College football transfer portal winners and losers: Who could be the next Indiana?

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College football transfer portal winners and losers: Who could be the next Indiana?

Bryan Logan, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Wed, Jan 21, 2026 ·

9 min read

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College football transfer portal winners and losers: Who could be the next Indiana? appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

The 2025 season has come to a close, and Indiana has won the national championship . As they built a roster with major help from the College Football Transfer Portal , other teams will surely look to copy the success. With the transfer portal slowing down, it is time to look at who won and who lost in the portal this year.

The transfer portal ended up with a major change this year. The window was compressed to just a singular window from January 2 to 16. Players could signal their intention to enter the portal before January 2, but could not enter until that day. Further, players can sign after January 16, but had to have been in the portal by that date. Players from Miami and Indiana got an extra five-day window for playing in the National Championship, running from January 20 through 24.

Multiple star players on playoff teams were found in the portal before the 2025 season. Ole Miss made a run to the CFP semifinal with transfers Trindad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy . Texas Tech won the Big 12 after having the second-best transfer haul in 2025, according to 247Sports. Their haul included Will Jados on the offensive line and star receiver Reggie Virgil , plus Cole Wisniewski on the defensive side of the ball.

Both teams in the national title game also had major help from the portal. Miami had the third-ranked class, which included Carson Beck , defensive standout Xavier Lucas, and wide receiver Keelan Marion . Then there is Indiana, where Fernando Mendoza was a transfer from Cal, while D'Angelo Ponds, Aiden Fisher , Mikail Kamara , Elijah Sarratt , and Kaelon Black all joined Curt Cignetti from James Madison before the 2024 campaign. As others try to replicate the success of the Hooisers, some teams succeded and others failed.

Winner: Texas gets help for Arch Manning

Arch Manning needed help. The team was not great on offense. With existing holes, players leaving, and graduation, the offense needed players. They brought in Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown at running back, the second and fifth-ranked transfer backs. They also added Melvin Siani, the third-ranked offensive tackle, to help protect Manning. The big win was a new target for Manning, as Texas snagged Cam Coleman from Auburn . He will be a major player in the Longhorn offense in 2026. Adding in three defensive players that were ranked in the top ten of their respective positions, Texas is primed to compete in 2026.

Loser: Iowa State sees players leave with their coach

Iowa State lost head coach Matt Campbell to Penn State , and with that, 55 players entered the portal. Of the 22 players who started at the end of the season, six graduated, 15 hit the portal, and just one, Ikenna Ezeogu, will be back in 2026. While Jimmy Rogers brought players with him from Washington State , they lost more than they brought in. The top incoming transfer is Isaac Terrrell from Wazzu. Meanwhile, 18 players who left the program had a higher ranking than Terrell according to 247Sports. Iowa State was 8-4 in 2025, and will not reach that mark next year with the amount they lost.

Winner: The Lane Train is rolling at LSU

It was a slow and drama-filled start to the transfer portal for Lane Kiffin as he moved from Ole Miss to LSU. Still, Lane got the train rolling, sitting with the number one transfer class according to 247Sports. The big need for LSU was at quarterback, and they have filled that with the best transfer in the portal, Sam Leavitt. Joining him will be Husan Longstreet and Eugene Wilson III , both solid targets for Leavitt. The floodgates opened after Ole Miss was eliminated from the playoffs, as Princewill Umanmielen , Devin Harper , Winston Watkins , and TJ Doettery all joined their former coach.

Loser: Alabama loses too many players

© SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Alabama has a solid group of transfers coming into the program. They brought in 15 recruits, and four of them have four-star rankings. Still, this is about what they lost in the process. Overall, 21 players are leaving the program. This includes defensive linemen James Smith and wide receiver Isaiah Horton , the two top-ranked players entering or exiting. Of the top ten players that were in the portal connected to Alabama, just three of them are incoming transfers, while the other seven are players leaving the program. Meanwhile, of the 80 top players in the portal, six of them are players who left the Tide. While the team is still competitive in the NIL landscape, they are not as competitive as the top end, leading to them being on the losing side.

Winner: Indiana will not fall off

Indiana is historically one of the worst programs in college football history, but has made the playoffs in back-to-back years, with one national title. This is the situation where a drop off could happen, but it is not going to. Indiana is losing 12 players to the portal, but the one with the most impact is Alberto Mendoza, the backup quarterback and little brother of Fernando. Meanwhile, Curt Cignetti brought in Nick Marsh to replace Elijah Sarratt, Josh Hoover to replace Fernando Mendoza, and Joe Brunner to beef up the offensive line. They have the seventh-ranked transfer class and will be making a run again in 2026.

Loser: Alex Golesh fails at Auburn

Auburn has brought in 34 new players, but unlike other coaches in new spots, Alex Golesh failed to attract the top talent from USF, his former employer, outside of Byrum Brown . Meanwhile, the team lost 37 players, with many of the top guys heading to other SEC schools. Coleman was one of the few five-star players in the portal, as he leaves Auburn. Meanwhile, Deuce Knight, Eric Singleton Jr. , Amaris Williams , and Jay Crawford were all four-star ranked players with starting experience, and all are heading to SEC rivals. This does not include other starters who will be heading outside the SEC. Auburn did not bring in enough to replace them, and it will show next season.

Winner: Oklahoma State is building again

Alex Golesh struggled to bring in his former players and new players to Auburn. Eric Morris did not. Oklahoma State has fallen off in the last two years. After playing for the Big 12 Championship in 2023, the team has won just four games in the last two seasons and is 0-18 in conference play. The Cowboys are building again towards returning to a solid spot. They brought in 54 transfers, including Drew Mestemaker , Caleb Hawkins , and Wyatt Young, which will make a massive difference for the offense. Adding to the positives of the haul, Mestemaker and Hawkins still have three years of eligibility, while Young has two. This team may not contend in 2026, but will in 2027.

Loser: North Texas almost lost every major player

On the flip side of Oklahoma State, North Texas was decimated by the transfer portal. Eric Morris rebuilt North Texas with a group of young players. Not only did they lose Mestemaker, Hawkins, and Young, but many of their backups are gone as well. North Texas lost its top four ranked recievers to the portal, three of them heading to Oklahoma State. Meanwhile, Reese Poffenbarger , who would have competed to replace Mestemaker, is off to Akron. For North Texas, it was not just the top end leaving, but much of the depth that helped make them contenders.

Winner: Virginia Tech has momentum in the ACC

Virginia Tech was a major winner in the portal with the haul they brought in with new head coach James Franklin. Franklin has lured a bunch of top-level players from Penn State , including Ethan Grunkemeyer , Jeff Exinor Jr., and Luke Reynolds . Virginia Tech is going to be able to make a turnaround in the ACC. Only two teams in the ACC have a better transfer portal ranking than Tech. Louisville is two spots ahead of Virginia Tech, while California sits 13th. The team may take some time to see success come into fruition, but with how open the ACC could be, they will be in a great spot.

Loser: Duke is not repeating in the ACC

Duke went 7-5 in the regular season, but with a 6-2 record in conference play, they won a five-way tiebreaker to play for the ACC Championship, which they won over Virginia. Then, Duke was blindsided by Darian Mensah entering the transfer portal . With almost every other quarterback gone from the portal, losing Mensah would take them out of contention quickly. Adding to that, one of his top receivers, Que'Sean Brown, is also gone. The defense took a major hit, too, with the loss of Terry Moore. Still, losing QB1 without a plan to replace them gives a team the L almost automatically.

Winner: Texas Tech is a top transfer destination again

Heading into the 2025 season, much was made of how good the transfer class was for Texas Tech. They are near the top of the rankings again this year. Texas Tech is the eighth-ranked class in the transfer portal, bringing in 20 players. The big player was Brendan Sorsby , who will be the new starting quarterback and an upgrade over Behren Morton . The biggest losses for Texas Tech from the 2025 squad were on the offensive line and front seven of the defense, but Joey McGuire addressed those, too. On defense, Mateen Ibirogba, Adam Trick, and Austin Romaine are set to fill major gaps. They also brought in interior offensive lineman Jordan Church to reinforce the line. The Big 12 has not had a repeat champion since Oklahoma won six in a row from 2015 through 2020. They may get one this year with Texas Tech.

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