Major college football program predicted to land elite defensive transfer

One of the most coveted defensive players in college football's transfer portal is on the move, and an expert has predicted he could land with a major program in the Big Ten.

Ron Chenoy | Imagn

College football programs are already deeply involved in the transfer portal scramble in an effort to acquire the right players for next season, and one major Big Ten contender could be on the cusp of landing an elite defensive back from the portal.

Former Oklahoma State cornerback Carrington Pierce is currently trending towards the USC Trojans, according to a prediction from On3 Sports.

A top defensive prospect

USC and head coach Lincoln Riley already secured the No. 1 ranked recruiting class heading into 2026, and landing a player like Pierce would put the program in position to finish among the top transfer classes, as well.

Pierce entered the transfer portal after Oklahoma State fired head coach Mike Gundy and although he didn’t play this past season, saw action at Chaffery junior college.

The cornerback had two-dozen stops with 3 tackles for loss while breaking up 6 passes and intercepting 3 more at Chaffrey, a remarkable debut for a player who was only in his first year of playing football at any level.

USC is competing with the likes of Nebraska, Toledo, and San Diego State for Pierce.

How the college football transfer portal works

The NCAA Transfer Portal is a private database that includes the names of student-athletes in every sport at the Division I, II, and III levels. The full list of names is not available to the public.

A player can enter their name into the transfer portal through their school's compliance office.

Once a player gives written notification of their intent to transfer, the office puts the player's name into the database, and they officially become a transfer.

The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player's request and NCAA rules forbid anyone from refusing that request.

The database includes the player's name, contact information, info on whether the player was on scholarship, and if he is a graduate student.

Once a player's name appears in the transfer portal database, other schools are free to contact the player, who can change his mind at any point in the process and withdraw from the transfer portal.

Notably, once a player enters the portal, his school no longer has to honor the athletic scholarship it gave him.

And if that player decides to leave the portal and return to his original school, the school doesn't have to give him another scholarship.

(On3)