While bowl season is firmly underway in the world of college football, at the moment, all eyes are on the transfer portal. Despite the regular season being over for most teams for just about a month, more and more new names are finding their way into the portal. Over 3,000 players have entered the portal and more are to come. Another marquee name just found his way into the portal early on Tuesday morning. That would be Purdue football edge rusher Nic Scourton.
Nic Scourton was one of the best pass rushers in all of college football in 2023. He posted ten sacks on the season, which was tied for the ninth-most among all defensive players in college football. He did this despite the fact that he had one other teammate to register more than three sacks in 2023. Nic Scourton is going to be coveted by just about every team in college football. The question then becomes: where is the best spot for Scourton to go?
Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama football was in the running for the Trey Moore (edge rusher from UTSA) sweepstakes before the former Roadrunner elected to take his talents to Austin and join the Texas Longhorns. It makes sense why Alabama went after Moore: because they're going to need help rushing the passer next season. Dallas Turner led the team this season with nine sacks in 2023. But, he's likely going to be a top ten pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. Chris Braswell racked up seven sacks for the Tide as well, but he can declare for the NFL Draft once Alabama football's season is over and will also get drafted relatively high. Alabama football also got seven sacks from Justin Ebiogbe, but he is out of college eligibility after this season.
Alabama is going to need to reload its pass rush. Luckily for the Tide, this is what they do. They have players already in tow who will excel with the extra playing time, but getting a proven commodity with a track record of success in a power five conference like Scourton is never a bad idea. If Alabama brings him in, its pass rush will not miss a beat despite losing a number of players.
Texas A&M Aggies
A big advantage to Texas A&M football's quest to bring Scourton to College Station is a simple but effective one: he'd be playing at home. Scourton is from Bryan, Texas, which just happens to be only 11 minutes away from College Station, home of the Texas A&M Aggies. If Scourton wants to play close to his family and friends, no one could possibly fault him for choosing the Aggies.
Texas A&M football was already one of the most productive pass rushes in college football last season. They racked up 42 sacks on the year, which ranked sixth in college football. But as the old adage goes: teams can never have enough pass rushers at their disposal. A&M's two leading sack producers last season (Edgerrin Cooper and Shemar Turner) both could declare for the NFL Draft, but neither seem to be a lock to be a top pick the way Dallas Turner is. Walter Nolen, the number one ranked recruit in the 2022 recruiting class, committed to A&M, but he has since transferred to Ole Miss.
Texas A&M football's pass rush for 2024 looks solid, but it's always better to add than to subtract. Scourton would be the biggest addition the Aggies could make to that unit for new head coach Mike Elko. A&M fans can hope that the comforts of home will be enough to lure Scourton to College Station.
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