Transfer portal, you missed some, the FCS football wide receivers class is still strong for the 2025 season. Here’s a breakdown of the air raid on the way.
There have been plenty of narratives about the negative impact of the NCAA transfer portal on FCS college football.
Each season, thousands of student-athletes seek a new home and many of them are standouts for FCS programs, including hundreds who earned all-conference honors the year before.
Despite the widespread belief that days of players staying in the Division I subdivision long enough to become FCS legends are over, one position in the 2025 season will change the narrative. There’s still an abundance of talent at wide receiver.
The class will be headlined by potentially two future NFL Draft picks who exploded onto the scene with breakout seasons last year.
FCS Headliners: Bryce Lance, Jalen Walthall
After recording only one catch in the 2023 season, Bryce Lance became a star during North Dakota State’s run to the 2024 FCS national championship. As a redshirt junior, he set a program record and had the FCS seasonal high with 17 receiving touchdowns, including seven in four postseason wins.
The highlight may have been Lance’s spectacular one-handed touchdown catch against South Dakota State to win a semifinal-round thriller.
#FCS Bryce Lance gets his right foot down for a third TD reception, giving North Dakota State a 28-21 lead over South Dakota State with 4:02 left. pic.twitter.com/kLJ7UMx3KQ
— FCS Football (@OptaAnalystFCS) December 21, 2024As the good-sized Lance (6-foot-3, 208 pounds) progressively made his case to be the best FCS football wide receiver, another superstar had emerged while UIW won its third Southland Conference championship in the past four seasons.
After spending three seasons at Hawaii, Jalen Walthall announced his commitment to UIW ahead of the 2024 season. He wasted no time making an impact for the Cardinals, starting the season with three consecutive 100-yard games.
Walthall (6-2, 180) finished the season with 1,290 receiving yards, ranking third overall in the FCS, and 14 touchdowns, tying for third. A social media sensation for starting the touchdown “exclamation point” celebration, he earned him a spot on the Stats Perform FCS All-America first team.
Many expected Walthall and Lance to take their talents to the FBS level this offseason, which has become a trend with All-American players at the FCS level. With their breakout performances last season, Walthall and Lance have positioned themselves as two of the top FCS prospects for the 2026 NFL Draft.
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Along with Walthall and Lance, other talented wide receivers are ready to step into the spotlight and become the new stars of the subdivision.
Rhode Island’s Marquis Buchanan followed up his breakout freshman season with an All-American campaign, leading CAA Football with 82 receptions and 1,124 receiving yards in 2024. He helped the Rams secure their first FCS playoff appearance since 1985 before they finished with a No. 9 national ranking.
FCS Football Wide Receivers to Win the Walter Payton Award
1997: Brian Finneran, Villanova: 96 receptions, 1,389 yards, 19 TDs (13 games) 2015: Cooper Kupp, Eastern Washington: 114 receptions, 1,642 yards, 19 TDs (11 games)(Full list of the all-time Walter Payton Award winners)
At UIW, Walthall is again joined by fellow All-American Roy Alexander, who also topped the 1,000-yard mark for the Cardinals while ranking second in the FCS with 100 receptions. If that isn’t enough talent at wide receiver, the Cardinals have added Fresno State transfer Chedon James, a 2023 finalist for the Walter Payton Award at Idaho State when he led the FCS in receptions (102) and ranked fourth in receiving yards per game (95.0).
The Southland is known for explosive offenses and next season will be no different. In addition to the three-headed monster at UIW, Stephen F. Austin returns Kylon Harris, who also surpassed 1,000 receiving yards.
Along with Lance in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, Illinois State’s Daniel Sobkowicz has earned All-MVFC honors in back-to-back seasons. He led the conference in receptions (80) and receiving yards per game (79.1) last season.
The Ivy League will be thrust into the spotlight next season due to participating in the FCS playoffs for the first time. The league will feature two of the top-returning wide receivers, even if they’ve been overlooked nationally.
Cornell’s Samuel Musungu and Penn’s Jared Richardson will meet on Nov. 8 in one of the top wide receiver matchups of the season. Musungu ranked No. 6 nationally in receiving yards per game (96.0), while Richardson earned All-Ivy recognition for the second consecutive season (he set a school record with 17 receptions in a 2023 game).
Hold Off on the Obit
It’s time to end the narrative about the transfer portal limiting the amount of talented players at the FCS level.
The second transfer portal window will open for 10 days, starting April 16. Regardless of which players enter the portal seeking new opportunities at the FBS level, the wide receiver position should serve as a reminder that the next crop of FCS superstars is waiting to emerge when the 2025 season kicks off on Aug. 23.
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Top FCS Football Wide Receivers 2025 Opta Analyst.
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