Portal Fact or Fiction: Eli Holstein/Desmond Reid, Arizona State and Walter Nolen

By Mark Pszonak

In today’s Fact or Fiction – Portal Edition – I look at three more transfer topics and decide whether the statement is indeed FACT or FICTION .

1. Eli Holstein and Desmond Reid are the best QB/RB transfer duo

Mark’s take: FACT

Plenty of other duos received more attention during the offseason, such as Cam Ward/Damien Martinez (Miami), Will Howard/Quinshon Judkins (Ohio State), Will Rogers/Jonah Coleman (Washington) and Grayson McCall/Jordan Waters (NC State), but none have made a bigger impact than Holstein and Reid. Holstein has passed for 1,700 yards and 15 touchdowns, while Reid has rushed for 494 yards and three touchdowns, grabbed 25 receptions for 341 yards and four touchdowns and returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown. And most importantly, Pitt is undefeated and ranked #20.

2. Jeff Sims will continue Arizona State’s surprising season while Sam Leavitt is injured

Mark’s take: FICTION

It isn’t as if Leavitt was having an All-American caliber season (1,166 yards, eight touchdowns, 4 interceptions, 59.2% completion percentage), but he was doing enough to help  the Sun Devils to a surprising 5-1 start. Now out a few games with a rib injury, the offense will be handed over to Jeff Sims. Maybe it is because I’m getting flashbacks to his horrible 2023 season with Nebraska, but my faith in Sims to lead the Sun Devils to continued success is minimal at best. The hope for ASU fans is that the running game behind Cam Skattebo and an opportunistic defense can carry the team while the Sun Devils have a reasonable three game stretch coming up against Cincinnati, Oklahoma State and UCF. It will be an uphill battle to keep ASU rolling in the right direction.

3. Walter Nolen has been the best defensive transfer this season

Mark’s take: FACT

While his stats likely won’t wow you (26 tackles, six tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks), Nolen’s play this season has firmly established him as one of the top available interior defensive linemen in 2025’s NFL Draft. Arriving in Oxford after two successful seasons at Texas A&M, his unique combination of strength and agility has been on full display this season. Nolen arrived with plenty of hype and has lived up to all of it.