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Malik Grant, Khalil Baker Among CAA Football Transfers to Watch in 2024

Malik Grant, Khalil Baker Among CAA Football Transfers to Watch in 2024

College football's restructured transfer market puts a high premium on talent moving between programs. The CAA is rife with transfers ready to star in 2024.

Jul 17, 2024 by Kyle Kensing
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With names including Randy Moss, Bo Levi Mitchell and Jeremiah Briscoe, the Football Championship Subdivision has a long history of transfer players making an impact on new destinations. 

The NCAA's adoption of revamped transfer rules after the COVID-19 pandemic transformed the college football landscape to place an even higher premium on talent moving between programs. The Coastal Athletic Association has seen some of its top performers in this new era emerge via the transfer portal. 

Transfers will shape the CAA championship race again in 2024. Get to know a few of the transfer players poised to shine when they join various CAA rosters. For the conference's transfer quarterbacks, check out FloFootball's 2024 CAA Quarterback Preview. 

OFFENSE

Drew Montez, WR - Bryant

A standout for Div. II program Western Colorado, Drew Montez moves across the country to give Bryant a potential game-changing wide receiver. 

Montez led Western Colorado with 47 receptions in 2023 — 20 more than the team's next-most active pass-catcher — and brought in six touchdowns. He added a rushing touchdowns in each of the last two seasons, as well, giving him 12 combined scores between 2022 and 2023. 

At 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, Montez will be among the most physically imposing receivers in the CAA. 

Malik Grant, RB - Rhode Island 

Taking over for All-American Julius Chestnut at Sacred Heart, Malik Grant proceeded to write his name all over SHU program rushing records. He eclipsed 1,000 yards in two different seasons as a Pioneer, racking up 1,347 in 2021 — fourth-most in a season ever at Sacred Heart — and 1,080 in 2022, ninth-most in a single season for the Pioneers. 

The productive Grant closes out his college career at Rhode Island, where he should factor prominently into the Rams offense from the get-go. He operates both as a dependable, between-the-tackles style ball-carrier and is proven capable of breaking off long runs with rushes of 40, 41 and 49 yards during his NEC Offensive Player of the Year-winning 2021. 

Andre Oben, OL - Monmouth 

Monclair, New Jersey native Andre Oben returns to the Garden State where at St. Peter's Prep, he was ranked one of the area's top high school recruits. 

Oben landed at Purdue, where he made sporadic appearances. The son of longtime NFL offensive lineman Roman Oben will have an impact in his return to New Jersey, adding a physical presence up front for a Monmouth line that has been outstanding the last few seasons. 

Tolu Olajide, OL - New Hampshire

Tolu Olajide makes a short trek north from Stonehill, where in 2023 he earned All-Northeast Conference honors, to Durham where he should be an important part of the new-look New Hampshire offense. 

Establishing its line with the departures of quarterback Max Brosmer and do-everything All-American running back Dylan Laube will prove critical to reshaping the Wildcat's attack. With Olajide, UNH adds a 6-foot-5, 305-pound lineman who is able to block for the run and pass equally effectively. 

Jasiah Williams, WR - Stony Brook

No stranger to CAA football or to the Stony Brook coaching staff, Jasiah Williams reunites with first-year Seawolves head coach Billy Cosh after the two were together at Richmond. 

Williams became a leading target for the Spiders in Cosh's air raid-inspired offense, hauling in 82 receptions for 609 yards with four touchdowns during Richmond's 2022 FCS Playoffs campaign. Williams' production that season jumped from 448 yards and two touchdowns on 42 catches in a solid 2021. 

A torn ACL sidelined Williams for most of the 2023 campaign. Back at full strength and returning to Cosh's offense, look for Williams to emerge as an immediate difference-maker for Stony Brook. 

DEFENSE

Khalil Baker, S - Elon 

An already stacked Elon defense became all the more dangerous in the offseason when it added FCS All-American Khalil Baker from nearby North Carolina Central. 

Baker's selection to the Associated Press 1st Team All-America Defense in 2022 marked the first time in NCCU history an Eagle garnered such distinction. He also won MEAC Defensive Player of the Year and became the inaugural recipient of the Aeaneas Williams Award, given to the top HBCU defensive back. 

Baker intercepted five passes over the 2022 and 2023 seasons for NCCU, including a pick-six in the Eagles' win at New Hampshire two years ago. 

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He's a tenacious ball hawk who attacks rushers as effectively as he creates turnovers. Pairing Baker with fellow All-American Caleb Curtain should give Elon one of the nation's most formidable secondaries in 2024. 

Jayden Curry, CB - Maine 

Super-senior Jayden Curry brings a wealth of experience, including eight career starts from his time at FBS program South Florida, as Maine looks to reestablish its Black Hole Defense. 

Curry broke into USF's starting defensive rotation during the 2022 and 2023 seasons playing both safety and cornerback. He received a waiver for a final year of NCAA eligibility, allowing him to finish out his career with the Black Bears. 

Look for Curry to make a splash in the final go-around of a long college career. 

Joshua Hardy, DE - North Carolina A&T 

After spending the last two seasons at Boston College, Joshua Hardy provides reinforcements at North Carolina A&T. 

The 6-foot-4, 250-pounder earned 3-star billing as a prep recruit from 247Sports. He was ranked one of the nation's top 70 edge-rush prospects in the nation and a top 30 recruit in Maryland coming out of Annapolis Area Christian. 

Hardy should provide a boost for an Aggies defense that ranked near the bottom of the CAA in sacks a season ago. 

Jonathan Melvin, LB - Campbell

Former All-Ivy League linebacker Jonathan Melvin adds another veteran presence to the Campbell defense as it enters a new era. 

The Camels embark on their second season as CAA members with a new head coach, Braxton Harris; and a new defensive coordinator, Eric Daniels. But with the experienced Melvin joining a group that returns the impressive CJ Tillman, Campbell's linebacker unit could be among the most productive in the CAA. 

Melvin finished his All-League 2022 at Penn with 50 tackles, nine tackles for loss, three sacks, and a forced fumble. 

Will Middleton, LB - Towson

One of the newest arrivals hopping aboard Towson coach Pete Shinnick's Energy Bus is Will Middleton, a 2023 All-Northeast Conference selection at Saint Francis. 

Middleton is coming off an outstanding campaign in which he racked up 68 tackles for the Red Flashes, and had three games with at least nine. His consistent output started right out of the gate with an eight-tackle, two-tackle-for-loss performance against FBS opponent Western Michigan. 

Middleton's speed and nose for the ball should see the transfer linebacker work prominently into the Tigers' front seven. 

Kaleb Moody, S - Villanova  

Kaleb Moody can follow in the footsteps of Danny Abraham, another Harvard transfer who moved on to Villanova and had a significant impact for the Wildcat's defense. 

Moody comes to the Main Line by way of Cambridge following a breakout 2023 season. He earned All-Ivy League honors for his 57 tackles with two for loss and a sack, two interceptions and a forced fumble. 

Adding another veteran playmaker in the secondary to complement one of the most impressive front sevens in the FCS will only bolster Villanova's prospects for a deep FCS Playoffs run. 

Kshawn Schulters, S - Monmouth 

Along with quarterback Derek Robertson (Maine), Kshawn Schulters is 1-of-2 Monmouth newcomers who starred elsewhere in the CAA. 

Schulters joins the Hawks from Villanova where, in 2022, he played a major role in the Wildcats secondary. He finished that season with 38 tackles, an interception and seven pass break-ups. A change of scenery could be what Schulters needs to regain that level of production after he had a quiet 2024. 

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