No. 1 transfer portal WR expected to get 'huge offer' amid national interest

The NCAA transfer portal has officially reached its halfway point for college football players to declare their intentions to leave their current schools. The portal opened on Jan. 2 and will close on Jan. 16.

Thousands of players across the college football world have already begun their hunt for new programs to compete for in 2026. This portal cycle features a mass realignment of offensive skill players across the Power Four landscape.

One significant offensive skill player on the move in the 2026 offseason is former Auburn wide receiver Cam Coleman. He will have two seasons of eligibility remaining at his second school.

The 6-foot-3, 201-pounder was recruited to Auburn by Hugh Freeze as a key component of the 2024 recruiting class. Coleman was a consensus five-star prospect and the best wide receiver in the 2024 recruiting cycle.

The Tigers featured Coleman in 10 of their 12 games in 2024. Coleman was the second most productive wide receiver behind KeAndre Lambert-Smith that year, making 37 catches for 598 yards and eight touchdowns. The SEC named Coleman to its All-Freshman Team for his promising freshman campaign.

Coleman became Auburn's most productive wide receiver in the 2025 season. He grabbed 56 receptions for a team-high 708 yards and five touchdowns. The Tigers decided to move on from Freeze after their loss to Kentucky, and Coleman joined the mass exodus of transfers leaving Auburn in the 2026 offseason.

Cam Coleman makes a diving effort for a catch against Texas A&M. — Texas A&M Aggies cornerback Will Lee III (4) breaks up a pass intended for Auburn Tigers wide receiver Cam Coleman (8) | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

The urgency for major programs to land Coleman out of the transfer portal this offseason is just as high as it was when he was coming out of high school. He is currently ranked as the best receiver in the portal and a top-five prospect in the portal as a whole.

Pete Nakos of On3 mentioned that Coleman is expected to command a significant amount of NIL compensation from his next school. Nakos mentioned the schools competing for Coleman on a recent edition of "Crain and Cone."

"I was able to confirm that he showed up to Texas Tech, so he's in Lubbock right now," Nakos said. "Alabama is expecting him later in the week. He was not there yesterday. I would say it's wide open; Texas feels good, (Texas) A&M feels good, (Texas) Tech is going to feel good because they're going to put a huge offer on the table. I'd be lying to you if I knew where he was going."

As Nakos mentioned, Texas Tech will likely make a lucrative offer to Coleman to join the Red Raiders in 2026. Texas A&M had Coleman committed for several months in the 2024 recruiting cycle before he flipped to Auburn on Early Signing Day, a bridge the Aggies could revisit soon.

Phenix City, Alabama, is Coleman's hometown, which means the closest in-state Power Four school to transfer to is Alabama. Texas is looking for wide receivers to start alongside Ryan Wingo, a void Coleman could fill should he transfer there.

Cam Coleman dives for a ball in the Iron Bowl. — A pass intended for Auburn wide receiver Cam Coleman (8) falls incomplete during the game with Alabama | Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images