10 college football transfers I can’t stop thinking about for 2026 season

• Josh Hoover’s transfer to Indiana another sign of Hoosiers’ incredible rise under Curt Cignetti.
• Arch Manning needed a wingman at Texas. Insert Cam Coleman.
• Darian Mensah and Miami back to the national championship game? Believe it possible.

Say, Johnny, whatcha got cookin’ this weekend?

Well, Scissorhands, I’m planting a tree. It’s Arbor Day.

Arthur who?

Yeah, that conversation has never occurred in any barbershop I’ve stepped foot in, and they’re not discussing five-star recruits signing on the first Wednesday in February anymore, either. Because, for one, they don’t sign in February. Most top prospects sign in December.

Even then, the early signing period takes a backseat to the transfer portal sweepstakes that reshape rosters each winter. It’s a transfer world.

As college football’s acquisition season winds down, here are 10 transfers I can’t stop thinking about:

QB Josh Hoover: Indiana (from TCU)

A year ago, Hoover had a chance to leave TCU for a lucrative deal to become Tennessee’s starting quarterback. Hoover’s response? “Nope.”

So, get a load of this: Hoover passed on the chance to play in the once-mighty SEC, but he couldn’t say no to Curt Cignetti. How the mighty have fallen. How the Hoosiers have risen. Oh, how college football has changed. Hoover can help keep the Big Ten ahead of the SEC.

Indiana wanted Hoover badly enough, it stomached that it meant losing Fernando Mendoza’s little brother, Alberto, who transferred to Georgia Tech.

Hoover is a stat-stuffer for passing yards and completions. He also led the Big 12 in interceptions. Other quarterbacks possess a stronger arm. But, Hoover combines experience with accuracy. He should thrive paired with Cignetti.

QB Darian Mensah: Miami (from Duke)

Miami has swiftly become Transfer Quarterback U. If it’s not broken, …

Should Mensah play as well or better as Miami’s past transfers, then the Hurricanes are an A-list national championship contender. The supporting cast should be there.

Mensah isn’t the household name Carson Beck was when he arrived from Georgia. He didn’t date a bikini model, like Beck did, or drive a Lamborghini. But Mensah, not Beck, led the ACC in passing yards per game, and Mensah’s team won the conference.

Mensah is cerebral, and he plays like it. That made him a fit for Tulane and Duke. He pairs wits with sharp accuracy, and he avoids interceptions.

Mensah joins an offense featuring the ACC’s best running back, Mark Fletcher, and premier receivers. The 15-to-1 national championship odds for Miami look like a value buy.

WR Cam Coleman: Texas (from Auburn)

Now, we get to see what Arch Manning can do with an elite wide receiver. He didn’t have one last season. Now, we get to see what Coleman can do with a competent quarterback and a still-in-his-prime coach. He didn’t have those going for him at Auburn.

Texas signed its best transfer haul ever, an acknowledgment the Longhorns can’t expect to win national championships just by signing and developing strong recruiting classes. Coleman is the crown jewel. NFL teams will covet his abilities soon enough. He’s 6-3 and quick. He wins receptions amid tight coverage.

For Texas to live up to the inevitable hype, Manning must improve. He also needed more fuel around him. Adding Coleman is like putting top-grade petrol into Texas’ engine.

QB Brendan Sorsby: Texas Tech (from Cincinnati)

Is Sorsby worth the $5 million-plus Texas Tech reportedly spent on him? That debate sort of misses the point. Mega-booster Cody Campbell has money to burn. So, Texas Tech is going to keep spending. Campbell’s dollars helped purchase the quarterback whom some experts consider to be this year’s top transfer. I harbor some doubts.

Sorsby is plenty athletic, capable of beating defenses in multiple ways. His arm will suit NFL evaluators. Some other quarterbacks hit with more accuracy and read defenses better.

Texas Tech’s playoff loss proved it needs more scoring punch to accelerate from intriguing subplot to national championship caliber. If Sorsby delivers like Mendoza did for Indiana, he’ll have been worth every cent. If not, Texas Tech will be left questioning whether it bought the right quarterback.

OT Jordan Seaton: LSU (from Colorado)

If your only knowledge of Seaton is his second-team All-Big 12 selection, you might wonder what the big deal is with this guy. Well, take a look at him, and you’ll recognize he’s a big deal. We’re talking 6- 5, 330 pounds of bigness, packaged with impressive nimbleness. He’s just the left tackle Lane Kiffin needed for LSU’s offensive rebuild.

LSU’s run game retreated into witness protection in Brian Kelly’s final two seasons. Pass protection became leaky in 2025.

Kiffin’s quick-twitch offense will address that, but you’ve still got to have capable linemen. Hiring the Portal King means reaping some instant fixes. Seaton addresses a problem LSU had to remedy.

QB Kenny Minchey: Kentucky (from Notre Dame)

Why should Kentucky be intrigued by first-year coach Will Stein? Start here: Kentucky nabbed Notre Dame’s quarterback. OK, so that requires context: Kentucky picked up the Irish’s backup, but Minchey is no scrub. He didn’t play much in three seasons at Notre Dame, but he’s a former blue-chipper. Marcus Freeman considered Minchey a prime option in Notre Dame’s quarterback competition last year, and there’s no shame losing a QB battle to CJ Carr.

It’s been a minute since Kentucky looked good at quarterback. OK, maybe it’s been a generation — like, since Andre Woodson finished his career in 2007.

Stein, a proven quarterback developer, will be tasked with elevating a position that persistently hampered Kentucky during Mark Stoops’ tenure. Minchey makes for an interesting start.

WR Isaiah Horton: Texas A&M (from Alabama)

Horton’s Alabama exit provides further evidence of Nick Saban being wrong with his years-ago musing that the transfer portal would make the rich richer and Alabama wouldn’t lose its good players. Although not a superstar, Horton supplied utility at a position where Alabama thirsts for more prolific production.

Now, he’ll help the pass game for an Aggies team trying to not only return to the playoff but win a game this time. Horton’s arrival plugs a void for the Aggies, who lost leading receiver KC Concepcion to the NFL draft, but this transfer also stands out for what it says about Alabama: The Tide are vulnerable to the portal’s talent-sucking pull.

Among Alabama’s departures, James Smith left for Ohio State, marking the loss of a quality defensive lineman.

QB Dylan Raiola: Oregon (from Nebraska)

Fascinating, this one. Raiola gave up being a third-year starter in the Big Ten for former power Nebraska in exchange for being Dante Moore’s caddie for a year.

Sure, that’s not the boilerplate Oregon would author about this transfer, but that’s the brass tacks. Raiola broke his fibula in November, but Nebraska had outlined a return timeline that indicated he’d be ready to resume his starting duties in 2026.

Maybe, Raiola just grew tired of getting beat up. Nebraska’s porous offensive line put him in jeopardy. Also, Moore’s previous transfer from UCLA to Oregon showed the upside of leaving a starting job to sit a year at Oregon, before taking the reins.

Having a backup with Raiola’s experience gives Oregon a fistful of spades. For Raiola, it might be a temporary headscratcher, but a long-term masterstroke.

QB DJ Lagway: Baylor (from Florida)

Is Lagway good? Asking for a friend. Actually, asking for Baylor coach Dave Aranda. His job will depend on Lagway being good.

I’m not being facetious, either, about Lagway. A junior, he started 19 games at Florida, and although he clearly possesses impressive tools — he can launch a deep ball — it remains unclear how high his ceiling is. At Florida, he got bogged down by inconsistency, turnovers and injuries. His mechanics need work, but what a three-star recruit would do to have Lagway’s physical gifts. Baylor offensive coordinator Jake Spavital must apply polish to Lagway.

Lagway couldn’t turn down the heat for Billy Napier. Now, Aranda needs saving.

QB Drew Mestemaker: Oklahoma State (from North Texas)

The Air Raid is coming to Stillwater and the triggerman is a former zero-star recruit turned NCAA passing leader. That’s right, nobody threw for more yards last season than Mestemaker did at North Texas. Sure, the Big 12 is a step up in competition, but we’ve seen Air Raid quarterbacks sizzle in this conference before.

Considering how badly the Cowboys fared the past two years, anything would look like an upgrade. New coach Eric Morris bringing the spine of his 12-win North Texas team with him to the Big 12 teases a quick-fix turnaround. Mestemaker stands in the middle of it all.

The Big 12 is better when Oklahoma State has a pulse. Consider Mestemaker an epinephrine injection.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.