Five transfers most likely to impact the College Football Playoff race in 2026

There are still some dominoes to tumble yet in the college football transfer portal, but most of the big names have settled at new schools by now as rebuilt rosters take shape.

Countless transfers will make a big impact in 2026, but a few will truly transform the College Football Playoff race.

Here are five that should leave their mark in a major way.

Former Auburn wide receiver Cam Coleman was a big addition for Texas in the transfer portal. — Cam Coleman had 56 catches for 708 yards and 5 TDs last season for Auburn despite the Tigers' collective offensive struggles. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

1. WR Cam Coleman at Texas

Just imagine if Cam Coleman played in any offense but Auburn's last season, with a better quarterback than Jackson Arnold trying to get him the ball.

Well, it's not a hypothetical now.

Coleman entered the transfer portal after two seasons with the Tigers and chose Texas after also visiting Alabama, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.

The latter three were playoff teams this year, but the addition of Coleman and others just might make Texas a top national championship contender in 2026.

Look past Coleman's raw stats, which were impressive, 93 receptions for 1,306 yards and 13 TDs over two seasons, and consider the context that he did that in an offense that ranked tied for 99th this past season in passing at just 197.1 yards per game. With 56 catches for 708 yards and 5 TDs, Coleman had nearly half of Auburns' 11 TD receptions.

Or just watch the highlights.

CAM COLEMAN ONE-HANDED TD SNAG🤯

(via SECN)
pic.twitter.com/FnixrqMIhS
— On3 (@On3) November 9, 2025

There's a reason Coleman was a five-star recruit ranked No. 3 overall prospect (at any position) in the 2024 class and No. 2 in On3's transfer portal rankings.

Now, he gets to play with quarterback Arch Manning, who finished this past season on a tear and is primed to be a top Heisman Trophy candidate in 2026.

Texas narrowly missed the playoffs due to a bad mid-season loss at Florida, while Manning was still finding himself in his first year as a starter.

The Longhorns have made major upgrades on the offensive side through the transfer portal to support him, including running backs Hollywood Smothers (from NC State) and Raleek Brown (Arizona State), but Coleman is a true difference-maker who can elevate that unit to elite status.

Josh Hoover passed for 9,629 yards, 71 touchdowns and 33 interceptions in his time at TCU and has now transferred to Indiana. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

2. QB Josh Hoover at Indiana

Yes, this is a special Indiana team having a special season that it may never match again, but betting against Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti seems a perilous proposition.

The Hoosiers have reloaded through the transfer portal and could well be right back in the playoff chase again in 2026, and if that happens, a big part of it will be the addition of TCU transfer Josh Hoover at quarterback.

While Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza hasn't publicly addressed his NFL draft plans (he has another year of eligibility), the fact that Cignetti and the Hoosiers brought in Hoover signals that there's no doubt Mendoza will be moving on to the next level.

And to replace him, Indiana got about the most experienced and prolific passer available on the transfer market.

Hoover took over as TCU's starter midway through his redshirt-freshman season in 2023 and went on to pass for 9,629 yards, 71 touchdowns and 33 interceptions (plus 8 rushing TDs) in his time with the Horned Frogs.

He set TCU's single-season passing record in 2024 with 3,949 yards and followed up this past season with 3,472 yards for 29 TDs and 13 INTs.

Indiana has their new QB1 for this fall in Josh Hoover.

7,421 passing yards & 56TDs the past two seasons at TCU. Obviously one of the top QBs in the portal.

Can air it out downfield with the best of them. With Marsh, Becker, etc. it’ll be fun.
pic.twitter.com/ebNE3rst8t
— Garrett Armbrust (@4thandsaturday) January 4, 2026

The one criticism of Hoover's game is that he'll take chances with the ball, but his downfield playmaking ability is also what makes him one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in college football. If he tightens up some of that decision-making and embraces the efficient style Mendoza played with at Indiana, he could be in line for a career-best season overall in 2026.

Cignetti has had two transfer quarterbacks in his two years with the Hoosiers, and both had their best seasons with him.

Kurtis Rourke transferred in from Ohio University out of the MAC and completed a career-best 69.4% of his passes, up from 63.5% the previous season, for 3,042 yards, a career-high 29 TDs and just 5 INTs for Indiana in 2024.

Mendoza transferred in from Cal, where he had never thrown for more than 16 TDs in a season while starting most of two years for the Bears. In his lone season at Indiana, he's completed 73% of his passes (up from 68.7%) for 3,349 yards, 41 TDs and just 6 picks and might now be the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

Indiana and Cignetti should help Hoover's draft stock as well, but the veteran quarterback -- along with other big transfer additions like WRs Nick Marsh (from Michigan State) and Shazz Preston (Tulane), RB Turbo Richard (Boston College), CB A.J. Harris (Penn State) and EDGE Tobi Osunsanmi (Kansas State) -- also gives the Hoosiers a chance to make another run at the playoffs next year.

Texas Tech upgraded at quarterback with the addition of Cincinnati transfer Brendan Sorsby. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

3. QB Brendan Sorsby at Texas Tech

For much of the season, it felt like Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby was one of the most underrated players in college football.

But he certainly wasn't undervalued in the transfer portal.

Texas Tech reportedly gave Sorsby in the range of $5 million, per ESPN's Pete Thamel, to sign and then paid for prominent advertising in Times Square in New York City to promote his addition to the roster.

Transfer QB Brendan Sorsby is welcomed to Texas Tech with a giant billboard in Times Square 🔥🍎🗽

(Via @LIFTSPORTSMNGMT) pic.twitter.com/CgiK1OYd3v
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) January 6, 2026

What a time to be alive.

It's no surprise the Red Raiders would break the bank to find a quarterback, though. Three-year starter Behren Morton was out of eligibility, but more to the point, Morton's struggles in Texas Tech's 23-0 CFP quarterfinals loss to Oregon, in which he passed for just 137 yards, 0 TDs and 2 INTs, exposed the weakness of the loaded roster.

Sorsby actually started out at Indiana and transferred to Cincinnati during the coaching change that brought Cignetti to Bloomington, and one has to wonder what regrets he has about that move.

But nonetheless, he established himself as one of the Big 12's top players in two seasons with the Bearcats, passing for a combined 5,613 yards, 45 TDs and 12 INTs with 1,027 rushing yards and 18 TDs in that time.

Sorsby had a career-best year in 2025, totaling 2,800 passing yards with an elite ratio of 27 TDs to just 5 INTs and a career-high 580 rushing yards (5.8 yards per carry) and 9 TDs.

I wonder who people are going to compare Brendan Sorsby to when he does some of this stuff in a Texas Tech uniform pic.twitter.com/r9P619vPdu
— Ryan Roberts (@RiseNDraft) January 9, 2026

He'll have plenty of help in Lubbock, as Texas Tech sits No. 1 in On3's transfer portal rankings with 18 additions while reloading after its CFP breakthrough. Despite losing a ton of star power on the defensive side, the Red Raiders should be among the favorites in the Big 12 again next year -- with Sorsby providing a nice upgrade at the most important of all positions.

Quarterback Sam Leavitt led Arizona State to the College Football Playoff in 2024 and will now look to do the same for LSU. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

4. QB Sam Leavitt to LSU

Sure, LSU was 7-6 this past season and nowhere close to the CFP picture, but a lot has changed since then.

Lane Kiffin bolted Ole Miss before its playoff run because he believed LSU gave him a better chance overall at chasing national championships, and given the absolute circus that move became, the expectations and pressure will be immediate for Kiffin in Year 1 in Baton Rouge.

One of his top priorities was finding a quarterback to lead his perennially prolific offense, and it's going to be Arizona State transfer Sam Leavitt.

Leavitt may not be the best raw talent on this list, but he's a talented quarterback and proven leader who led the Sun Devils to the playoffs in 2024, one of the biggest surprise teams of that season.

After playing in four games as a true freshman at Michigan State, Leavitt transferred to Arizona State and broke out as a redshirt-freshman in 2024 with 2,885 passing yards, 24 TDs and 6 INTs, plus 443 rushing yards and 5 TDs while leading the Sun Devils to 11 wins, the Big 12 title and the CFP.

His 2025 season was marred by a season-ending foot injury as he passed for 1,628 yards, 10 TDs and 3 INTs with 306 rushing yards and 5 scores in just seven games.

He's now the face of LSU's rebuild as the Tigers have landed 24 transfers as of Wednesday morning. It's too early to project just how quickly Kiffin can get the Tigers into national contention, but again, the expectations in Baton Rouge will be immediate, and if that's going to happen in 2026, it will be in part because of Leavitt delivering in a big way.

And if it works out that way, it wouldn't be the first time LSU has cashed in big on a former Arizona State QB.

A Sun Devil star QB transfers to LSU.

It's a story we've seen before.

It worked out well for Jayden Daniels.

Will Sam Leavitt find the same fame and fortune?@FOX10Phoenix pic.twitter.com/Of7EnfdSMX
— Blake Niemann (@Blakes_Take2) January 13, 2026

Former NC State star running back Hollywood Smothers flipped his transfer decision from Alabama to Texas. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

5. RBs Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown to Texas

That's right, another slot for the Longhorns on this list.

Texas saw most of its running back depth chart -- including leading rusher Tre Wisner -- depart to the transfer portal, but the Longhorns reloaded in a big way.

Texas added not one but two of the best running backs on the transfer market in former NC State star Hollywood Smothers and former Arizona State playmaker Raleek Brown.

Smothers initially committed to Alabama on Jan. 6, but flipped his decision days later to Texas. It's an interesting landing spot for Smothers, who started his college football career at Oklahoma before spending the last two seasons at NC State. He rushed for 939 yards and 6 TDs on 5.9 yards per carry this past season, adding 37 catches for 189 yards and a TD through the air.

Brown is also coming off a breakout season. After starting his career at USC and dealing with injury setbacks both there and in its first year at Arizona State, the lightning-fast 5-foot-9 running back put it all together this season with 1,141 rushing yards and 4 TDs and 6.1 YPC with 34 catches for 239 yards and 2 TDs.

That tandem should be one of the best in the SEC, and coupled with Manning, Coleman and the rest of the Longhorns' playmakers Texas could have one of the top offenses in college football.