Transfer Portal Stars
Taking a look at who really knocked the transfer portal out of the park using my rankings. A couple of things to note with that, in order to make my rankings you have to have played at least 9 games on the season, and averaged a certain numbers of snaps or targets or attempts, etc... In other words, there are plenty of guys who ranked high on 247's Transfer Portal rankings, that didn't make my season rankings because they got hurt (i.e. Sam Leavitt), or were buried on a depth chart (i.e. Quincy Porter). Also, keep in mind that my rankings only include the FBS and FCS, so no DII or below players make my list.
In order for a player to be taken into account for this project, they had to have ranked in the top 50% for their position in my rankings. The "Score" you see below is an average score per player signed. And last but not least, I include a "Good Move" section, looking at some signings where I felt the team did a good job of covering up for a player lost to the draft or the transfer portal.
THE STARS!
Houston
Total: 4
Score: 72.77
Analysis: The volume is low, but the score tops the list. With Conner Weigman returning after showing major improvement in 2025, Houston went to the portal to improve the O-Line. Their top three signings by my numbers were Shadre Hurst (#13 OG), Anthony Boswell (#21 C) and Drew Terrill (#49 OT). Fantastic job of fortifying the front.
North Carolina
Total: 4
Score: 68.77
Analysis: Belichick's second dip into the transfer portal results in the second highest score, mostly because they signed Taron Dickens, the highest ranked Quarterback on the season for my rankings. Their plan is to have a QB competition heading into the year, which is the smart move, and claiming Dickens to be the best guy in the bunch would be bullish since he's jumping from the FCS to the Power 4, but I still love the signing. They also grabbed Peyton Seelmann out of Richmond, the #20 ranked Linebacker on my board, I think he's going to thrive in Belichick's defense.
Texas Tech
Total: 10
Score: 67.46
Analysis: Arguably the biggest winner since they are third on my list by average score, and tied for third on my list by volume. While Brendan Sorsby was the biggest name they brought in on most people's boards, he was their second best signing by my numbers. Adam Trick, the Edge Rusher out of Miami (OH) was their top get to me, and they need him to be a hit since they're losing David Bailey. They also landed Trey White out of San Diego State to rush off the edge. And Jalen Jones, Wide Receiver out of Alabama State, rounds out the list of guys they landed that scored 75+ on the season.
Colorado
Total: 18
Score: 56.33
Analysis: Making of bunch of picks and seeing where you hit is a valid draft strategy and I feel like that's the direction Colorado was going. It probably costs an NFL team less to go that route than it did Colorado, but I digress. 13 of the 18 players to make their list were on the defensive side, and most of that talent will help revamp the front seven. Their four highest scorers by my numbers were DL Ezra Christensen, LB Gideon Lampron, and Edge Rushers Balansama Kamara and Lamont Lester Jr. (all were above 70 points). The additions of DeAndre Moore Jr. and Danny Scudero to the Receiver room, and Sean Kinney at Center (all three had scores in the 60s) should give whoever gets the start under Center a better supporting cast.
Oklahoma State
Total: 11
Score: 64.38
Analysis: Oklahoma State saw a mass exodus after their Head Coach was fired, but given how their season went last year, that's not the worst thing. 8 of the 11 players from this list, including the top 5 scorers, are following Eric Morris over from North Texas. Those top 5 were Caleb Hawkins (#2 RB), Wyatt Young (#12 WR), Drew Mestemaker (#13 QB), Ethan Wesloski (#16 LB), and Johnny Dickson III (#69 OG). They also landed my #135 and #145 Offensive Tackles in Joseph Hanson and Braydon Nelson (another guy from North Texas). This offense is going to look way different in 2026. And for those thinking, "but they're all a bunch of group of 6 players moving into the power 4." True, but it worked for Indiana when a good chunk of James Madison's roster followed Cignetti, so don't rule them out.
Wyoming
Total: 5
Score: 62.94
Analysis: When I was going through the "Under-the-Radar" article, I was really liking Wyoming's additions, so I'm not surprised they wound up as the highest rated Group of 6 team. Their biggest snag was Jeremiah Katt (my #40 OG) out of Northern Arizona. I also really liked the Tyler Hughes (#62 QB) and Thaddeus Giannaris (#105 Edge) signings.
GOOD MOVE:
Texas Tech/Miami/TCU - Quarterback: I had a hard time choosing between the three. In my opinion, and by my numbers, all three upgraded at the position. Tech and Miami are losing last year's starters to graduation/the draft, Behren Morton (#57) and Carson Beck (#58), and are replacing them with Brendan Sorsby (#9) and Darian Mensah (#20) respectively. TCU is losing Josh Hoover (#34) to Indiana, and they're bringing in Jaden Craig (#25) from Harvard. I have adjusted for level of competition played so Craig's ranking is after the adjustment, but that doesn't guarantee he'll be successfully making that big of a jump up, so we'll see.
James Madison - Nick Herman #39 RB: James Madison has seen a lot of turnover the last few seasons at Head Coach, and because of that, a lot of players followed those coaches out. An example of that was Wayne Knight (#30 RB) following Chesney out to UCLA. Not a super big deal for James Madison though, as they reloaded with Herman out of Drake. That isn't the only position that they got hit hard at, but definitely the best replacement they brought in.
Cal - Dorian Thomas #47 TE: ... and Ian Strong (#72 WR) and Chase Hendricks (#98 WR) and Ashten Emory (#110 RB). I'm cheating quite a bit with this one, cause it's not one player and it's not to cover-up a loss. However, Cal had the highest ranked true freshman QB (and 66th overall), Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, in the nation last year (Julian Sayin was a redshirt freshman). They took that and ran with it, bringing in several skill position players to stack around him. Sleeper team for the ACC next year?
Oregon - Michael Bennett #68 OT: Dante Moore returning for another year was a huge boost for Oregon's title hopes next season. However, they are losing their starting Left Tackle, Isaiah World, and keeping your QB upright is priority #1. Them snagging Michael Bennett, who hit the transfer portal from Yale, was a big win. Bennett played exclusively Right Tackle for Yale, but he at least gives the Ducks another option for figuring out their starting 5 in 2026.
Iowa - Kahmari Brown #90 Edge: I mentioned Adam Trick to Texas Tech in the section above, so I'll go a different direction down here. Iowa is losing Max Llewellyn to graduation/the draft, and with him goes 45 of their pressures from last season (per PFF). Not only is that 22.7% of their total pressures from 2026, he also had more than double the next highest player. The chances that Kahmari Brown comes in and replaces all that immediately is slim, but he'll have 2 more years of eligibility, and he did tally 70 total pressures at Elon over the last two seasons.
Texas - Rasheem Biles #2 LB: Anthony Hill, my #26 LB, is off to the NFL, which makes this signing gigantic for Texas. Biles wasn't just my #2 LB overall, he was also my #1 LB in the Power 4, narrowly edging out Jacob Rodriguez (by 0.21). Now he'll have a chance to double-down on that, while putting his name front and center for the 2027 draft.
