COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Vandal stars McCoy, Woods, Harris enter transfer portal

From local reports and wire services

Less than 48 hours after losing in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs, the Idaho Vandals lost three key potential returning players to the transfer portal.

Quarterback Gevani McCoy, running back Anthony Woods and cornerback Marcus Harris all announced their intentions via X (formerly Twitter) to enter the transfer portal. All were first-team all-Big Sky selections.

McCoy, the Jerry Rice Award winner in 2022 as the top freshman in FCS, was a two-year starter for the Vandals, helping Idaho make the FCS playoffs both seasons. He appeared in three games in 2021, his redshirt year. McCoy passed for 5,834 yards and 43 touchdowns as a Vandal.

Woods rushed for 1,155 yards and 16 touchdowns this season, and for 2,027 yards and 19 TDs in two seasons at Idaho.

McCoy and Woods each have two years of eligibility remaining.

Harris, a transfer from Oregon State, had six interceptions as a Vandal, returning two for touchdowns. He has one year of eligibility remaining.

* Former Boise State quarterback Taylen Green announced Monday he is transferring to Arkansas, and Washington reserve quarterback Dylan Morris entered the portal ahead of the team's appearance in the College Football Playoff.

In other transfer news, Arizona State landed former Michigan State quarterback Sam Leavitt through the portal and Missouri added Georgia State running back Marcus Carroll, who ran for 1,350 yards and 13 touchdowns this season.

Green began and finished the season as the starter at Boise State, ultimately helping lead the Broncos to the Mountain West championship. He passed for 1,752 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions and ran for 436 yards and nine scores.

Morris, who started 15 games for the Huskies during the 2020 and 2021 seasons, was a four-star recruit out of high school and will have one year of eligibility left. He has played four games this season behind Heisman Trophy runner-up Michael Penix Jr.

The second-ranked Huskies face No. 3 Texas in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.

Also, entering the portal Monday was Nebraska quarterback Jeff Sims, who started the first two games of the season for the Cornhuskers. Sims began his career at Georgia Tech.

* Former Boise State head coach Andy Avalos was named TCU's new defensive coordinator on Monday.

Horned Frogs coach Sonny Dykes announced the hiring of Avalos a day after the decision was made to not bring Joe Gillespie back for a third season running the TCU defense.

Avalos was 10 games into his third season as Boise State's head coach when he was fired in mid-November with a 22-14 overall record. He was a former Broncos player and assistant coach who was Oregon's defensive coordinator before his alma mater hired him after the 2020 season to replace Bryan Harsin, who left to become Auburn's coach.

The Ducks were Pac-12 champions both seasons Avalos was there. Before that, he was on Boise State's staff for seven seasons, and served as defensive coordinator from 2016-18.

TCU ranked 100th out of 130 FBS teams this season allowing 408.3 total yards per game, and 78th giving up 29 points a game. The Horned Frogs went 5-7 and missed a bowl game a year after making it to the national championship game.

Even during that playoff season, Gillespie's first at TCU, the Frogs allowed 27.8 points and 417.7 yards per game.