry. Now at Missouri for a season, Ross looks to be the full-time starter for the Tigers. Along with Alabama grad transfer WR Chris Black, Ross should help boost the Tigers offense in 2016. Well, OK, you and I may be able to boost Missouri’s offense from its 2015 levels. While that statement is hyperbolic, it’s not hyperbole to say Missouri’s offense was really, really bad last season.

QB Chad Voytik, Pitt to Arkansas State: Voytik’s success in Jonesboro may determine the Red Wolves’ fate in the Sun Belt. After losing the starting gig at Pitt to Tennessee transfer Nate Peterman, Voytik made the grad transfer move to Arkansas State. In 2014, Voytik threw for 2,233 yards and 16 touchdowns while completing 61 percent of his passes. Voytik isn’t as dynamic as fellow Sun Belt QBs Taylor Lamb (Appalachian State) and Favian Upshaw (Georgia Southern), but a repeat of that efficiency could be enough for the Red Wolves to win the league.

QB Davis Webb, Texas Tech to Cal: While Knight had the most high-profile graduate transfer of the offseason, Webb’s was the most dramatic. After originally committing to Colorado, Webb changed his mind and decided Cal would be the best place for him. Now the starter and successor to No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Jared Goff, Webb should excel right away in a familiar offense. But don’t pin the Bears’ hopes on him. Cal returns just nine starters overall and all six players with 40 or more catches in 2015 are no longer on the roster.

Others to watch: QB Mike White (South Florida to Western Kentucky), QB Anthony Jennings (LSU to Louisiana-Lafayette), DB Maurice Smith (Alabama to Georgia), RB Barry Sanders Jr. (Stanford to Oklahoma State), QB John O’Korn (Houston to Michigan)

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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