No. 1 college football team linked to underrated prospect in transfer portal

Colorado finished a disappointing 2025 campaign after the program’s 2024 surge, falling to 3–9 (1–8 Big 12) one year after a 9–4 season and No. 23 final AP ranking under third-year head coach Deion Sanders.

Adding insult to injury, the Buffaloes are now set to lose numerous players, with 24 players expected to enter the transfer portal when the window opens on Friday.

The most surprising name on the list, however, is true freshman cornerback Noah King, who entered the transfer portal earlier this month.

King was a four-star prospect from Hamilton, Ohio, with 247Sports ranking him as the No. 26 cornerback in the 2025 class.

He arrived at Colorado in April 2025 after a brief enrollment at Kansas State, transferring just months after signing with the Wildcats on December 4, 2024.

Prior to his commitment to Kansas State, King held more than a dozen Power Four offers, including Kentucky, Nebraska, West Virginia, Marshall, and Oregon State.

With King set to test the market, multiple outlets have mentioned Indiana as a program monitoring his situation or viewed as a logical fit.

Indiana Hoosiers football team. — The Hoosiers celebrate after the Indiana versus Wiscsonsin football game at Memorial Stadium. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Head coach Curt Cignetti has rapidly transformed Indiana since his hire on November 30, 2023.

In 2024, he engineered one of the program’s quickest turnarounds, delivering a then-program-record 11-win season, Indiana’s first College Football Playoff berth, and national coach-of-the-year recognition.

Building on that momentum, the Hoosiers completed an undefeated 13–0 regular season in 2025, captured the Big Ten title, and entered the College Football Playoff as the No. 1 seed — a rise fueled by targeted transfer additions, improved recruiting, and a physical, high-tempo identity Cignetti installed.

One of those transfer additions was Heisman-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who completed 71.5% of his passes for 2,980 yards, 33 touchdowns, and six interceptions.

Under Cignetti and Mendoza, Indiana now has a legitimate chance to compete for a national title, with a CFP quarterfinal matchup set for Thursday against No. 9 Alabama in the Rose Bowl (4:00 p.m. ET on ESPN).

If the Hoosiers advance, they would face the winner of the No. 4 Texas Tech–No. 5 Oregon matchup in the CFP semifinals, with a potential national championship game on January 19 looming.

As an Ohio native, Bloomington represents a logical fit for King due to the Midwest pull, and after redshirting his first year at Colorado, he would have a clearer path to playing time.

Indiana’s recent success, defensive back development, and growing NFL attention make it an attractive landing spot for a young, highly recruited cornerback seeking to develop and compete for championships.

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