The college football preview series rolls on today at SB Nation. We’ve already released our preseason Top 25, and shared our early look at Heisman Trophy contenders.
Now it is time to talk transfers.
It is a brave new world in college sports, particularly on the gridiron.
The importance of the transfer portal stands out each offseason, as players look for new landing spots and coaches try and rebuild rosters each winter. That leads to fans trying to figure out exactly who is where once the games begin in the fall.
We here at SB Nation are here to help.
While this is by no means an exhaustive list, here are 20 transfers who will shape the 2026 college football season.
Players are listed in alphabetical order.
UNLV hopes to reach the top of the Mountain West Conference, but a lot of those hopes rest on the arm of Jackson Arnold. A five-star coming out of John H. Guyer High School in Texas, he began his college career at Oklahoma and was named the starter for the Sooners to begin the 2024 season, but was ultimately benched in favor of true freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. He transferred to Auburn, where he started eight games a year ago, but now gets a chance to play for Dan Mullen.
Rocco Becht, QB, Penn State
It was not a surprise when Rocco Becht followed Matt Campbell to Penn State. Becht is the most experienced starting quarterback in the entire FBS, with 39 career starts, 26 wins, and more than 2,500 offensive snaps under his belt. With former Cyclones coming with him such as tight end Benjamin Brahmer and running back Carson Hansen, he should hit the ground running despite dealing with offseason surgery on his non-throwing shoulder.
Will Muschamp takes over as the defensive coordinator at Texas, inheriting a unit that gave up an average of 20.31 points a year ago, ranking 28th in the nation. Muschamp will have talent on all three levels, including incoming linebacker Rasheem Biles, who comes over from Pittsburgh. Biles racked up 100 total tackles last year — 39 of those solo — while adding a pair of forced fumbles and two more interceptions. He is also a two-time All-ACC selection, having been named to the Second Team last year after being a Third-Team All-ACC selection in 2024.
South Florida got off to an incredible start last year, winning a pair of games against ranked opponents including an 18-16 win against Florida in Gainesville to jump into the Top 25. Late-season losses to Memphis and Navy, however, doomed their chances of a spot in the AAC title game.
Head coach Alex Golesh left for Auburn, and took his quarterback with him.
Byrum Brown had a magical 2025 campaign, completing 66.3% of his passes while throwing for 3,158 yards and 28 touchdowns. He also ran for 1,008 yards, becoming just the 12th player in FBS history to throw for 3,000 yards while running for 1,000. He was a Second-Team All-ACC selection, and accomplished all this after graduating from South Florida last fall magna cum laude, with a 3.77 GPA in Health Sciences.
Now he and Golesh are hoping to turn things around at Auburn.
Cam Coleman caught 56 passes for 708 yards and five touchdowns last year at Auburn. Now the 6’3 wide receiver is in Austin, where he will be catching passes for Arch Manning.
With Texas hoping to make a run to the national championship, getting a running mate for Manning was a priority this offseason. Coleman is expected to fill that role, and fill it well.
John Henry Daley, DE, Michigan
Last year at Utah, John Henry Daley recorded 11.5 sacks off the edge for the Utes, placing him among the nation’s leaders.
With Kyle Whittingham headed to Michigan, Daley followed, bringing that presence off the edge to Ann Arbor. He’ll join a defensive line that includes returning starter Trey Pierce on the inside, and rising senior Cameron Brandt on the other edge.
If the All-American continues to produce, the Michigan defense could be one of the best units in the Big Ten this season, if not in all of college football.
Ashton Daniels, QB, Florida State
Mike Norvell begins the 2026 season firmly on the hot seat, after the Seminoles finished 5-7 a year ago — and just 2-6 in the ACC. Florida State is just 7-18 since missing the College Football Playoff at the end of the 2023 season, and the early schedule could spell doom for Norvell. The Seminoles begin the year with games against New Mexico State and SMU, before making a trip to Tuscaloosa to play Alabama. Add in an early October stretch with games at Louisville and at Miami, and it could be rough seas.
And Norvell’s hopes for righting the ship rest on the arm of transfer quarterback Ashton Daniels, who comes to Tallahassee from Auburn. Daniels showed promise during stints at Stanford and Auburn, but has thrown 24 touchdowns — and 22 interceptions — over his time in college.
Caleb Hawkins, RB, Oklahoma State
Incoming quarterback Drew Mestemaker is not the only key transfer coming to Stillwater. Running back Caleb Hawkins — Mestemaker’s teammate at North Texas — is making the move as well, following head coach Eric Morris to Oklahoma State.
Hawkins is a dynamic two-way threat, as he set the record for FBS touchdowns by a true freshman last year with 29, four of those coming through the air. He also scored 25 TDs on the ground, as he ran for 1,434 yards on 231 carries, averaging 6.2 yards per attempt.
If he maintains that level of production, Oklahoma State could get right into the mix in the Big 12, and he could play himself into the Heisman picture as well.
This time last year, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti was in the middle of a process that would turn Fernando Mendoza into a Heisman Trophy winner, and the Hoosiers into a national champion.
That process begins anew with Josh Hoover.
With Mendoza off to the Las Vegas Raiders — and his brother off to Georgia Tech where he is expected to be the starting quarterback for the Yellow Jackets — in comes Josh Hoover from TCU. Hoover has the production (he has thrown for nearly 10,000 yards and 71 touchdowns over 36 starts) but will need to cut down on the interceptions (he threw 13 in 2025 after throwing 11 in 2024) if he is going to fill Mendoza’s big shoes.
Makhi Hughes, RB, Houston
After rushing for nearly 3,000 yards over two years at Tulane, Makhi Hughes entered the transfer portal ahead of the 2025 season. He picked Oregon, hoping to be part of a Ducks offense that featured quarterback Dante Moore and had its eyes on a Big Ten title.
But Hughes was forced into a reserve role, and had just 17 carries last season. He entered the portal once more, and is now expected to be a key part of a Houston offense under offensive coordinator Slade Hagle and head coach Willie Fritz. If the Cougars are going to make a run in the Big 12, they’ll need him to return to the form he showed at Tulane.
Lincoln Kienholz, QB, Louisville
In the eyes of many, the Miami Hurricanes are expected to finish the year atop the ACC. But several teams hope to deny Miami that title, including Louisville.
Kienholz was a three-star recruit coming out of high school in South Dakota, but his status as a dual-threat QB drew attention from several schools, and he ultimately committed to Ohio State after initially picking Washington. He pushed Julian Sayin for the starting spot last summer, but after losing that training camp battle he entered the portal at the end of the season.
Head coach Jeff Brohm has enjoyed success with transfer quarterbacks in the past — Jack Plummer is a prime example — and Kienholz could be the next player on that list.
Following two mixed seasons at Florida, DJ Lagway arrives in Waco hoping for a fresh start … on the same campus where his father was a running back over two decades ago.
And he arrives just in time, as the Bears are hoping to turn things around quickly after a 5-7 finish a year ago, which has the pressure squarely on the shoulders of head coach Dave Aranda, who enters 2026 with a 36-37 record at Baylor. Aranda needs to win, and win now, and he’ll need something special from Lagway this year to pull that off.
Along with running back Cam Skattebo, Sam Leavitt was a big reason the Sun Devils made a run to the College Football Playoff in 2024. That season Leavitt completed 61.7% of his passes for 2,885 yards and 24 touchdowns, and Arizona State secured the No. 4 seed in the bracket. While they lost to Texas, it was a dream campaign for Leavitt and the Sun Devils.
Last year was a different story, and Leavitt suffered a foot injury early in the year that eventually cost him his season due to surgery.
But now he has a new home in Baton Rouge, and a new coach in Lane Kiffin. Kiffin and the Tigers are going to be a national story all year long, and Leavitt will again be a big part of that story.
Darian Mensah was part of a Duke roster that surprised everyone by winning the ACC Championship Game. Last year he completed 66.8% of his passes for 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns, against just six interceptions.
But after a long transfer process — that included litigation filed by Duke alleging he violated an NIL deal with the school — Mensah is now at Miami.
If you are wondering, Duke visits Hard Rock Stadium in mid-November.
Drew Mestemaker, QB, Oklahoma State
If you were wondering who the “next Fernando Mendoza” might be, Drew Mestemaker is a potential place for a wager.
Mestemaker was a backup quarterback during his time at Vandegrift High School in Austin, Texas, and saw more action on defense and as a punter than he did under center. A zero-star recruit, he walked on at North Texas and was the team’s fifth-string quarterback prior to his freshman year. But he won the backup job in camp, and started in North Texas’ bowl game, completing 26-of-41 passes for 393 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and ripped off a 70-yard touchdown run as well, in the loss to Texas State.
Mestemaker won the starting job for 2025, and threw for 4,379 yards and 34 touchdowns, leading the nation in passing yardage. And when Eric Morris took over at Oklahoma State, he followed his coach to Stillwater.
Dan Lanning saw the bulk of his draftable players return to campus for another run, including starting quarterback Dante Moore. But one key departure came on the defensive side of the ball, as Dillon Thieneman opted to enter the 2025 NFL Draft.
While it was a great move for the safety, who came off the board in the first round to the Chicago Bears, it left a hole at the back of Oregon’s secondary. Enter Koi Perich from Minnesota. The safety recorded 83 tackles — 39 of them solo — a year ago along with an interception, and should slot into Oregon’s secondary nicely.
Curt Cignetti lost a ton of talent from last year’s title team, particularly in the wide receiver room. While Charlie Becker returns, Omar Cooper Jr. is in the AFC East with the New York Jets, and Elijah Sarratt is in the AFC North with the Baltimore Ravens.
But as he has done before, Cignetti worked wonders in the transfer portal. Signees include Josh Hoover, the quarterback previously discussed, and Nick Marsh, who joins the Hoosiers after leading Michigan State in receptions (59), receiving yards (662) and receiving touchdowns (six) last season.
If the Hoosiers are going to stay atop the Big Ten, they’ll need a big year from Marsh alongside Becker.
James Smith, DT, Ohio State
Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia lost several key starters to the NFL this spring, as Caleb Downs, Sonny Styles, and Arvell Reese all came off the board in the first round, and defensive tackle Kayden McDonald joined them early in the second.
James Smith, the Alabama transfer, will help replace some of that talent.
Smith was a five-star recruit coming out of high school, and after serving as a backup in 2023 he took over as a rotational player in 2024. Last year he was a starter at Alabama, and will now be counted on to replace McDonald on the interior and help Ohio State remain one of the best defenses in the nation, particularly against the run.
Princewill Umanmielen, DE, LSU
Princewill Umanmielen took on a big role for Ole Miss last season, recording nine sacks off the edge (tied for the third most in the SEC), leading the team. He was a Third-Team All-SEC selection at the end of the year, a season that included 15 quarterback pressures and three pass breakups.
But when Lane Kiffin left for Baton Rouge, Umanmielen entered the transfer portal, as the top-rated edge rusher available. Ultimately, he decided to follow Kiffin for Baton Rouge, joining fellow Ole Miss standout linebacker TJ Dottery at LSU. If that group of faces new and old can gel quickly, this could be a very good defense.
Trey White, DE, Texas Tech
Texas Tech’s run to the College Football Playoff last season was built on the defensive side of the ball, as the Red Raiders were among the nation’s best in several statistical categories. But with players like David Bailey and Jacob Rodriguez now in the NFL, replacing that talent is going to be critical to Texas Tech’s hopes this season.
Trey White is one of those new faces in Lubbock, arriving from San Diego State. Over the past two years, White has recorded 19.5 sacks off the edge, and if he can replace just some of Bailey’s production from last year, this defense will be good once more.
