College Football Program’s ‘Portal House’ Fails to Deliver Top 50 Transfer Class

The NCAA transfer portal has emerged as arguably the most crucial roster-building tool in all of college football.

The Indiana Hoosiers used the portal to go from being the losingest program in college football history to completing the sport's third-ever 16-0 season, and winning their first national championship. They also became the first program to defy CBS Sports' Blue-Chip Ratio, which requires teams to have at least 50% of their roster be four and five-star recruits in order to win a championship.

With there only being one transfer portal window this year, the pressure around the country on programs to make the right additions ramped up even more.

In an effort to focus solely on the portal while also generating some buzz online, the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes announced they'd be operating from a "portal house."

"Throughout the portal window, the Portal House will also provide fans with an inside look at how the transfer portal operates and how it fuels roster building for the future," read the statement. "Coverage across Tulsa Football's social media platforms will document the process and energize the Golden Hurricane fanbase heading into the 2026 season."

The house, which served as their "home base" allowed for players to take visits and for coaches to have access to all the amenities needed as they looked for top portal additions.

While it was certainly a creative idea, it didn't necessarily lead to a monster class for the Golden Hurricanes.

Tulsa head coach Tre Lamb talks to the press after an NCAA football game. | NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

According to 247Sports' transfer portal rankings, Tulsa finished with the No. 78 transfer portal class in college football. A mark that was good enough for fourth in the American.

The class is headlined by three-star Oklahoma State EDGE transfer, Kyran Duhon who totaled 16 tackles in his lone season in Stillwater. A couple of other notable additions were Kennesaw State quarterback transfer Dexter Williams II, who threw for 787 yards and six scores this past season for the Owls, and former four-star running back recruit and Auburn transfer Damari Alston.

Lamb led Tulsa to a 4-8 record in his first year as the head coach this past season, and given that the transfer portal house garnered so much attention, it does seem fair to assume that there will be plenty of eyes on the Golden Hurricanes when the 2026 season rolls around.

Tulsa will open its season against the new-look Oklahoma State Cowboys, whom it actually upset this past season.