EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsFor all of the legitimate complaints about the current era of college sports and roster construction -- donor fatigue from needing ever-larger checkbooks and payrolls, not knowing half of the guys on your team's roster -- one thing is certain: There are lots of ways to build an exciting roster now. And when it comes to the transfer portal, success is as much art as science.Just think of the teams that made the College Football Playoff semifinals last season.Indiana eventually won the whole thing thanks to a semi-proven quarterback who had taken more than 40 sacks the year before (Fernando Mendoza), quite a few line transfers and the remnants of a huge batch of players who followed Curt Cignetti from James Madison.Miami reached the final thanks to a 23-year-old quarterback (Carson Beck), key transfers at receiver and throughout the secondary and heavy continuity on the lines.Ole Miss was led by a former Division II quarterback (Trinidad Chambliss) and a roster constructed by one of the most portal-dependent coaches in the business (Lane Kiffin), but while Oregon certainly had some important transfers at quarterback (Dante Moore), on the offensive line and in the secondary, the Ducks had only 11 transfers. They got to the semis thanks in large part to old-fashioned, blue-chip recruiting. And they got shellacked by an Indiana team with almost no former blue-chippers.Mileage has varied significantly among those with huge transfer classes and tiny transfer classes, and no slam dunk, surefire approach has emerged. I love it.If this is an art, then let's look at it as such. We know who brought in the most high-profile classes of the 2026 cycle, but after poring over each team's new additions for the purposes of returning production and SP+ calculations, I wanted to talk about the transfer classes I simply liked the most. Pure quality is certainly part of liking a class, but I wanted to celebrate unique approaches as well.1. Oklahoma StateFavorite transfers: QB Drew Mestemaker, North Texas (4,379 passing yards, 34 TDs); RB Caleb Hawkins, North Texas (1,804 yards from scrimmage, 29 total TDs); WR Wyatt Young, North Texas (1,264 receiving yards, 10 TDs)Almost 5,000 incoming passing yards from Mestemaker and Grant Jordan (UMass). More than 3,600 incoming rushing yards from Hawkins, Tre Page III (Tarleton State) and others. More than 4,500 incoming receiving yards from Young, Miles Coleman (North Texas), Chris Barnes (Wake Forest) and others. Five FBS starting offensive linemen (including two from North Texas), plus a potential FCS gem in Shaun Torgeson (Portland State). Fourteen defenders who started FBS games last season, including most of North Texas' best -- DE Keviyan Huddleston, LB Ethan Wesloski, CB Kollin Lewis.After leading North Texas to its best season ever, Eric Morris made his first OSU portal class count. And in basically grafting the No. 1 offense in the country (per SP+) onto another roster, he's conducting a fascinating experiment. If OSU's offense is as good as UNT's was last season -- and it should feature at least six Mean Green starters -- then Morris has immediately made the Cowboys sleeper Big 12 contenders at worst. Every year, we go further in redefining how much a roster and a team can change in a single offseason, and OSU might benefit dramatically from that in 2026.2. IndianaFavorite transfers: QB Josh Hoover, TCU (3,472 passing yards, 29 TDs); RB Turbo Richard, Boston College (962 yards from scrimmage, 11 total TDs); CB Carson Williams, Montana State (46 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, nine passes broken up)I just love the tidiness. Before Indiana had even completed its national title run, Curt Cignetti had already locked down productive veterans for the latest succession plan. Hoover, with his 9,629 career passing yards, moves in for Fernando Mendoza. Richard, productive and exciting despite getting almost no help at BC, will look to replace one of last year's two 1,000-yard rushers. Receivers Nick Marsh (Michigan State) and Shazz Preston (Tulane) will be asked to fill in for Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt. The top three defensive ends are gone, so here come Chiddi Obiazor (Kansas State), Tobi Osunsanmi (Kansas State) and Josh Burnham (Notre Dame). Three starters are gone from the secondary, and here come four veteran transfers.The bar is ridiculously high, of course, and there's nothing saying Cignetti and his staff won't whiff on an evaluation or two at some point. But this all makes so much damn sense.3. ColoradoFavorite transfers: LB Gideon Lampron, Bowling Green (123 tackles, 18.5 TFLs, 31 run stops); WR Danny Scudero, San Jos State (1,297 receiving yards, 10 TDs); WR Kam Perry, Miami-Ohio (976 receiving yards, 2.8 per route)As always, Deion Sanders needed a lot from the portal. Too much, perhaps: Last year's top 18 defenders are gone. But this is the first time in his four seasons where it seemed like there was a genuine plan in place -- at least, as much as you can hope for from a 43-man class. Colorado really leaned into known production this time around and added players who produced more than 3,600 receiving yards, more than 1,100 rushing yards, almost 1,000 tackles and more than 110 tackles for loss. The Buffs also brought in five offensive linemen who started games at the power-conference level (plus two big FCS starters). They landed three 300-pound (or more) defensive linemen, and Lampron is exactly the type of sideline-to-sideline force Colorado's defense has lacked.If former blue-chip quarterback Julian Lewis is ready for the spotlight, he'll have a remarkably well-tested roster around him.4-6. Texas Tech, LSU and MiamiYou've probably read plenty about these classes already, and the reasons for liking them -- lots of good, expensive players here! -- are pretty obvious. Favorite transfers (Texas Tech): QB Brendan Sorsby, Cincinnati (2,800 passing yards, 27 TDs); OLB Adam Trick, Miami-Ohio (69 tackles, 14.5 TFLs, 8.5 sacks); WR Jalen Jones, Alabama State (1,392 receiving yards, 19.3 per catch)Tech's need for a big-time quarterback was laid bare in the Red Raiders' CFP loss to Oregon, and grabbing maybe the most highly sought QB in the portal was a pretty good way of addressing that. Trick is almost a surefire star, too, as is edge rusher Trey White (San Diego State). Receivers Kenny Johnson (Pitt), Donte Lee Jr. (Liberty), Malcolm Simmons (Auburn) and Jones all offer big-play potential, too. Favorite transfers (LSU): LT Jordan Seaton, Colorado (zero sacks allowed); WR Jayce Brown, Kansas State (712 receiving yards, 3.0 yards per route); S Ty Benefield, Boise State (100 tackles, nine TFLs, 12 run stops)Lane Kiffin was hired to bring all the big-time transfers to town, and there's not a ton of filler in his 40-man haul. Seaton and Benefield are stars, and Brown is one of a trio of proven pass catchers. WR Winston Watkins, DE Princewill Umanmielen and LB TJ Dottery came over from Ole Miss (even if Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy didn't), and I enjoy that Kiffin not only grabbed QB Sam Leavitt (Arizona State) but also tried to strike small-school gold once again in adding dual-threat Landen Clark (Elon). Favorite transfers (Miami): QB Darian Mensah, Duke (3,973 passing yards, 34 TDs); WR Cooper Barkate, Duke (1,106 receiving yards, seven TDs); S Omar Thornton, Boston College (95 tackles, eight run stops, four forced fumbles)Mario Cristobal felt the need to add only 12 transfers -- high-level recent recruiting is certainly providing depth in itself -- but they were mostly vital ones. Mensah was a must, Barkate should be a great complement to Malachi Toney, and while edge rusher Damon Wilson II (Missouri) is far more of a pass-rush specialist than the departing Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor, he's really good at that specialty. I'm surprised Cristobal didn't aim for more linemen on both sides of the ball, but the roster's upside remains high.7. UCLAFavorite transfers: RB Wayne Knight, James Madison (1,770 yards from scrimmage, 10 total TDs); DE Sahir West, James Madison (52 tackles, 16 TFLs, seven sacks); NB DJ Barksdale, James Madison (31 tackles, two INTs, 11 PBUs)When UCLA hired James Madison's Bob Chesney, it also signed up for the inevitable JMU Influx. Knight, West and Barksdale were some of the Dukes' most high-upside players -- and JMU was much better than UCLA last season -- and Chesney also brought with him a pair of all-conference offensive linemen (guards Riley Robell and Carter Sweazie) and a couple of other disruptive defenders (DE Aiden Gobaira, LB Drew Spinogatti).In addition to a few smaller-school stars -- OL Derek Osman (Harvard), DE Dallin Havea (Utah Tech), CB Jhase McMillan (Montana State) -- Chesney complemented that with a number of less-tested recent blue-chippers. If the likes of WR Aidan Mizell (Florida), DT Maxwell Roy (Ohio State), Anthony Sacca (Notre Dame) and safety Malik Hartford (Ohio State) start to develop too, then Chesney might have pulled off a double upgrade.8. Kansas StateFavorite transfers: DE Wendell Gregory, Oklahoma State (43 tackles, 15.5 TFLs, 19 run stops); LB Mekhi Mason, Louisiana Tech (74 tackles, 15 TFLs, 24 run stops); DE Elijah Hill, Kennesaw State (36 tackles, 14 TFLs, nine sacks)Granted, losing a couple of pass rushers to the No. 2 team on this list isn't optimal, but Collin Klein's first transfer class in Manhattan features lots of evaluations that I think will pay off, especially on defense.Gregory was a havoc machine at OSU despite getting almost no support whatsoever, Mason is a sideline-to-sideline menace, Hill is undersized (6-foot-1, 227 pounds) but disruptive, and the secondary haul includes both a dynamite veteran in nickel Ja'son Prevard (Virginia) and one of last season's best mid-major freshmen in safety Koy Beasley (Miami-Ohio). We'll see if Klein got what he needed on the offensive line -- seven of last year's top nine are gone, and while he grabbed six transfers, only two have FBS starting experience -- but I'm confident that the first Jordan Peterson defense will hold up its end of the bargain.9. West VirginiaFavorite transfers: RB Cam Cook, Jacksonville State (1,945 yards from scrimmage, 16 total TDs); OLB Harper Holloman, Western Kentucky (63 tackles, 10 TFLs, 12 run stops); QB Michael Hawkins Jr., Oklahoma (167 passing yards, three TDs)After signing 53 transfers in 2025 and not really building traction, Rich Rodriguez is looking at basically a second first year; his Mountaineers return players responsible for only 33 starts last season -- among power-conference teams, only Iowa State returns fewer -- and depth might therefore remain a massive issue. But upside and experience aren't.A former blue-chipper with dual-threat potential, Hawkins is exactly the kind of quarterback Rodriguez should be pursuing, and Cook was one of the best running backs in the nation last season, a fantastic mix of muscle and burst. Rodriguez signed two all-conference linemen in guards Amare Grayson and Cam Griffin (like Cook, both are from Rodriguez's former employer, Jacksonville State), and the defensive haul includes major disruptors in Holloman, DE Zeke Durham-Campbell (Coastal Carolina), OLB David Afogho (Bowling Green), safety Kamari Wilson (Memphis) and CB Jaire Rawlison (Kent State). In all, incoming players combined for 198 FBS starts last season; no one added more.10. Florida AtlanticFavorite transfers: DE Kenyon Garner, Livingstone (55 tackles, 28 TFLs, 15 sacks); DE Jay Crable, Ohio (39 tackles, 10 TFLs, six sacks); LB Nate Fischer, San Diego (97 tackles, 8.5 TFLs, 12 passes defended).What do you do if you need to massively upgrade your defensive disruption levels but don't have the budget to grab a ton of proven guys from the mid-major or high-FCS ranks? You dig a little bit deeper. In Garner, Zach Kittley added maybe the most explosive defender in Division II -- 28 TFLs! 15 sacks! -- plus other fun players in Fischer and CB Ahlston Ware (Ferris State). Throw in a proven Group of 6 defender in Crable, and you have a solid upgrade on your hands.Kittley also added another Division II star in Fairmont State's Leonard Farrow, who had 1,617 yards from scrimmage. That's exciting, too.11. HoustonFavorite transfers: RB Makhi Hughes, Oregon (1,577 yards from scrimmage at Tulane in 2024); LG Shadre Hurst, Tulane (zero sacks allowed, first-team All-AAC); DT De'Marion Thomas, Oklahoma State (340 pounds, three run stops in four games)Well-regarded offensive linemen might be the most prized players in the portal -- there aren't a ton of them, and everyone wants a couple. In Hurst (first-team All-AAC), Toledo's Anthony Boswell (first-team All-MAC) and Miami-Ohio's Drew Terrill (second-team All-MAC), Houston got three of them. Willie Fritz also added well-tested power-conference defenders in DTs Ashton Porter (Oregon) and Thomas and LB Jaden Yates (Ole Miss); smaller-school veterans in DT Ejiroghene Egodogbare (Yale) and CB Jalen Mayo (Stephen F. Austin); and an 800-yard receiver in Trent Walker (Oregon State). And he took an excellent flier on Hughes, a 1,400-yard rusher at Tulane before getting lost in the shuffle at Oregon. Fritz is doing some serious roster and program building at UH.That's six Big 12 teams in the top 11. That's evidently a conference with a nice blend of money and room for creativity.12. Washington StateFavorite transfers: QB Caden Pinnick, UC Davis (3,206 passing yards, 32 TDs, 437 rushing yards); S Jshawn Frausto-Ramos, Arizona (18 tackles, two sacks, one INT at Stanford in 2024); DE Matyus McLain, Idaho (42 tackles, 13.5 TFLs, 4.5 sacks)With a new head coach (Kirby Moore) and a new/old home (the revamped Pac-12), Wazzu put together one of my favorite portal classes in the Group of 6. Pinnick was maybe the most exciting FCS quarterback in the portal, having led a solid playoff run as a freshman. Meanwhile, Moore added a solid volume of FBS starts (44 from six players), an ace backup in pass rush specialist Linus Zunk (Vanderbilt), a few smaller-school stars and pure heft up front: Among the nine incoming defensive linemen are three weighing in at 309 pounds or more.13. KentuckyFavorite transfers: LT Lance Heard, Tennessee (one sack allowed, third-team All-SEC); RG Tegra Tshabola, Ohio State (one sack allowed, third-team All-Big Ten); OLB Antonio O'Berry, Gardner-Webb (52 tackles, 10.5 TFLs, seven PBUs)New head coach Will Stein immediately pinpointed an upgrade on which he was willing to spend big: offensive line. Heard and Tshabola were both all-conference performers from the two best conferences, tackle Mark Robinson (UTEP) was All-Conference USA, and Stein grabbed center Coleton Price (Baylor), guard Max Anderson (Tennessee) and tackle Olaus Alinen (Bama) as well. Average size among these six: 6-foot-5, 323 pounds. Stein also picked up an exciting if unproven quarterback (Notre Dame's Kenny Minchey), a former blue-chip running back (Texas' CJ Baxter) and a pound of 300-pound DTs (Purdue's Jamarrion Harkless and South Alabama's Dominic Wiseman). This is my second-favorite SEC class.14. CaliforniaFavorite transfers: WR Chase Hendricks, Ohio (1,037 receiving yards, 2.7 per route, seven TDs); WR Ian Strong, Rutgers (762 receiving yards, 2.2 per route, five TDs); OLB Solomon Williams, Texas A&M (seven tackles, 3.5 TFLs, five run stops in 34 snaps)Mission No. 1 for Tosh Lupoi as Cal's new head coach was assuring the return of star quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. Mission No. 2: Improving his supporting cast. Lupoi did a solid job.Hendricks is a dynamite slot receiver and could replicate the production of Jacob De Jesus, JKS' favorite target in 2025. Meanwhile, Strong is explosive, TE Dorian Thomas (New Mexico) is a solid efficiency option, incoming RBs Ashten Emory (UTEP) and Adam Mohammed (Washington) are excellent on third downs, and I like taking a flier on RB Carter Vargas (Cal Poly), who had only 77 touches as a freshman but averaged 8.1 yards per touch. On defense, Tupoi evidently wanted to grab as many young former blue-chippers as possible, from Williams and two other edge rushers, to 345-pound Jericho Johnson (Oregon) up front and safety Kingston Lopa (Oregon) at the back.15. TexasFavorite transfers: RB Raleek Brown, Arizona State (1,380 yards from scrimmage, six total TDs); WR Cam Coleman, Auburn (708 receiving yards, five TDs); LB Rasheem Biles, Pitt (102 tackles, 15 TFLs, 20 run stops)Steve Sarkisian made high-profile offensive additions in Brown, Coleman and RB Hollywood Smothers (NC State) to make sure Arch Manning's supporting cast has the requisite upside this time around. He grabbed four offensive linemen to address depth there, too, and Biles was one of the portal's better defenders.Based on raw upside, I could have easily ranked this class in the batch with Texas Tech, LSU and Miami above, but it felt a bit like Sarkisian was fighting the last war. He needed skill corps and offensive line upgrades last season, and he shoved 10 skill corps guys and five O-linemen out the door to make this year's upgrades. That means depth might still end up being an issue and the last year's development efforts were awfully wasteful. That won't matter if Coleman starts living up to his potential and Brown and Smothers both stay healthy, but Sarkisian's offseason was more reactive than proactive to me.16. VirginiaFavorite transfers: QB Beau Pribula, Missouri (1,941 passing yards, 11 TDs, 416 non-sack rushing yards); DT Zion Wilson, East Carolina (47 tackles, 9.5 TFLs, seven sacks); RB Solomon Beebe, UAB (622 yards from scrimmage, 26.1-yard kick return average)Tony Elliott completed a transfer portal Hail Mary in 2025, reversing his program's fortunes in the process, and his reward was having to do it again. I'm not sure I like this haul as much as last year's, but it's good. Pribula was solid at Mizzou last season before an ankle injury; Beebe, RB Jekail Middlebrook (Middle Tennessee) and WR Da'Shawn Martin (Kent State) were explosive outlets on sketchy teams; and Wilson is a dynamite disruptor for a 316-pounder and also one of 10 incoming defenders who made FBS starts in 2025. This is a nice blend of experience and upside, without too much reliance on seniors.17. Virginia TechFavorite transfers: QB Ethan Grunkemeyer, Penn State (1,339 passing yards, eight TDs, 75.0 Total QBR); WR Que'Sean Brown, Duke (846 receiving yards, 2.1 per route, five TDs); CB Jaquez White, Troy (66 tackles, 15 passes defended, six run stops)James Franklin clearly had a plan. He wanted to upgrade Tech's raw talent level and added a number of young former blue-chippers -- many from Penn State, his former employer. But he also targeted pass-catching upgrades (I like both Brown and former Penn State tight end Luke Reynolds) and immediate help at cornerback, where newcomers Cam Chadwick (UConn) and White combined for seven picks and 16 breakups.18. AuburnFavorite transfers: QB Byrum Brown, South Florida (3,158 passing yards, 1,121 non-sack rushing yards, 42 total TDs); WR Keshaun Singleton, South Florida (877 receiving yards, eight TDs); DT Cody Sigler, Arkansas State (47 tackles, eight TFLs, five PBUs)Former South Florida coach Alex Golesh predictably brought quite a few former Bulls with him to the Plains -- Brown, Singleton (and many other WRs), RB Nykahi Davenport, C Cole Best, S Fred Gaskin and many others -- but he didn't stop there. And he seemed to seek known production over the pure SEC experience that a lot of other league teams seemed to overvalue. (He did still grab four SEC linemen.) Sigler and Saint Farrior (Appalachian State) are disruptive 300-pounders, and CB Andre Jordan Jr. (UCLA) will immediately be one of the most aggressive cover guys in the conference.19. TulsaFavorite transfers: RB Trequan Jones, Old Dominion (792 rushing yards, 7.5 per carry); C Malachi Preciado, South Alabama (zero sacks allowed, zero penalties); S Rylan Leathers, Idaho State (101 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, four PBUs)Tulsa hasn't had the biggest budget in the world of late, but Tre Lamb managed to bring in 11 players who started at least once in the FBS last season and added particularly impressive depth at RB (Jones, New Mexico's DJ McKinney, Auburn's Damari Alston, Mississippi State's Seth Davis), WR (Oregon State's David Wells Jr., West Virginia's Oran Singleton, Bethune-Cookman's Javon Ross) and in the secondary (Leathers, Baylor's Caldra Williford, Abilene Christian's Tyson Williams). After improving from 128th to 104th in SP+ last season, I like Tulsa's odds of rising further this year.20. IowaFavorite transfers: RB Lendon Phillips Jr., South Dakota (2,116 yards from scrimmage, 20 total TDs); DE Kahmari Brown, Elon (66 tackles, 16 TFLs, 12 sacks); S Anthony Hawkins, Villanova (59 tackles, two INTs, 11 PBUs)Iowa got hit hard by attrition, returning only six players who started a majority of last season's games. But after finding relative success with quarterback Mark Gronowski (South Dakota State) last season, Kirk Ferentz evidently decided he had found a potential inefficiency regarding FCS transfers and leaned into it. I'm not sure if it will work, but I love the idea.In addition to the three players mentioned above, Ferentz also brought in receivers Tony Diaz (Texas-Rio Grande Valley) and Evan James (Furman); DTs Brice Stevenson (Holy Cross) and Emmanuel Olagbaju (North Dakota); and safety Xavier Styles (Robert Morris), and perhaps the most intriguing part is, although all were productive in the FCS, none is a senior. There's still some developmental potential here.Honorable mention Cincinnati: Scott Satterfield was laser-focused on bringing in solid mid-major production and landed loads of it, including QB JC French IV (Georgia Southern), RB Zylan Perry (Louisiana), LB Filip Maciorowski (Northern Illinois), safety Jasper Beeler (Northern Illinois) and many others. Coastal Carolina: Ryan Beard had to undertake a massive roster reconstruction and did a fun job of bringing in both some of his most high-upside Missouri State players (QB Deuce Bailey, WR Tristian Gardner, DE Mitchell Toney, DT Ahmad Poole) and quite a few high-upside smaller-schoolers. Florida State: Linebacker Chris Jones (Southern Miss) is a tackling machine, corner Nehemiah Chandler (South Alabama) was one of the FBS' best freshmen, QB Ashton Daniels (Auburn) is an upgrade, and Mike Norvell landed four O-linemen who started all of 2025. Kennesaw State: Jerry Mack did a nice job of landing multiple smaller-school options in key positions -- two intriguing RBs, three veteran WRs, three FCS O-linemen -- and grabbing a couple of Division II's most explosive players in WR Keon Davis (Virginia Union) and OLB Kai Russell (Wingate). North Carolina: After a dreadful first portal effort, this was a much more Bill Belichick transfer class, featuring three tight ends and explosive Patriot Leaguers in WR Mason Humphrey (Lehigh) and LB Peyton Seelmann (Richmond). He also might have found some discount buys in nickel Ade Willie (Michigan State) and linebacker Derek McDonald (Syracuse), who were solid but got hurt in 2025. Toledo: There's value in sticking to a plan. New head coach Mike Jacobs brought 14 players with him from Mercer, plus another 13 smaller-schoolers. I'm excited to see WR Adjatay Dabbs and DE Andrew Zock -- both former Mercer Bears -- and I'm curious to see if QB Khamoni Robinson (Lenoir-Rhyne) can make the transition. UNLV: If anyone can coax max production out of former Oklahoma and Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold, it's Dan Mullen. I also like the combination of part-time power-conference starters (SMU nickel Kyron Chambers, Oklahoma State S Landyn Cleveland) and lower-level shop-wreckers (Holy Cross LB Cam Santee) that Mullen brought to the defense.
