College football's top 5 transfer portal commitments so far

Just under 48 hours after the opening of the portal, some blue-chip prospects have already found homes.

Former North Texas QB Drew Mestemaker is the top-ranked commitment so far in the early days of the portal season. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Less than 48 hours into the transfer portal window, there's already been a handful of top talents who have found landing spots. While many of the nation's top players are just starting to figure out visits, others have the portal decision completely wrapped up.

According to On3's rankings, here are the top five transfer portal commitments who made near-instant decisions on their portal destination.

Drew Mestemaker, North Texas QB to Oklahoma State

A nearly out-of-nowhere star at North Texas, Mestemaker passed for 4,379 yards and 34 touchdowns for the Mean Green and coach Chad Morris. So when Morris hit the road for a new job following Oklahoma State legend Mike Gundy, Mestemaker didn't need much time to make his decision. He's got three seasons to play and is now the presumptive starter at an Oklahoma State team that will need plenty of help to rebuild off a 1-11 season in 2025.

Benjamin Brahmer, Iowa State TE to Penn State

Iowa State tight end Benjamin Brahmer is one of the best early commitments of the early days of the transfer portal window. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

A 6'6" middle of the field target, Brahmer had a quick jaunt in the portal. Last year, he snagged 37 passes for 446 yards and six touchdowns. He also had a big 2023 season with an injury-plagued 2024 in between. Brahmer's coach, Matt Campbell took the Penn State job following the departure of James Franklin. Brahmer followed him to State College and should help Penn State's passing game in 2026, which will be his final year of eligibility.

Abu Sama, Iowa State RB to Wisconsin

A 5'11" back, Sama has been a steady contributor through three seasons of college football. He ran for 732 yards and five scores in 2025 at Iowa State, which brought his career numbers to 1,933 yards and 13 touchdowns. Like Brahmer above, Sama had played for Matt Campbell. But he didn't follow his prior coach, instead moving on to Wisconsin, where Luke Fickell needs to juice up a ground game that had no back running for more than 363 yards in 2025.

Noah McKinney, Oklahoma State OL to TCU

McKinney started his career at UNLV and saw extensive action there in 2023 before missing most of the season in 2024. He came to Oklahoma State and was part of the disastrous 1-11 season in 2025. McKinney has now left OSU to finish up his college career with a season at TCU. The Horned Frogs averaged 30.7 points per game in a nine-win season in 2025 and McKinney should see early time there.

Houston Thomas, Texas-San Antonio TE to Texas A&M

Thomas posted back-to-back seasons with 34 receptions for UTSA in 2024 and 2025. For his career, he has 78 catches for 918 yards and five touchdowns. The 6'4", 245 pound target is moving on from UTSA for his final college season at Texas A&M. Two of A&M's top three pass-catching tight ends in 2025 were seniors, so Thomas should get a shot.