The 2026 NCAA transfer portal has opened for all college football players seeking different surroundings. The portal opened on Friday and will remain so until Jan. 16.

Over 3,000 college football players have chosen to transfer to new programs for the 2026 season. While the headlines have focused on quarterbacks in the 2026 transfer portal cycle, many important offensive skill players are also on the move across the college football landscape.

The most important of these offensive skill players in the transfer portal 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 by Hugh Freeze to Auburn in the Tigers’ 2024 recruiting class. Coleman appeared in 10 games during his freshman season, grabbing 37 receptions for 598 yards and eight touchdowns. He was voted to the SEC All-Freshman Team by his coaches that season.

Coleman saw an increase in production with the Tigers in the 2025 season. He made 56 catches for a team-high 708 yards and five touchdowns. Auburn finished the season 5-7, and Freeze was let go following the Tigers’ home loss to Kentucky.

Auburn hired former USF head coach Alex Golesh as its next head coach in late November. Coleman is one of a bevy of players from Auburn’s 2025 roster who have entered the transfer portal following Golesh’s hiring.

Coleman was a consensus five-star prospect in his initial recruitment to Auburn, ranking as the No. 2 receiver in the class of 2024. As a transfer, Coleman has the No. 1 overall ranking of receivers in the 2026 portal cycle.

While Coleman has been linked to several major programs in college football and will likely receive considerable compensation at his next stop, NIL packages are not among his top priorities in the portal. Pete Nakos of On3 reported that Coleman is visiting a handful of Power Four programs but is not likely to make a decision solely based on monetary value.

“There is confidence in multiple camps that they can offer the best opportunity for Coleman,” Nakos said. “Money is not going to be the deciding factor in this recruitment, even though sources have said his deal could be in the $2 million range.”

Texas A&M was the first of a trio of visits Coleman had set in the portal. He was committed to the Aggies for four months before flipping to Auburn on Early Signing Day in the 2024 recruitment cycle. Additional visits include stops at Texas Tech and USC, a pair of programs looking to stock up on wide receivers after losses in the offseason.

The NCAA transfer portal and the allowance of players to be paid for their name, image, and likeness (NIL) are undoubtedly the biggest driving forces behind the changes in college football.

The era of players waiting their turn at one school to play, or certain programs building dynasties off of being the best at paying players under the table, is no more. Now, programs that can get donors to scrounge together the most cash are in prime position to contend, which has led to new-age powerhouses like Indiana, Texas Tech and Ole Miss emerging.

With the NCAA transfer portal opening on Jan. 2, there have already been over 4,000 entries, but not every player will be getting the big bucks. The caliber at the top of the portal is as high as we have ever seen it, and some of college football’s most valuable players have found, or are in the process of looking for a new landing spot.

That said, let’s take a look at the players in the NCAA transfer portal with some of the highest NIL valuations, according to On3.

Byrum Brown (Auburn via USF)

To the surprise of no one, Byrum Brown followed his head coach, Alex Golesh, to Auburn. The 6-foot-3 dual-threat quarterback threw for 3,158 yards with 28 touchdowns, while also rushing for 1,008 yards and 14 more scores en route to leading the Bulls to a 9-3 regular season record.

NIL Valuation: $1.6 million

Beau Pribula (Missouri), Cam Coleman (Auburn), Cutter Boley (ASU via Kentucky)

The Missouri Tigers lost their star quarterback, who led them to a 6-1 start to the season, in what was really his first chance to start. Unfortunately an injury derailed his season and their momentum, but Pribula is still viewed as a high-end starter in college football.

As for Cam Coleman, the now-former Auburn wide receiver is due for a massive payday. Some reports have revealed he could earn as much as $2 million. He is ranked as the No. 1 overall player in the transfer portal, and very well could move up this list.

A Kentucky native, Boley impressed as the starting quarterback for the Kentucky Wildcats this season. He replaced Zach Calzada as the starter after two games, throwing for 2,160 yards with 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, while completing 65.8% of his passes. While there was obvious room for improvement, he steps into an Arizona State situation where he will be throwing to Colorado wide receiver transfer Omarion Miller and playing for one of the best offensive minds in the country, Kenny Dillingham.

NIL Valuation: $1.8

Dylan Raiola (Nebraska), DJ Lagway (Florida), Josh Hoover (Indiana via TCU)

Dylan Raiola was tabbed as the quarterback who would bring Nebraska back to prominence, but instead, his season was ended early due to an injury, and the writing was on the wall that he was leaving. Matt Rhule fired his uncle from the coaching staff, and his younger brother, who is a 2026 quarterback recruit, backed off his pledge. Raiola may not be an elite-tier quarterback, but he has a big arm and some creativity that could make him an intriguing add.

Similar to Raiola, who was also a five-star with plenty of hype, injuries plagued DJ Lagway at Florida. In his first full year as the starter, Lagway threw for 2,264 yards with 16 touchdowns and a brutal 14 picks. His spring camp saw him throwing at a limited capacity, and he also dealt with various other knicks along the way.

Josh Hoover will enter the 2026 season as college football’s leading returning passer, accumulating 9,629 yards at TCU. He will look to keep the hype train going at Indiana, as he is set to replace projected No. 1 overall pick, Fernando Mendoza.

NIL Valuation: $2 million

Drew Mestemaker (OK State via UNT)

If you love an underdog story, you’ll love Drew Mestemaker’s journey. He went from not starting a varsity game at quarterback in high school to leading college football in passing yards with 4,379. While he likely could have gone to any school he wanted, he decided to follow North Texas coach Eric Morris to Oklahoma State.

NIL Valuation: $2.3 million

Sam Leavitt (Arizona State)

The biggest domino that has yet to fall in the transfer portal is Leavitt, who is expected to command a massive payday in the portal. His numbers weren’t as eye-popping as 2024 when he led the Sun Devils to the College Football Playoff, but his dual-threat ability and elite ceiling has some of the biggest programs in the country knocking on his door.

NIL Valuation: $3.1 million

Brendan Sorsby (Texas Tech via Cincinnati)

Brendan Sorsby changed the trajectory of his career with the season he had in 2025. The former Indiana quarterback threw for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns, while throwing just five picks. He also added nine more touchdowns on the ground, and is an early contender for the top spot in next year’s draft. Going to Texas Tech not only put him on a title contender, but earned him what reports are calling a $5 million payday.

NIL Valuation $3.3 million

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Maxwell Football Club executive director Mark Wolpert announced that West Virginia University football signee Matt Sieg was named the 2025 National High School Player of the Year by the Maxwell Football Club, marking the 19^th year that this honor will be presented at the Club’s National Awards.

Sieg is the first WVU signee to earn the Maxwell Football Club’s High School Player of the Year Award and it marks the first time a Mountaineer football recruit won a national high school player of the year award since Robert

Alexander was named Parade Magazine Back of the Year in 1976.

Sieg also was named a High School All-American by the Maxwell Football Club. He was a three-time Pennsylvania Football Writers’ Class 1A All-State First Team honoree, the all-time leading rusher in Fort Cherry High School

history and the WPIAL 1A Player of the Year.

Sieg authored one of the most historic careers in WPIAL history, finishing with a 49–7 record, two WPIAL championships (2023, 2024) and league records in total offense (12,592 yards) and touchdowns (139). A generational dual-threat, he became just the second player in WPIAL history to surpass 4,000 rushing and 4,000 passing yards in a career, while also setting league marks as the first player to reach 5,000 rushing yards and 3,000 passing yards and to rush and pass for 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons.

 

As a senior, he totaled 2,259 all-purpose yards and 30 touchdowns while adding 45 tackles and four interceptions on defense, leading Fort Cherry to a 12–1 record and a WPIAL 1A semifinal appearance. The four-time Black Hills Conference Offensive MVP ranks No. 2 in WPIAL career rushing (7,941 yards) and stands as Fort Cherry’s all-time leading rusher and passer, earning consensus four-star status and national rankings from ESPN, 247Sports\ and Rivals.

 

The formal presentation of the National High School Player of the Year Award will be held on Saturday, March 14, 2026, at the Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. The Maxwell Football Club will also be presenting its other national awards from college through the professional ranks at the event.

The website Sports Casting recently published data that pointed to Texas as the program with the nation’s biggest purse strings related to name, image, and likeness incentives for this year’s transfer portal, ahead of in-state juggernauts such as Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and others. Texas has $23 million in NIL funding, in fact, according to a graph Sports Casting published earlier today.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT THE LONGHORNS

247Sports: With Michael Masunas’ commitment, veteran Texas tight ends are under the spotlight in a crowded room

Inside Texas: Inside Texas Portal Intel: Cam Coleman, RB dominoes, and OL plans

ICYMI IN BURNT ORANGE NATION

247Sports: Texas Football Transfer Portal Tracker: All the Texas scoop, rumors, comings & goings as Longhorns fill roster

247Sports: Notes and nuggets from check-in day at the Navy All-American Bowl

247Sports: HoopHall West: New Year’s resolutions for every top-50 prospect

247Sports: Transfer Portal Intel: Latest updates on top players, led by team to watch for Sam Leavitt, as dominoes fall

247Sports: Arizona State’s Raleek Brown trending to Texas: How does he compare to outgoing RB Tre Wisner?

247Sports: Elite 2027 CB Duvay Williams’ visits come into focus at 2026 Navy All-American Bowl

Inside Texas: Texas Longhorns Portal Recruiting Intel: Latest from numerous Horns targets, coaches on road

Inside Texas: Texas’ early portal additions are creating a firm foundation

Inside Texas: How did Texas’ 2025 portal class fare this past season?

Inside Texas: Transfer Portal Reality Check: It’s okay to be frustrated, just don’t panic

Rocky Top Talk: LSU offensive tackle Ory Williams commits to Tennessee

A Sea Of Blue: Kentucky flips 4-star recruit Andre Clarke Jr. from Michigan

SB Nation: Baltimore Ravens’ 5 best head coaching options after John Harbaugh firing

SB Nation: The Panthers aren’t NFL’s worst playoff team ever, because this team is

SB Nation: TGL: Atlanta Drive GC stays undefeated in title defense with 7-4 win over The Bay

NEWS ACROSS LONGHORN NATION AND BEYOND

Indiana posted a major day in the early January transfer portal window, adding multiple experienced transfers on Sunday, including TCU quarterback Josh Hoover, Michigan State wide receiver Nick Marsh, and Boston College running back Turbo (Hanovii) Richard.

Hoover is a redshirt junior with a high-volume TCU resume, throwing for 9,629 career yards and 71 touchdowns with a 65.2% completion rate.

He set the Horned Frogs’ single-season passing record in 2024 with 3,949 yards (27 TDs, 11 INTs) and followed it up with another productive campaign in 2025, totaling 3,472 yards with 29 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

Hoover is expected to enroll in January and is the projected heir apparent if Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza departs for the NFL.

Marsh is a 6-foot-3 receiver who led Michigan State in receptions and receiving yards in consecutive seasons, posting 41 catches for 649 yards and three touchdowns in 2024, followed by 59 receptions for 662 yards and six scores in 2025.

Richard entered the portal after a breakout 2025 season, rushing for 749 yards and nine touchdowns on 145 carries (5.2 yards per carry) across 11 games, while also contributing in the passing game with 30 catches for 213 yards and two receiving touchdowns.

Safeties Preston Zachman (Wisconsin) and Jiquan Sanks (Cincinnati), edge prospects like Tobi Osunsanmi (Kansas State) and Joshua Burnham (Notre Dame), and Chiddi Obiazor (Kansas State) have all reportedly transferred to Indiana as well.

On Sunday, Josh Pate described Indiana’s portal approach as “swinging wildly” and landing most of those swings, a shorthand for the Hoosiers’ aggressive, high-volume pursuit of established starters during the opening days of the transfer window.

“Indiana is swinging wildly, and it will probably shock approximately none of you to learn that they are landing every punch that they swing with,” Pate said.

“Josh Hoover, TCU quarterback, that’s who Curt Cignetti has circled, and so he is next in line to be a future Heisman finalist in Indiana… Nick Marsh, who I was really high on this past year, and then Michigan State was terrible, he’s headed to Indiana too… So Indiana is making some big moves here.”

Indiana completed a historic run in 2025, winning the Big Ten and advancing through the College Football Playoff, including a 38–3 win over No. 9 Alabama in the Rose Bowl (CFP quarterfinal) to enter the CFP semifinals as the No. 1 seed (14–0 at that point).

Head coach Curt Cignetti’s roster rebuild has relied heavily on the portal since his arrival, bringing in high-impact portal QBs such as Kurtis Rourke (Ohio) and then Fernando Mendoza (Cal), both of whom started and helped accelerate the program’s turnaround.

By landing established contributors, especially a high-volume quarterback and proven skill-position players, Indiana changes the odds for 2026 by signaling to recruits and opponents that the program is built to last rather than flash.

Read More at College Football HQ

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