Red Raiders landed 9 of 100 impact transfers

Rebuilding doesn’t seem to be a thing in college football anymore with NIL and the transfer portal. You can build a team ready to compete in as little as one offseason. That is what Texas Tech and head coach Joey McGuire hope is the case in the wide-open Big 12. Coming out of the spring, it doesn’t appear that any one team is viewed as the favorite, and that could benefit a team like the Red Raiders.

After finishing 8-5 last year, the Red Raiders, armed with NIL money from billionaire booster Cody Campbell and others, were ready to buy a team. Plenty of anonymous sources have stated that Tech is a willing spender, and current Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti called out six teams, including Tech, that he claims are spending $40 million on their rosters this season.

You’ve got to love that oil money, right? Well, maybe not if you are a fan of a team that doesn’t have that kind of bankroll. Cignetti better be careful before he becomes the next Pat Narduzzi, who spent plenty of time calling out other programs for the way they do business in the transfer portal and with NIL.

When it comes to utilizing that money to load up the roster for a run at the Big 12 title and a guaranteed spot in the College Football Playoff, it seems the Red Raiders did it just about as good as anyone. With 100 days until the start of Week 0 in the 2025 college football season, ESPN released its top 100 impact transfers for the season. A list that is dominated by the Texas Tech Red Raiders and their No. 2 transfer class behind the LSU Tigers. Tech has 9 of the top 100 players and could easily be 10 if they included running back Quinten Joyner.

Texas Tech players in the top 100 transfer list

• No. 9: David Bailey, Edge Rusher, Stanford
• No. 18: Howard Sampston, Offensive Tackle, North Carolina
• No. 19: Lee Hunter, Defensive Tackle, Central Florida
• No. 32: Romello Height, Edge Rusher, Georgia Tech
• No. 46: Hunter Zambrano, Offensive Tackle, Illinois State
• No. 47: Reggie Virgil, Wide Receiver, Miami (OH)
• No. 58: Micah Hudson, Wide Receiver, Texas A&M*
• No. 85: Brince Pollock, Cornerback, Mississippi State
• No. 86: Terrance Carter, Tight End, Louisiana

It is interesting that they listed Micah Hudson as one of the top 100 impactful transfers, given that he never played a snap at Texas A&M before returning to Lubbock. The former five-star signee is technically a transfer, but I think we are splitting hairs with his addition. However, this isn’t our list of top 100 transfers.

At the top of the list, you will find David Bailey and Howard Sampson, both should have a major impact. Not only that, but they will make each other better by going against each other in practice all season long. After all, iron sharpens iron.

Ironically enough, Tech didn’t have any players among the top 100 who were transferring out of Lubbock after Hudson came back. Not many programs with strong classes in the transfer portal can make that same claim.

Other Notable Big 12 Transfers

• No. 20: Jehiem Oatis, Defensive Tackle, Alabama to Colorado
• No. 43: Chase Sowell, Wide Receiver, East Carolina to Iowa State
• No. 45: Kaidon Salter, Quarterback, Liberty to Colorado
• No. 64: Jordan Dwyer, Wide Receiver, Idaho to TCU
• No. 70 Jimmori Robinson, Edge, UTSA to West Virginia
• No. 76: Wayshawn Parker, Running Back, Washington State to Utah
• No. 78: Conner Weigman, Quarterback, Texas A&M to Houston
• No. 79: Devon Dampier, Quarterback, New Mexico to Utah
• No. 81: Joe Cotton, Offensive Tackle, South Dakota to Cincinnati
• No. 91: Tanner Koziol, Tight End, Wisconsin to Houston

Big 12 2025 Transfer Class Rankings via 247Sports

1. Texas Tech: 21 Commits, 76.47 Points
2. Colorado: 28 Commits, 49.51 Points
3. Houston: 28 Commits, 43.25 Points
4. West Virginia: 52 Commits, 40.84 Points
5. Oklahoma State: 40 Commits, 40.61 Points
6. Utah: 21 Commits, 39.38 Points
7. Kansas: 27 Commits, 38.70 Points
8. UCF: 40 Commits, 37.38 Points
9. Baylor:” 18 Commits, 34.84 Points
10. Arizona: 26 Commits, 34.04 Points
11. Cincinnati: 16 Commits, 33.72 Points
12. TCU: 12 Commits, 32.68 Points
13. Kansas State: 16 Commits, 31.38 Points
14. Arizona State: 16 Commits, 31.32 Points
15. Iowa State: 8 Commits, 29.47 Points
16. BYU: 12 Commits, 23.31 Points