Stanford Football's Biggest Needs in the Transfer Portal

The transfer portal opens up today, so where could the Cardinal be looking for upgrades?

Nov 29, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; General view of the players for Stanford Cardinal after losing to Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

The Cardinal went 4-8 during the 2025 season, getting huge wins over Cal and Florida State, but also lost tough contests to North Carolina and most notably Hawaii in week zero. It was a year of growth, and their hiring of Tavita Pritchard as the head coach of the program continues to signal that better days are ahead.

All being said, Stanford had a positive year. Getting rid of their infamous 3-9 streak after four seasons as well as bringing the Stanford Axe back were the Cardinal’s two main goals during the year, and both were achieved.

But while the season was somewhat a success, there were surely a few downsides on their roster. In addition, a number of players will be leaving the program as they have exhausted their eligibility, while others still may transfer out. The biggest player that we know of that is set to transfer is running back Cole Tabb, who played a huge role as Micah Ford's backup this past season.

These moves will mean that Stanford has some work to do in the portal. Here are the main positions of need that Stanford will be looking to make an upgrade or two.

Quarterback

Stanford has had underwhelming quarterback play over the last few seasons, and now it looks like the perfect time to go after a player in the portal. With a lot of funds available as well as a great quarterback-building program with the likes of Andrew Luck, Frank Reich, and Tavita Pritchard in office, Stanford could be looking at some of the top quarterbacks in the portal this offseason.

Landing a top quarterback could immediately change the trajectory of the program as we begin 2026.

Offensive Line

During the Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw eras, Stanford thrived off positive O-line play. However, recently the Cardinal have heavily struggled with their play on the offensive line.

This past season, the numbers were terrible, especially when Simione Pale and Nick Fattig both missed time due to injury. Coach Pritchard alluded to needing an upgrade here in his press conference, and he’s absolutely right. Not only is getting a quarterback a big need, but so is keeping him standing upright.

Wide Receiver

Stanford came into the year losing their top two receivers, one to the draft, and the other to the portal. In fact, they lost almost every single wide receiver on the roster. Going into next year, they return David Pantellis, who suffered a torn ACL and was out for the year, but lose out on the majority of their production yet again.

CJ Williams and Bryce Farrell will be gone due to graduation, and that’s not even counting potential transfers. If Stanford wants to build their passing identity back, having key receivers is key. The one bright side is that we could see the long-awaited debut of JonAnthony Hall in 2026, after the highly touted recruit missed his freshman season.

Safety

This past season, Stanford’s safety room was phenomenal. The three-headed monster of Scotty Edwards, Jay Green, and Mitch Leigber were massive to the defensive success the Cardinal saw, especially down the stretch.

However, all three are seniors, and they are going to have to find two key players to make up for the losses on that front. If they fail to do so, Stanford is going to be letting up an abundance of long balls next season.

In past seasons, Stanford has done a subpar job at retaining talent on both sides of the ball. But this year, things appear to be headed towards a change. Coach Reich pointed the Cardinal in the right direction in their rebuild, and now it's Pritchard’s turn to make the necessary moves to bring Stanford back to the golden days.