Everybody would love to have the next Antwane “Juice” Wells.

One of the most valuable transfers in the country in 2022 came from little ole James Madison University. Shane Beamer plucked the prolific FCS receiver and instantly, he took off. By season’s end, Wells and fellow transfer Spencer Rattler were so tight that the receiver based his NFL decision on whether his quarterback came back. He did, and now Wells enters 2023 with legitimate All-America upside.

That’s the dream. He wasn’t some diamond in the rough recruit who needed 3 years of development to take off as an upperclassman. Beamer made Wells an instant starter, and he became the program’s first receiver to earn first-team All-SEC honors since Pharoh Cooper in 2015. That’s right. Not even Deebo Samuel did that.

So now, it’s fair to ask the next question. Who could be the 2023 version of Wells? That is, a non-Power 5 receiver transfer who steps in and takes the league by storm.

These are the 5 best candidates to make that happen:

Zakhari Franklin, Ole Miss

Previous school — UTSA

Why he has Wells-like upside — There’s a world in which Franklin leads the SEC in receiving, and by the time the rest of the conference realizes how good he is, it’ll be late-October. Franklin, like Wells in his pre-SEC season, had 15 (!) touchdown grabs, though he did so at UTSA, which somewhat quietly won 11 games last year. In Kiffin’s offense, expect the 6-1 Franklin to have a massive opportunity available with Jonathan Mingo and Malik Heath both off to the NFL. Franklin played a whopping 819 snaps lined up out wide last year, so he won’t exactly be in the 2020 Elijah Moore, but his production could resemble that by season’s end.

The only question is how Franklin will fit in after transferring post-spring to a program with an ongoing quarterback battle. There could be some feeling out early, but it’s only a matter of time until the guy with over 3,000 career receiving yards and 37 touchdown grabs takes off.

Tre Harris, Ole Miss

Previous school — Louisiana Tech

Why he has Wells-like upside — Sure, let’s stick with Kiffin, AKA the Portal King. In addition to adding Franklin, Harris also picked Ole Miss after a prolific career in Conference-USA. Unlike Franklin, though, Harris was on campus for spring camp. Perhaps that’ll give him an advantage early on after picking Ole Miss instead of Oklahoma and A&M. The 6-2 wideout had 935 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns as a redshirt sophomore at Louisiana Tech, which had a productive but mistake-prone passing attack with 19 interceptions on the season. Still, Harris had 4 catches for 56 yards and a score against Clemson, and he hauled in 6 catches for 37 yards against Mizzou.

Expect Harris to join Franklin as an immediate target out wide, where he lined up on 599 of his 696 snaps in 2022. The hope is that Harris and Franklin can form an even better duo than Mingo and Heath.

Andrew Armstrong, Arkansas

Previous school — Texas A&M-Commerce

Why he has Wells-like upside — After the departure of Jadon Haselwood, the Hogs were lacking a big, physical wideout to catch passes for KJ Jefferson. They addressed that in the portal by adding Armstrong, as well as the gigantic 6-7 Tyler Broden from Bowling Green. Armstrong gets the nod here because he already showed he can be a steady, reliable go-to target. Armstrong led his team in catches (62), receiving yards (1,020) and touchdowns (13), which he accomplished in just 11 games of action.

Armstrong essentially had 2 washed years to start off college because he redshirted as a true freshman and COVID canceled his second season at the FCS level. Even including high school, Armstrong has really only had 1 true dominant season. But late bloomer or not (he’ll be 23 this fall), Armstrong has a chance to become Jefferson’s No. 1 target in a more balanced offense under Dan Enos.

Freddie Roberson, MSU

Previous school — Eastern Washington

Why he has Wells-like upside — Physically, Roberson might have the best case for a Wells comp. They’re both in the 6-1/6-2 range, and both can line up inside or outside and get separation. Roberson already showed that he could do that against Power 5 competition. Against Oregon, he had a touchdown grab and a few weeks later against Florida, he hauled in 4 grabs for 62 yards. In his 4-year career, Roberson hauled in 141 passes for 2,266 yards.

He might not be a high volume guy — he had 44 catches last year and 49 the year before at EWU — but Roberson allows MSU to do something that should be more of a fixture in the post-Mike Leach era. That is, attack downfield. The Kevin Barbay offense should have more opportunities to do that, and Roberson could help add a new wrinkle to Will Rogers’ game. Roberson’s 6th and final year of eligibility — he’ll be 24 this fall — could have a major say in MSU staying afloat in the SEC West.

Malik Benson, Alabama

Previous school — Hutchinson CC (Kansas)

Why he has Wells-like upside — If Alabama has its way, Benson will fill the void left by Jameson Williams. That’s right. Williams left after the 2021 season, yet the Tide never really had a go-to guy in 2022. There’s hope that Benson, who was the top JUCO recruit in the country, can be just that. At  highly-regarded Hutchinson Community College, Benson set a school record with 2,152 receiving yards in 2 seasons. His late-game dominance on A-Day only added to the buzz out of camp that Benson is next up.

The question isn’t necessarily whether Benson is going to be the 2023 version of Williams, who had a legitimate case to win the Biletnikoff Award in 2021. That’s too high of a bar. The question is whether someone who averaged 22.2 yards per catch at the JUCO ranks can get the Tide back to being one of the most explosive passing offenses in America. Alabama’s only 60-yard receiving plays last year came from running backs Jase McClellan and Jahmyr Gibbs. If Benson can check that box while at least contending for All-SEC honors by season’s end, he’ll be one of the most important transfers in America.