Ohio State and Notre Dame both started transfer quarterbacks in January’s national championship game. Three of four College Football Playoff semifinalists started a transfer quarterback. Half of the teams in the entire bracket had a transfer quarterback under center.
No position better embodies the new landscape ushered in by the transfer portal and the elimination of the one-year redshirt rule.
But while shuffling quarterbacks dominate transfer headlines, every Bowl Subdivision team is digging into the portal to replace starters, develop depth and unearth potential diamonds among another team’s castoffs.
Some programs do this better than others. As we look ahead to the 2025 season, transfers at quarterback and elsewhere are guaranteed to shape FBS conference races and the chase for the national championship. These teams did the best job reloading through the portal:
1. LSU
Top three transfers: EDGE Patrick Payton (Florida State), WR Nic Anderson (Oklahoma), WR Barion Brown.
LSU loaded up edge rushers, interior linemen and receivers in an effort to reverse a recent dip under coach Brian Kelly. Payton had 32 tackles for loss and 16 sacks in his three years with the Seminoles. Brown is also a game-changing talent in the return game. Anderson, Brown, and Oklahoma tight end transfer Bauer Sharp will make an immediate impact.
2. Texas Tech
Top three transfers: OT Howard Sampson (North Carolina), EDGE Romello Height (Georgia Tech), DT Lee Hunter (Central Florida).
Few programs have been more adept at mining the portal, with a big boost from some of the nation’s most robust NIL offerings. This class is loaded with help on both lines, with Sampson and Miami (Ohio) transfer Will Jados set for starting roles on the offensive front. Another addition to watch on offense is Louisiana-Lafayette tight end transfer Terrance Carter, who had 689 receiving yards last season.
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3. Oregon
Top three transfers: OT Isaiah World (Nevada), OL Emmanuel Pregnon (Southern California), RB Makhi Hughes (Tulane).
Oregon’s transfer class is small, but the 10-player group packs a punch. The star is World, maybe the best overall player in this year’s portal. Pregnon will slot into the interior of the line and contend for all-conference accolades. Hughes is a difference-making running back who went for a combined 2,779 yards and 22 rushing scores the past two seasons.
4. Mississippi
Top three transfers: OL Patrick Kutas (Arkansas), EDGE Princewill Umanmielen (Nebraska), TE Luke Hasz (Arkansas).
The two Arkansas transfers will play huge roles for a team with genuine playoff credentials. While not a finished product, Umanmielen flashed in spurts for the Cornhuskers. Lane Kiffin was able to bring in a bunch of receivers to help new quarterback Austin Simmons, including Harrison Wallace III (Penn State) and De’Zhaun Stribling (Oklahoma State).
5. Missouri
Top three transfers: EDGE Damon Wilson II (Georgia), WR Kevin Coleman Jr. (Mississippi State), QB Beau Pribula (Penn State).
Pribula is the marquee transfer after playing well in relief of Drew Allar last season. His ability to handle the load as the starter should define Missouri’s 2025 season. Overall, Missouri continues to do very well finding high-impact, day-one starters in the portal, including Wilson and Coleman from within the SEC and edge rusher Nate Johnson (Appalachian State) and running back Ahmad Hardy (Louisiana-Monroe) from the Group of Five.
6. Miami (Fla.)
Top three transfers: QB Carson Beck (Georgia), CB Xavier Lucas (Wisconsin), CB Charles Brantley (Michigan State).
The quality of this transfer class may not be determined until Beck shows he has recovered from last season’s arm injury and can reclaim his place among the top NFL draft prospects at the position. The class will also provide a major upgrade at cornerback. Brantley is scheduled to compete for one of the starting jobs once he gets healthy; he’ll miss the spring dealing with a leg injury suffered late last year. Lucas ended up at Miami after a controversial exit from Wisconsin and has the tools to develop into a stopper on the outside.
7. Auburn
Top three transfers: WR Eric Singleton Jr. (Georgia Tech), OL Xavier Chaplin (Virginia Tech), OL Mason Murphy (Southern California).
This group will help transform the offense. Former Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold is the expected to grab the starting job, though his returns with the Sooners fell short of expectations. Arnold will be able to throw to holdover Cam Coleman and newcomers in Singleton and Wake Forest receiver transfer Horatio Fields. The defensive haul lacks the same type of impactful transfers but has several younger players with the potential to develop nicely, including LSU linebacker transfer Xavier Atkins.
8. Florida State
Top three transfers: WR Duce Robinson (Southern California), EDGE James Williams (Nebraska), OL Luke Petitbon (Wake Forest).
There are fewer headliners in this year’s class than in the recent past, which may not be a bad thing after last season’s top-ranked transfer group flopped on arrival. Players such as Williams could supply a huge spark in rotational roles; the Nebraska transfer would be a weapon on third down, for example. The class also features a new starting quarterback in Boston College transfer Thomas Castellanos, who played under new Florida State coordinator Gus Malzahn at Central Florida.
9. Nebraska
Top three transfers: OL Elijah Pritchett (Alabama), WR Dane Key (Kentucky), OL Rocco Spindler (Notre Dame).
The Cornhuskers acquired two plug-and-play offensive linemen in Pritchett and Spindler, with Pritchett set to step in at left tackle. Key should be the team’s leading receiver, while young Kentucky transfer Hardley Gilmore might take a year to develop. Nebraska also added one of top Group of Five defenders in former Georgia Southern linebacker Marques Watson-Trent and some needed flexibility in the back seven in Oklahoma transfer Dasan McCullough.
10. Wisconsin
Top three transfers: QB Billy Edwards Jr. (Maryland), TE Tanner Koziol (Ball State), DL Parker Petersen (Tulane).
Wisconsin lost several key pieces to the portal, including Lucas, running back Tawee Walker (Cincinnati) and wide receiver Will Pauling (Notre Dame). The Badgers could offset those departures with an 18-member transfer class headlined by the in-conference addition at quarterback and a potential breakout talent in Koziol. Idaho wide receiver transfer Mark Hamper averaged 20.1 yards per catch last season and could provide a major spark to the passing game.