College football transfer portal: What teams will be most active?

These college football teams could be interested in making a move in the spring transfer portal window?

What college football teams could be on the lookout for a fresh injection of talent in the spring transfer portal window? | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

College football’s second transfer portal window opens today, giving teams another opportunity to get a closer look at the best players on the move ahead of the 2025 season and fine-tune their rosters coming out of practice and looking ahead to summer and fall camp.

Granted, most of the real blue-chip talent already made their transfer decisions back during the active winter portal window, but we’ve already seen a couple of bombshell transfer moves this spring, including quarterback Nico Iamaleava and tailback Jaydn Ott.

Ott is already taken, signing with Oklahoma, but Iamaleava remains by far the biggest name on the board, and we’ll see what kind of offers he’ll get and what options remain open to him.

For some teams, the prospect of signing a transfer could help beef up a roster in terms of quality backups or a needed starter to log snaps while incoming freshmen find their way.

Let’s take a look at some of the college football teams we can expect to be active over the next 10 days and beyond as the NCAA’s spring transfer portal window opens up.

North Carolina

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Quarterback could be an area of interest as Bill Belichick fields his first team as a collegiate head coach, but the Tar Heels are also interested in building depth on both lines and at linebacker.

Rumors have connected, and then disconnected, North Carolina to former Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava, and there’s also talk that UNC could target South Alabama’s Gio Lopez.

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Colorado

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Wherever there’s a transfer portal, Deion Sanders will be interested. Coach Prime has scored nearly 100 transfers during his tenure with the Buffaloes, and he was active in 2025, as well.

Kaidon Salter was a key pickup. The former Liberty quarterback is an uber-productive dual threat player, and Colorado also added some pieces on both lines of scrimmage.

FCS receiver Sincere Brown was a notable acquisition for the Buffs’ offense. He scored 12 times and covered over 1,000 yards last year, but Sanders needs more to replace what he’s lost.

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Miami

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Sure, the Hurricanes already made waves in the portal when they signed former Georgia starting quarterback Carson Beck to replace Cam Ward, solidifying the most important position.

Who will Beck throw to? Miami lost four receivers, leaving just 10 percent of its total catches from a year ago. CJ Daniels and Alex Bauman are good pickups, but there’s always room for more receivers.

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Ole Miss

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Portal King Lane Kiffin was predictably busy during the first transfer window, picking up 20 commitments during the winter, especially at receiver, in the secondary, at linebacker, and on the offensive line.

Kiffin and the Rebels will take a look at what’s on the shelves this spring in the hopes of potentially picking up some more help in the defensive backfield after ranking 86th against the pass, and possibly at running back.

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Tennessee

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Josh Heupel got a big, unwelcome surprise in the days before the portal opened when it emerged that quarterback Nico Iamaleava wanted a new NIL deal, didn’t get it, and then watched as he departed the program.

With him goes most of the Volunteers’ offensive continuity, and Heupel confirmed he and his staff will be looking for a quarterback to throw into the ring alongside his two remaining scholarship QBs.

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USC

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Going 7-6 in the Big Ten isn’t what Southern Cal hired Lincoln Riley for, and he needs to get some quick returns on both sides of the ball coming into 2025.

USC improved its position during the first transfer window, adding three defensive backs to build its secondary, scoring wideout Prince Strachan, and adding tailback Eli Sanders.

But the Trojans’ defense is always an area of concern. The unit improved last year under D’Anton Lynn’s direction, but still needs reinforcements in the front seven.

Keeshawn Silver and Jamaal Jarrett were two additions on the defensive line, but more bodies are needed to rush the passer.

And while there was some speculation USC would go after Iamaleava, that talk has died down and it no longer appears they’ll be interested in the quarterback.

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