The major dominos in the college football transfer portal have all mostly fallen into place at this point.
The official window for players to enter the transfer portal extended from Jan. 2-16, with five extra days afforded to players at Indiana and Miami after the national championship game. The only real deadline for players to choose new teams, however, is the academic calendar of respective schools and when student-athletes needed to be in place to be eligible for spring practice.
There was still some significant final shuffling even in the last handful of days, with former five-star prospect and Colorado left tackle Jordan Seaton eventually picking LSU over Oregon and others, and quarterback Darian Mensah and his legal team orchestrating his complicated departure from Duke. (More on him in a moment.)
Unlike in previous years where there was a separate post-spring transfer portal period, this was the lone transfer window for 2026. So, we have a firm idea of how rosters look for the top teams in college football now.
The transfer portal is now an essential piece of roster-building for every program, and there are countless players at new programs who will make a mark on the 2026 season.
But these are the 10(ish) we expect to have the most pronounced impact on the College Football Playoff chase.
GO TO: No. 1 | No. 2 | No. 3 | No. 4 | No. 5 | No. 6 | No. 7 | No. 8 | No. 9 | No. 10 |
1. Soon-to-be Miami QB Darian Mensah and WR Cooper Barkate (from Duke)
Mensah signed a lucrative two-year NIL contract with Duke when he transferred in from Tulane last year, and he proved worth the investment while passing for 3,973 yards, 34 touchdowns and 6 interceptions for the ACC champs.
But just before the transfer portal window closed, he stunned the Blue Devils by requesting to be put in the transfer portal. Duke sued Mensah in Durham County Superior Court last week to block him from being able to transfer to another school in the middle of his binding contract. Mensah’s representation and Duke have now reached an undisclosed settlement agreement, though, ending the saga and standoff.
It was widely reported throughout this process that Mensah’s intent was to transfer to Miami, which was reaching desperation mode in trying to replace departing quarterback Carson Beck after its run to the national championship game with every other notable QB transfer already landing elsewhere.
Assuming Mensah does finalize his transfer to Miami (there are really no other deep-pocketed suitors still seeking a starting QB), the Hurricanes not only rallied to answer their biggest roster question but also landed arguably the best transfer quarterback this cycle.
More to the point, a strong case can be made that Mensah is an upgrade over Beck and elevates the offensive potential for Miami as it looks to make another CFP run in 2026.
What a power move for coach Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes.
(For our purposes here, we’ll leave aside the whole tampering angle).
Mensah threw multiple touchdown passes in all but two games this past season and only had one game with 2 interceptions (vs. UConn).
During one stretch in the middle of the season, Mensah averaged 307.2 passing yards over five games with 13 TDs and 0 INTs while Duke went 4-1 in that span with the lone loss coming to ranked Georgia Tech despite Mensah completing 72.7% of his passes for 373 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs in that game.
Other notable performances included throwing for 361 yards, 4 TDs and 0 INTs in a 46-45 win over Clemson and 327 yards, 4 TDs and 1 INT in a 42-39 Sun Bowl win over Arizona State.
But it gets even better for Miami.
Landing Mensah likely comes with a substantial bonus in that he’s expected to be followed by his top Duke target Cooper Barkate, who totaled 135 receptions for 2,190 yards and 18 TDs the last two seasons — 2024 at Harvard and 2025 with the Blue Devils.
That’s why we had to mention them together.
With Miami returning Malachi Toney after arguably the best true freshman season in the country (109 catches for 1,211 yards, 10 TDs, 1 rushing TD and 2 passing TDs), adding Barkate (at least, a strong assumption for now) and fellow WR transfers Vandrevius Jacobs (32-548-4 at South Carolina) and Cam Vaughn (35-541-4 at West Virginia), not to mention star running back Mark Fletcher Jr. returning, Mensah should be among the top Heisman Trophy contenders.
And Miami should have every shot to be among the top national title contenders once again with a conceivably much-improved offense.
2. Indiana QB Josh Hoover (from TCU)
Other quarterbacks further down this list got more fanfare and attention for their transfers, but there wasn’t a more experienced or prolific passer on the transfer market than Hoover.
And he’s stepping in to replace the reigning Heisman Trophy winner for the national champs. It’s hard to find many more compelling matches than that.
Hoover passed for 9,629 yards, 71 TDs and 33 INTs (plus 8 rushing TDs) while spending two and a half seasons as TCU’s starter. He ranked fourth across the entire FBS this season with 289.3 passing yards per game (3,472 total) and sixth in 2024 at 303.8 YPG (3,949).
Hoover needs to cut down a little on the turnovers, but part of that comes from playing in aggressive downfield passing offense that capitalized on his big arm. It will be very interesting to see how Indiana uses his talents, and how he assimilates into the Hoosiers offense, in replacing Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza, whose greatest strengths were his accuracy and efficiency.
History says Hoover could be in for a career-best season in Bloomington, as Indiana’s last two one-year rental QBs greatly elevated their play for coach Curt Cignetti and company.
In 2024, Kurtis Rourke transferred in as a sixth-year senior from Ohio of the Mid-American Conference after completing 63.5% of his passes for 2,207 yards, 11 TDs and 5 INTs the previous season (albeit a drop-off from a much better 2022 season). In one year with the Hoosiers against far tougher competition, Rourke completed 69.4% of his passes for 3,042 yards, 29 TDs and 5 INTs.
Before Mendoza became one of the most famous players in college football, he was a solid starting QB at Cal who completed 68.7% of his passes for 3,004 yards, 16 TDs and 6 INTs in 2024, with 2 rushing TDs. This season, including the three CFP games, Mendoza completed 72% of his passes for 3,535 yards, 41 TDs and 6 INTs with 7 rushing TDs.
There’s no reason Hoover can’t enjoy a similar uptick overall and put himself in the Heisman race in 2026 — and Indiana back in the CFP for a third straight year.
The Hoosiers also got him some high-upside help from the portal, landing WRs Nick Marsh from Michigan State (59 catches for 662 yards and 6 TDs in 2025), Shazz Preston from Tulane (43-723-4) and RB Turbo Richard from Boston College (749 rushing yards, 213 receiving yards and 11 total TDs.)
3. Texas WR Cam Coleman (from Auburn)
Speaking of top Heisman candidates, Texas QB Arch Manning is sure to top the list, and the Longhorns have added the top transfer wide receiver to his arsenal of weapons.
Coleman’s overall numbers don’t tell the whole story. He played in a putrid Auburn offense with major limitations in the passing game, yet he still put up 56 catches for 708 yards and 5 TDs as a sophomore this season.
Auburn ranked 99th out of 136 FBS teams in passing this past season (197.1 YPG), and that ranking would have been much lower even if not for Coleman doing things like this …
Coleman, a former five-star prospect ranked the No. 3 overall national recruit in the 2024 class by the 247Sports Composite, was just as good as a true freshman, totaling 36 catches for 598 yards and 8 TDs with an even higher yards-per-catch (16.2).
Texas missed the CFP in 2025 with three losses, in large part because Manning had some early struggles in his first season as a starter. By the end of the year, he was playing as well as any QB in college football and his cast of offensive playmakers is even better for 2026 — headlined by Coleman, who was ranked the No. 1 overall transfer this cycle by On3.
If the Longhorns remain one of the better defensive teams in the country while also delivering on their top-10 offensive potential, they will be among the top contenders for the national title.
4. LSU QB Sam Leavitt (from Arizona State)
Leavitt was actually ranked the top transfer QB by both On3 and 247Sports, and there’s no denying he’s a huge addition for LSU as Lane Kiffin brings his prolific offense to Baton Rouge.
LSU wasn’t anywhere near the CFP picture while going 7-6, but Kiffin was the headlining hire of the annual college football coaching carousel and arrives with expectations for immediate success.
He brought in 40 transfers to rebuild the roster with none more important than finding an established starting quarterback to build around.
After one season at Michigan State, Leavitt broke out in 2024 for Arizona State with 2,885 yards, 24 TDs and 6 INTs plus 443 yards and 5 TDs rushing in leading the Sun Devils to a surprise Big 12 title and CFP appearance.
His 2025 season was derailed by a Lisfranc foot injury that required surgery and limited him to seven games. He threw for 1,628 yards, 10 TDs and 3 INTs and rushed for 306 yards and 5 scores.
If LSU is going to get back to the CFP for the first time since its 2019 national championship season, Kiffin will need a big season from his new quarterback.
5. Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby (from Cincinnati)
Sorsby was one of the most expensive transfer portal additions (if not the most), receiving what was widely reported to be a deal in the range of $5 million for his final season of eligibility.
The well-funded Red Raiders are one of the programs best leveraging the NIL/revenue sharing era of college football, investing as heavily as any team in the country in the portal last year and seeing the payoff in the form of a Big 12 championship and CFP breakthrough. Losing many top players from that team, Texas Tech has again spent big in the portal to reload with 21 transfer additions.
Addressing quarterback was a paramount priority, though. Multi-year starter Behren Morton was out of eligibility, but also his significant struggles in Texas Tech’s deflating 23-0 CFP quarterfinals loss to Oregon underscored the need to upgrade at the position.
That’s what the Red Raiders are getting in Sorsby, who had a career year for Cincinnati, passing for 2,800 yards, 27 TDs and 5 INTs while rushing for 580 yards and 9 TDs.
How big of a move was this for Texas Tech? Big enough that prominent advertising was purchased in New York City’s Times Square to celebrate it.
Texas Tech should again be the favorite to win the Big 12. It remains to be seen whether its defense will be as elite as it was in 2024, after losing its top contributors and trying to reload through the portal, but its offense should be even better with Sorsby and other reinforcements.
6. Miami EDGE Damon Wilson II (from Missouri)
Miami is back on the list again. While the Hurricanes didn’t add a ton of volume through the transfer portal — just 10 additions not counting Mensah/Barkate — they hit one some big ones.
Wilson was one of the most coveted edge rushers on the market after posting 9 sacks, 13 quarterback hurries and an interception for Missouri this season. Per PFF, he had the third-most pressures in the SEC with 54.
A former five-star top-20 national recruit, per the 247Sports Composite, Wilson spent two seasons at Georgia before breaking out this past season with the Tigers and choosing to cash in again through the portal.
Wilson and Miami were an obvious mutual fit, as the Hurricanes are losing two elite edge rushers in Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor who are projected first-round NFL draft picks.
Given how much those two defensive disruptors factored into the identity of that Miami team, bringing in more star power on the edge was essential for Cristobal.
7. LSU LT Jordan Seaton (from Colorado)
It had seemed the top of the offensive tackle market had already played out when NC State standout Jacarrius Peak signed with South Carolina and huge 6-foot-5, 320-pound former top-100 prospect Carius Curne chose Ole Miss after starting half the games at LSU as a true freshman.
But then former five-star and two-year Colorado starter Jordan Seaton jumped into the portal late in the process, setting off a feverish recruiting battle between LSU, Oregon, Miami and Mississippi State.
LSU won out, landing Seaton’s commitment on Friday as one of the most significant remaining transfer pieces fell into place and Kiffin got his new star quarterback an elite blindside protector.
8. LSU EDGE Princewill Umanmielen (from Ole Miss)
More LSU Tigers.
What can we say, they brought in 40 transfers (while losing 33) and landed second on On3’s transfer portal rankings.
Among those 40, Kiffin brought four players with him from his former school Ole Miss, but none bigger than Umanmielen, who was ranked the top available edge rusher by both On3 and 247Sports.
The 6-foot-5, 245-pound pass rusher really just started to tap into his potential as a junior this year for the Rebels, after two quiet seasons at Nebraska. He finished with 44 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, a team-high 9 sacks and 13 quarterback hurries.
The best may still be to come for Umanmielen, who will be counted on to be a difference-maker for LSU’s retooled defense.
9. Texas RBs Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown (from NC State and Arizona State)
Yes, more Longhorns as well.
Texas saw almost its entire running back depth chart exodus to the portal, including leading rusher Tre Wisner (who landed at Florida State).
And yet, the Longhorns backfield looks even better heading into 2026 after two high-profile additions in Smothers and Brown.
Texas only ranked 90th nationally in rushing in 2025 (137.77 yards per game) with Wisner topping the team with a modest 597 rushing yards on 4.6 YPC. In addition to Wisner moving on, CJ Baxter (196 yards, 3.6 YPC) left for Kentucky, Jerrick Gibson (152 yards, 5.1 YPC) transferred to Purdue, Rickey Stewart Jr. is now at Stephen F. Austin after not playing as a freshman and little-used RB Colin Page landed at North Texas.
All in all, it looks like a net gain and an infusion of elite speed for the Longhorns.
Smothers (who started his college career at Oklahoma) had a breakout redshirt sophomore season at NC State with 939 rushing yards and 6 TDs on a robust 5.9 YPC plus 37 catches for 189 yards and a TD. He initially committed to Alabama out of the portal before Texas flipped him.
And Brown is also coming off a delayed breakout season. The former top-50 national prospect started out at USC and totaled 6 TDs as a true freshman despite his first season being undermined by a high-ankle sprain, got moved to slot receiver and chose to sit out and redshirt most of the next season, dealt with more injury setbacks in 2024 at Arizona State and then put it all together this past fall with 1,141 rushing yards and 4 TDs on 6.1 YPC with 34 catches for 239 yards and 2 TDs.
The 5-foot-9 Brown plays like he’s shot out of a cannon when he gets into open space, and he and Smothers should form a prolific tandem with each capable of game-breaking big plays.
10. Ohio State S Earl Little Jr. (from Florida State)
The son of the former Miami and NFL safety by the same name, Little was a highly recruited four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class who started out at Alabama but never found much of a role in two years there.
It took until his redshirt junior season in 2025 at Florida State for his potential to show through as he earned second-team All-ACC honors and was recognized by his team as FSU’s defensive MVP and Bobby Bowden Leadership Award honoree after leading the Seminoles with 76 tackles and 4 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles.
Ohio State had college football’s best defense during the regular season and loses arguably its best player in two-time AP First-Team All-America safety Caleb Downs.
Little may or may not be a direct replacement for Downs — Ohio State beat reporters suggest it could be Duke transfer Terry Moore stepping into that specific role with Little settling in at nickel — but either way he is a huge addition as a safety both solid and opportunistic in coverage but also a reliable factor against the run.
Special Mention
Texas A&M offensive line additions Wilkin Formby (from Alabama), Tyree Adams (LSU), Trovon Baugh (South Carolina) and Coen Echols (LSU)
None of those players would individually make the list, but Texas A&M lost four starting offensive linemen from its CFP team and managed to bring in four experienced SEC starters to replace them. Collectively, that’s a significant haul.
Formby started every game last season for Alabama, moving from right tackle to right guard midway through and seeming to benefit from the change.
Adams was LSU’s starting left tackle as a redshirt sophomore but was limited to eight games due to injury.
Baugh started 11 games at right guard for South Carolina in 2025 and played in 35 games overall in three years, earning Freshman All-SEC and Freshman All-American (from PFF) honors in 2023.
And Echols started eight games at left guard as a redshirt freshman for LSU.
The Wildcard
Ole Miss QB Deuce Knight (from Auburn)
Ole Miss is still hoping that star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss will win his legal challenge vs. the NCAA to receive an extra year of eligibility for 2026, but that remains uncertain.
Per CBSSports.com, Chambliss’ request for preliminary injunction to gain his eligibility will be heard Feb. 12 in the Calhoun County Courthouse in Pittsboro, Mississippi.
If Chambliss doesn’t get to play for the Rebels next season, though, Knight suddenly becomes one of the most intriguing quarterback storylines in college football.
He was a five-star prospect out of Lucedale, Mississippi, and the No. 5-ranked QB in the 2025 recruiting class, per the 247Sports Composite, but made only one start as a true freshman for Auburn. In that game, a late-season matchup against FCS-level Mercer, Knight put on an absolute showcase while completing 15 of 20 passes for 239 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs and rushing for 162 yards and 4 TDs on just 9 attempts.
There may not be a team in college football with a better backup plan at quarterback.
