Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders running back Frank Peasant has been out with an injury since Week 2. Recently, he announced that he’d be taking a medical redshirt and entering his name in the transfer portal.
Peasant has already heard from a few teams, so there’s certainly going to be interest for the senior RB with one year of eligibility remaining. Here are five teams we think could have mutual interest in Peasant.
Where Will Frank Peasant Transfer?
While Peasant isn’t the biggest guy in the world, he’s fairly shifty and forced 54 missed tackles in 2022. Unfortunately, he’s also been plagued by nagging injuries and wasn’t 100% in a disappointing year last season.
Peasant has over 1,500 rushing yards in his career, including over 1,100 after contact. He’s also seasoned, with five years of playing experience.
Perhaps most intriguing is Peasant’s ability as a pass catcher. He was never overly explosive as a receiver at MTSU, but he did catch 57 passes and has 133 career snaps as a slot receiver. He was used almost exclusively on screens, so there are questions about his route-running ability. Nevertheless, he averaged nearly 10 yards after the catch per reception in his Blue Raiders career.
Early reports indicate Peasant has some interest in the southeastern part of the country. Originally from Florida, he was primarily a linebacker in college before moving exclusively to the offensive side of the ball. He could make a team happy, especially one that runs several zone-scheme runs.
South Carolina Gamecocks
South Carolina took three running backs from the transfer portal last season, but two of them are seniors. There’s not a ton of older depth, as most of the remaining backs are either gadget guys or younger developmental players.
The Gamecocks are run-heavy this year, with LaNorris Sellers as a dual-threat quarterback. Given the depth chart, Peasant could slot in as a major contributor both as a running back and pass catcher. The allure of playing in the SEC would be huge, and South Carolina has reportedly already reached out to gauge interest.
Vanderbilt Commodores
Vanderbilt is turning heads this year with its impressive play — even against top SEC teams — and the transfer portal is a huge reason why.
Head coach Clark Lea reportedly approached his administration and some wealthy boosters to pitch the idea of pouring more money into the school’s NIL collective. It seems to have worked, as the Commodores were able to get several impressive transfers, headlined by Diego Pavia.
Vanderbilt’s backfield is a bit crowded with younger guys, but the Commodores love to rotate backs, and Peasant could certainly find a home, given his abilities in the passing game.
Ball State Cardinals
When we do these landing spots articles, we typically go first with some of the schools we’ve heard have interest, then follow the connections to find a few others.
Ball State running backs coach Jeff Beckles was both Peasant’s recruiter and position coach at Middle Tennessee State.
MORE: Simulate the College Football Season With CFN’s College Football Playoff Predictor
Peasant entered his name in the transfer portal last season when Rick Stockstill was fired, but ultimately withdrew and returned to MTSU. Now that Beckles is entrenched at Ball State, that relationship might lead Peasant to Muncie.
Texas State Bobcats
Another school that On3’s Pete Nakos mentioned that has already been in contact with Peasant.
Texas State makes sense, especially if Peasant doesn’t end up at the Power Four level. The Bobcats are a run-heavy team that likes to play up-tempo and involve the running backs in the passing game. It’s also somewhere he could get a lot of playing time, especially if Ismail Mahdi goes pro a year early, which is certainly a possibility.
Florida State Seminoles
Florida State’s RB depth chart looks awfully thin next season, something that shouldn’t be all that surprising given the Seminoles’ liberal use of the transfer portal. However, Stockstill is a senior offensive advisor at his alma mater, which is one of the connections here.
The other is that Florida State offers Peasant an opportunity to get back to the Panhandle, just a few hours from where he played high school football. It wouldn’t surprise me to see mutual interest here.
College Football Network has you covered with the latest from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and every Group of Five conference and FBS Independent program.