The top 10 overall players in the college football transfer portal
Via Cam Coleman/Instagram
(Benjamin Hodge is an NFL Draft writer who’s work can be found at Fantasy Trading Room - here is his ranking of the top quarterbacks available in the transfer portal. You can find more of his work on Twitter @BenjaminWHodge)
After going through my top 10 transfer portal quarterbacks, now is a great time to rank my top 10 overall players in the transfer portal. With thousands hitting the portal this cycle, this was tough to narrow down, but I’m confident in my rankings.
One quick point I will touch on before the list begins: I’m valuing who players are now, rather than what they could become. With college football essentially being free agency for everyone annually, there’s no guarantee that a player will remain at a school for more than a season. So, a player having additional value for having three or so years of eligibility left won’t matter as much to me until there’s some sort of collective bargaining agreement or contract legislation.
Now that we’ve touched on that, let’s get into my top 10 transfer portal players.
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10. LB Christian Alliegro - Wisconsin → Ohio State
Former Wisconsin linebacker Christian Alliegro kicks off this list. At 6’4” and 247 pounds, Alliegro is an excellent athlete, combining plus feel in zone coverage and quick diagnostics in run defense with his powerful abilities as a blitzer. With Ohio State’s recent success at the LB position with guys like Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese, and Cody Simon, look for Alliegro to be the next star Buckeye LB.
9. IDL Mateen Ibirogba - Wake Forest → Texas Tech
Interior defensive lineman Mateen Ibirogba is the catalyst to Texas Tech reloading their defensive line. Ibirogba is incredibly twitchy at 6’3” and 296 pounds and is a really effective pass rusher with a fantastic 14.2% pass rush win percentage from the interior, also adding 13 run stops in 2025. With the Red Raiders losing Lee Hunter and Skyler Gill-Howard on the interior, Ibirogba teaming up with A.J. Holmes Jr. should form one of the best interior duos in America.
8. CB Jontez Williams - Iowa State → USC
Cornerback Jontez Williams only played five games in 2025 after an awesome 2024. Even at 5’11”, Williams possesses the length, the physicality, and the side to side twitch to be a sticky man coverage defender and also has the feel and IQ in zone coverage. He’s been targeted 68 times in his career, with only 27 of them being caught, a ridiculously low 39.7% reception percentage allowed.
USC Transfer CB Commit Jontez Williams is one of the most elite coverage CBs in CFB with a 86.0 Coverage grade in 2024 and 84.6 in 2025 (5 games), per @PFF ✌🏻#FightOn✌🏻 pic.twitter.com/piIwn4ay6C
— Arrogant Nation✌🏻 (@FightOnRusty) January 5, 2026
7. EDGE John Henry Daley - Utah → Michigan
EDGE John Henry Daley had played just 84 career snaps from 2023-2024, but he burst onto the scene in 2025, totaling 17.5 TFLs, 11.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and 29 run stops, also having a pass rush win percentage of 24.1%. He’s a technically advanced player with his hands and possesses the initial moves and the counters to continue to be a deadly pass rusher. With Michigan losing Derrick Moore and T.J. Guy in their EDGE room, Daley following Kyle Whittingham to Ann Arbor is a needed addition for the Wolverines.
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6. RB Hollywood Smothers - NC State → Texas
Running back Hollywood Smothers isn’t just one of the best names in the portal, he’s the best running back in the portal. Smothers was productive in 2025 for the Wolf Pack, totaling 939 rushing yards and six touchdowns while catching 37 passes. Smothers’ twitch, speed, and creativity should provide plenty of explosiveness to the Texas backfield, and actually reminds me of (ironically) former Alabama and current Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (sorry Bama fans!).
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5. EDGE Damon Wilson II - Missouri → ?
EDGE Damon Wilson II kicks off the top five of this list. Wilson II is an athletic freak at 6’4” and 250 pounds who logged 9.5 TFLs, 9 sacks, 12 run stops, and a 13.6% pass rush win percentage. His arm length and lower half twitch will make him an effective speed rusher wherever he lands.
4. S Koi Perich - Minnesota → ?
Safety Koi Perich wasn’t as good in 2025 as he was as a true freshman in 2024, but he was still a productive player for the Golden Gophers. Perich had 82 tackles, three TFLs, one sack, one interception, two PBUs, and one forced fumble in 2025. His range and athleticism will make him a versatile player on any defense whether that’s in a single high alignment, split safety alignment, or in the box.
3. QB Drew Mestemaker - North Texas → Oklahoma State
Quarterback Drew Mestemaker had an unbelievable redshirt freshman season for UNT, leading the nation in passing yards and being tied for second in passing touchdowns. Mestemaker is a high level distributor, the point guard of the offense. With Mestemaker following Eric Morris to Stillwater, the hope is that Mestemaker and crew can get back to the days when Mason Rudolph and James Washington were lighting up Big 12 secondaries.
2. QB Josh Hoover - TCU → Indiana
Quarterback Josh Hoover has been my favorite portal player to study film of. He’s a really good processor who trusts the structure of the passing scheme, always working his way to the backside of the concept. With how good he is on the mental side of the game, Indiana will continue to roll offensively in 2026.
1. WR Cam Coleman - Auburn → Texas
Wide receiver Cam Coleman comes in at the top of my list. Coleman is a freak athlete at 6’3” and 201 pounds, able to separate both vertically and horizontally. He’s also physical at the catch point and if he can team up with a functional quarterback for the first time in his career, he could be a legit Biletnikoff Award contender.
Closing Thoughts
These players will be game changers in 2026 for their programs. And for the uncommitted players, there are some heavyweight recruiting wars on the horizon. As always, happy portaling!
(Benjamin Hodge is an NFL Draft writer who’s work can be found at Fantasy Trading Room - here is his ranking of the top quarterbacks available in the transfer portal. You can find more of his work on Twitter @BenjaminWHodge)
