One of the more sought-after quarterbacks in the college football transfer portal may be trending towards one school, but two more candidates appear to have emerged in the arms race to secure a passer who had more than 3,400 passing yards this season.

TCU quarterback Josh Hoover announced his intention to enter the NCAA transfer portal last month, and while the top team in this year’s College Football Playoff quickly emerged as a likely landing spot, a pair of in-state rivals are also in the mix.

Indiana remains the favorite to earn Hoover’s commitment out of the portal, but now Kentucky and Louisville are both in the conversation as the quarterback scouts a new school for the 2026 football season, according to a report from On3 Sports.

Hoosiers still on top

In the midst of the single-greatest season in its history, Indiana is still the consensus favorite to earn Josh Hoover’s commitment out of the transfer portal.

ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel revealed that Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers are poised to target Hoover as the heir apparent to Fernando Mendoza when their current starting quarterback ultimately leaves the program for the NFL Draft.

“The final domino that will unfold is Fernando Mendoza,” Thamel said when appearing on ESPN.

“The widespread expectation in the NFL is that Mendoza is going to go pro after the season. He obviously just won the Heisman Trophy.”

He added: “To replace him, I’ve been told Indiana is expected to target Josh Hoover, the former TCU quarterback. Hoover was initially committed to Indiana out of high school.”

Mendoza is currently under center for No. 1 overall seed Indiana and coming off a 35-point win against Alabama in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal round this week.

But when he decides to finally exit the program, the Hoosiers will be in the market for a quarterback, and has proved willing to use the portal to upgrade the position.

Analysts are very high on Hoover being that option, as the quarterback is currently projected to land at Indiana with 100 percent likelihood, according to the 247Sports Crystal Ball.

In-state rivals involved

Louisville and Kentucky are not only rivals on the field, but now could be in the race to secure Hoover’s commitment as one of the more sought-after transfers.

Both are in the market for a quarterback next season.

“Also in the market for Hoover are Louisville and Kentucky,” Thamel added of the Cardinals and Wildcats. “So, those are the big moves that are going to dictate the chaos in the portal.”

Miller Moss is preparing to leave the Louisville program after throwing for almost 2,700 yards while scoring 16 touchdowns and throwing seven interceptions.

Hoover has been connected to the forthcoming opening with the Cardinals, as insiders contend head coach Jeff Brohm is targeting him as Moss’ replacement.

Kentucky has gone through seven quarterbacks in the last five seasons and after the departure of Cutter Boley, will start its eighth signal caller in six years.

New head coach Will Stein is charged with resurrecting a Wildcats offense that placed 96th nationally in passing offense and 101st in FBS in total scoring output.

A player of Hoover’s experience and caliber could be a perfect foundation for a program languishing near the bottom of the SEC to make an Indiana-like jump in its respective conference going forward.

What he’s done on the field

Hoover is a native of Texas who enrolled at TCU coming out of high school after emerging as a three-star recruit in the 2022 football recruiting cycle, ranking as the No. 41 overall player at his position, according to a consensus of national recruiting services.

In 26 career games over the last three seasons, Hoover has completed more than 65 percent of his pass attempts for 9,269 yards with 71 touchdowns and 33 interceptions, rushing for an additional eight touchdowns.

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The NCAA transfer portal has officially opened for all college football players hoping to play for new schools next season. The players have a window to enter the portal that ends on Jan. 16.

Thousands of players will be moving around in the 2026 NCAA transfer portal cycle. In some cases, it is an opportunity for prospects to showcase their skills on larger stages by transferring into Power Four schools.

Former North Texas running back Caleb Hawkins is among those entering the transfer portal to increase his exposure on a national level. He will have three seasons of eligibility at his second school.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder arrived as a freshman at North Texas in 2025. In his lone season with the Mean Green, he ran for 1,434 yards and an FBS-high 25 touchdown runs to go with 32 receptions for 370 yards and four touchdown catches in the air.

He rushed for over 100 yards in six games, including a season-high 198 yards in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl against San Diego State.

Hawkins received a handful of accolades for his illustrious freshman season. On a conference level, he received AAC Rookie of the Year and All-AAC First Team recognition. Nationally, he was named to the Walter Camp All-America Second Team.

Hawkins’ long list of accomplishments in one season of college football has drawn the interest of multiple Power Five programs looking to land him from the transfer portal. Pete Nakos of On3 reported on three programs pursuing Hawkins.

Oklahoma State

The connections between the staff at Oklahoma State and Hawkins would make him an instant fit for the Cowboys in 2026. Former North Texas head coach Eric Morris took the head coaching vacancy left by Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State on Nov. 25, 2025.

Morris has brought former North Texas offensive coordinator Sean Brophy with him to fill the same role in Stillwater. While there remains a possibility Hawkins ends up at another school, the coaching change will likely draw a bevy of former North Texas players to Oklahoma State.

Texas

Despite a more successful offensive output to end the season, Texas is going to have to address its running back depth in the transfer portal. Lead rusher Quintrevion Wisner and fellow running backs CJ Baxter and Jerrick Gibson are all heading for the transfer portal.

Whether Hawkins wants to be the workhorse of a group or is content to serve as a rotational piece could impact a decision to go to Texas. Christian Clark, the Longhorns’ second most productive running back, is returning to Austin in 2026.

Oklahoma

The production at running back for Oklahoma in 2025 did not play out according to plan. The expectation was for Jaydn Ott and Jovantae Barnes to be heavily featured for the Sooners. What actually happened was a mixture of Tory Blaylock and Xavier Robinson, with quarterback John Mateer leading the team in carries.

Blaylock finished with the most rushing yards on the team at 480 to go along with four touchdowns. Group of Five to SEC is a sizable jump, but Hawkins could slide in and give the Sooners the steady production they have been craving.

This year’s lone NCAA transfer portal window officially opened on Friday, as thousands of players across the country look for an opportunity to find a new place to call home.

The transfer portal as a whole is the wild west reincarnated and on steroids, as just about anything can happen. According to On3, last year’s portal cycles saw 4,184 players enter their name, with 68% of them committing to a new school while just 3.61% withdrew their names. Where things get complicated is the fact that a player can enter his name into the portal, but not find a landing spot for himself somewhere else. It also doesn’t mean that a player has to leave, but schools aren’t obligated to preserve their place on the team if they don’t want to.

However, the transfer portal experience varies for every player. While some athletes risk their careers by entering, others will have some of the biggest schools in the country throwing significant money at them.

The latter being one of the main reasons we see what is called a “do not contact” tag. Notable players such as Sam Leavitt (Arizona State), Isaac Brown (Louisville) and Luke Reynolds (Penn State) have entered their names into the portal with the tag, but what does that mean?

For the select few players who are good enough to take that risk it means one of two things: they either have an idea of where they are going, or they will be in contact with the schools that interest them.

While many will be outraged or naive about the matter, programs have been in touch with players months before the portal’s opening. Any inclination that the player might enter the portal throughout the year, whether it’s Leavitt getting hurt and his season ending prematurely or James Franklin being fired from Penn State, programs around the country find ways to stay in contact with the star players.

Again, this likely doesn’t apply to the backup quarterback leaving a Group of Five program, but not all situations are the same. For a player like Leavitt or Brown, they have a chance to essentially go to a school, see what it offers in terms of development, and also see how much it will offer. They then can go to another program and see if they will match or top the offer, and can control the bidding war over themselves.

The January portal window runs through Jan. 16 this year, and unlike in years past, there will be no spring window. So, once a player decides their next move, they have to live with it.

Former Michigan State transfer Sam Leavitt officially entered the NCAA transfer portal on Friday with a “do not contact” tag, meaning schools can’t reach out unless Leavitt or his camp makes the first move.

Leavitt burst onto the national scene in 2024 after transferring to Arizona State, establishing himself as the Sun Devils’ starter and finishing the season with 2,885 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions, while adding 443 rushing yards and five scores as a true dual-threat.

He helped fuel ASU’s 11–3 finish and first-ever College Football Playoff appearance, earning Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and second-team All-Big 12 honors.

Leavitt followed that up with solid production in 2025, throwing for 1,628 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions while adding 300 rushing yards and five scores, though he was limited to just seven games after a lingering foot injury required season-ending surgery on October 31.

Before coming to college, Leavitt starred at West Linn High School in West Linn, Oregon, as a consensus four-star prospect and the No. 21 quarterback in the 2024 class per 247Sports, choosing Michigan State over offers from Washington State, Arizona, Florida State, and Washington.

With the transfer portal set to open at midnight Friday, On3’s Pete Nakos and Steve Wiltfong provided the latest intel on programs showing early interest, reporting that three schools have emerged as primary contenders for Leavitt — Miami, Oregon, and LSU — as the No. 1-ranked quarterback in the portal.

Oregon, Miami, and LSU each present a compelling scheme and situational fit for Leavitt. 

Oregon offers a home-region landing spot with an offense built to maximize his mobility and timing with playmakers, while Miami provides a high-visibility ACC platform and a scheme well-suited for an accurate, aggressive quarterback as the Hurricanes continue to explore veteran portal options. 

LSU also looms as a logical destination, with Lane Kiffin’s new staff actively working the portal and seeking an immediate upgrade at quarterback, where Leavitt’s experience and draftable traits would fit seamlessly.

It’s also worth noting that Oregon and Miami are both CFP semifinalists set to lose their starting quarterbacks, creating a rare opportunity for Leavitt to step into a title-contending environment right away.

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Through the first part of Bowl Season, ESPN has seen strong returns on its non-College Football Playoff games. The biggest one, of course, was the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

An average of 8.7 million people tuned in for the game, which saw BYU take down Georgia Tech on ABC, ESPN announced. It’s the best viewership for the game since 1991, when it was the Blockbuster Bowl, and became ESPN’s best non-CFP bowl game since the 2019-2020 Citrus Bowl.

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As a whole, ESPN’s bowl game viewership is up 13% for non-College Football Playoff games through Dec. 27, the network announced. On the whole, 2.7 million people on average have tuned in as multiple games drew strong numbers.

BYU’s victory over Georgia Tech came down to the final seconds as the Yellow Jackets fell short on the final possession. The Cougars then had the opportunity to partake in one of college football’s newest – and most popular – traditions. Head coach Kalani Sitake and the players got to eat one of the edible mascots after two of the three went into the toaster.

Protein Slammin’ Strawberry was the one who “escaped” beforehand, though. Officials for the Pop-Tarts Bowl game said it was the decision to “go pro,” which brought a new twist to the celebration.

The Pinstripe Bowl between Penn State and Clemson drew its best viewership on record as 7.6 million people tuned in for the Nittany Lions’ victory over the Tigers. Additionally, the Gator Bowl hit 6.0 million viewers on average – its best figure since 2009. Virginia took down Missouri in that game to secure a 10-win season for the Cavaliers.

At 4.4 million viewers, the Rate Bowl also drew its highest numbers since 2011 as Minnesota picked up yet another bowl game victory over P.J. Fleck, taking down New Mexico. The L.A. Bowl went out on a high note with a new record-high of 3.8 million viewers tuning in for Washington’s win against Boise State in the final installment of the game, as On3’s Brett McMurphy previously reported.

Three other bowl games drew record viewership, as well, according to ESPN. The First Responder Bowl between FIU and UTSA brought in 3.1 million viewers to set a new all-time high, while the Hawaii Bowl averaged 2.7 million viewers for Cal’s thrilling win over Hawaii on Christmas Eve. That made it the most-watched Hawaii Bowl since 2013. Finally, the Military Bowl averaged 2.5 million – its best since 2018 – as East Carolina took down Pitt.