College football winners, losers in 2025 spring transfer window

Rosters across college football are undergoing another face lift as another tidal wave of players step into the spring transfer portal window.

College football's winners and losers after the 2025 spring transfer portal shakeups. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Most of college football’s eventual transfer players made their journey back during the winter period, but the spring window still saw a few notable players swap schools in time before the start of fall camp heading into the 2025 season.

Most notably, Tennessee and UCLA. The two schools pulled off what could be called the first trade in college football history, although they didn’t actually coordinate the moves, essentially swapping quarterbacks during the spring transfer period.

What college football teams came away from the spring window as winners? And as losers?

Winner: Oklahoma

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Brent Venables won six games in his third year with the Sooners and the school’s first in the SEC, putting enormous pressure to get things right this time around.

He brought on former Washington State quarterback John Mateer, who put up over 3,100 yards passing and scored 44 all-purpose touchdowns a year ago, alongside offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle.

Add in running back Jaydn Ott, the former Cal star, and Oklahoma should have one of the more improved offenses in the SEC.

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Loser: California

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Losing the likes of Ott was high on the checklist of things Cal couldn’t afford to endure this offseason, but his departure was one of five backs the program lost to transfers this year.

That brings the number of outgoing players to 18 for Cal this year, including another major loss in the form of tight end Jack Endries.

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Winner: Penn State

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Drew Allar is back, and while he also has two star backs in Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen returning as well, the quarterback needed some more options at wide receiver.

Kyron Hudson from USC and Devonte Ross from Troy are two important gains for the offense, but none more so than Trebor Pena after he had 941 yards and 12 touchdowns a year ago at Syracuse.

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Loser: Syracuse

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The loss of Pena was tough for the Orange offense, which was hoping to build around him as it looks to a future without quarterback Kyle McCord.

But not only did Syracuse lose a productive wide receiver. It also saw promising defensive tackle Maraad Watson jump into the portal and landed with Texas.

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Winner: UCLA

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DeShaun Foster’s backfield just got a lot better, and at just the right time after the Bruins lost a ton of outgoing offensive production.

Nico Iamaleava tops the list for UCLA, which signed the former Tennessee quarterback after a highly-publicized split from Rocky Top in which he asked for -- or didn’t ask for, according to his friends -- more NIL money from the Vols.

He’ll certainly make less at Westwood, but the Bruins clearly upgraded at the position in a big way. Now the question is if they can do the same for his protection after a dismal year protecting the quarterback.

Jaivian Thomas, Cal’s leading rusher a year ago, will sit behind Iamaleava after posting over 600 yards rushing and 7 touchdowns last season.

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Loser: Stanford

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The sudden coaching transition from Troy Taylor to placeholder Frank Reich saw a ton of players exit the program this spring, including two lineman and an important receiver.

Emmett Mosley led ACC freshmen with 48 catches for 525 yards and 6 touchdowns, but swapped the Cardinal for SEC contender Texas this spring.

That’s in addition to edge rusher David Bailey and offensive lineman Jake Maikkula.

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Winner: Texas Tech

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Arguably college football’s biggest transfer winner all offseason, the Red Raiders also made an important gain this spring by poaching Bailey away from Stanford.

The edge rusher has 111 stops with 21.5 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks in his career and was fourth in FBS a year ago by forcing five fumbles.

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