The first week of transfer portal season was as wild as anticipated, with more than 2,000 FBS players currently available in the transfer market and looking to find their next home.
Now that the flurry of portal entries is finally starting to slow down, the themes and trends of this cycle will begin to emerge -- the early winners, the key issues and even the dollar figures.
Here's what we're hearing and keeping an eye on entering this second week of portal activity.
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Five teams with strong starts
UNC agenda
Cost of QBs | Georgia's conundrum
Portal and the playoff
Five teams off to a good start
It's far too early to call anybody the Portal King for the 2024-25 offseason, but here are five programs that are quickly scooping up commitments through the first week of portal season:
Texas Tech: The Red Raiders are absolutely going to be buyers in this cycle and determined to assemble one of the best portal classes in the country.
Texas Tech has secured seven transfer commitments for 2025 and expect several more soon. The biggest win so far was beating Florida and Oklahoma for Miami (Ohio) transfer wide receiver Reggie Virgil. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound junior is coming off a breakout season with 41 catches for 816 yards and nine TDs to earn second-team All-MAC honors.
The Red Raiders boosted their secondary with safety Cole Wisniewski (North Dakota State) and corners Brice Pollock (Mississippi State) and Dontae Balfour (Charlotte). They solved their need at offensive tackle with Illinois State's Hunter Zambrano, the No. 3 tackle in ESPN's transfer rankings, and Miami (Ohio)'s Will Jados, a three-year starter at left tackle. And they locked up an All-MAC defensive tackle in Skyler Gill-Howard from Northern Illinois.
We saw several programs shove all-in during last year's winter portal cycle with ambitions of making a run in the first 12-team College Football Playoff. This year, Texas Tech is going to be one of them. They're sending a message early that it's Big 12 title or bust in 2025.
LSU: The Tigers have already collected quite a few high-impact players for 2025. On offense, they landed one of the SEC's most productive playmakers in Kentucky's Barion Brown, the No. 3 wide receiver in ESPN's transfer rankings. They also found their next starting tight end in Oklahoma transfer Bauer Sharp and might have secured their quarterback of the future in Mississippi State transfer Michael Van Buren. They landed another top-10 transfer Monday in Virginia Tech's Mansoor Delane, our No. 1-ranked cornerback, to go along with talented former Florida corner Ja'Keem Jackson and two proven edge defenders in Nebraska's Jimari Butler and Florida's Jack Pyburn.
Ole Miss: Who loves portal season more than Lane Kiffin? The Rebels' coach has scooped up three Arkansas transfers -- tight end Luke Hasz, offensive lineman Patrick Kutas and cornerback Jaylon Braxton -- as well as two high-potential edge defenders in Princewill Umanmielen (Nebraska) and Da'Shawn Womack (LSU), plus a massive offensive line prospect in Charlotte transfer PJ Wilkins, who checks in at 6-foot-7 and 340 pounds. Ole Miss is also in the race for top transfer receivers Eric Singleton Jr. (Georgia Tech) and Dane Key (Kentucky) as well as Alabama transfer running back Justice Haynes. Expect another big-time portal haul for 2025 from Kiffin and his staff.
Minnesota: P.J. Fleck is leading the way early with 10 transfer commits, more than any other Power 4 program as of Monday morning. The Gophers landed one of the Sun Belt's best running backs, Marshall's A.J. Turner, to pair with leading rusher Darius Taylor, plus two more backs in Cameron Davis (Washington) and Cole Cabana (Michigan) to create strong depth. Miami (Ohio) receiver Javon Tracy was one of the best in the MAC this season and was a big get, and Georgia Tech transfer Zach Pyron could be a steal as well. Minnesota also grabbed two FCS transfers who could be under-the-radar gems in Illinois State's Steven Curtis and Stony Brook's Rushawn Lawrence to boost their defensive line. The Gophers are loading up quickly with quality pickups.
Auburn: Hugh Freeze got his guy at quarterback in Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold. Now that he's officially on board, there's no doubt the Tigers will look to make a big splash in this portal window after a disappointing 5-7 season. They added one of the top offensive tackles in the portal in Virginia Tech's Xavier Chaplin, a two-year starter at left tackle, and just picked up Miami (Ohio)'s Raion Strader, the No. 3 cornerback in ESPN's transfer rankings and a first-team All-MAC performer. They also found an intriguing sleeper in UConn transfer running back Durell Robinson, who was one of the most productive freshman backs in FBS this season with 806 total yards and eight TDs.
UNC's portal agenda
How Bill Belichick intends to construct a college football roster is one of the many fascinating questions surrounding his first season at North Carolina. The six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach will have to make decisions in the days ahead about how intensely he wants to build with transfer talent this offseason.
The Tar Heels currently have 10 scholarship players in the portal. The new regime has already persuaded three starters -- linebacker Amare Campbell and offensive linemen Aidan Banfield and Austin Blaske -- to withdraw from the portal and stay in Chapel Hill. They got four-star QB commit Bryce Baker locked in over the weekend. Those are all important wins for the first week on the job.
Now let's see who the Tar Heels can get on campus. The official visit list is sure to be fluid over the next week as new GM Mike Lombardi and UNC staffers hustle to identify and pursue the recruits they need. The dead period starts Dec. 23, so don't be surprised if North Carolina loads up on visitors this weekend.
The Tar Heels are still looking for one more quarterback after backup Conner Harrell hit the portal. There's an obvious need at running back with Omarion Hampton going pro, and the Tar Heels appear to be in the mix for Penn transfer Malachi Hosley and junior college transfer Waymond Jordan, the No. 1 back in the ESPN JC 50.
It's clear, too, that lots of former blue-chip recruits are curious to see what's going on at UNC. Texas A&M transfer defensive lineman Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy, the No. 3 overall recruit in the 2022 ESPN 300, is reportedly looking to set up a visit, and Texas transfer linebacker Derion Gullette and Alabama transfer lineman Miles McVay plan to visit Chapel Hill later this week.
Now that Belichick is in place, it'll be interesting to see if transfers who were leaning toward other schools pause and take a closer look at North Carolina this week. This staff might also want to go through the winter and spring with their returning players and figure out what they've got before they pursue players in the April transfer window.
Cost of QBs going up
There are nearly 140 FBS scholarship quarterbacks currently available in the transfer portal. And there are plenty more who have earned big paydays this month by staying out of it.
In recent weeks, we've seen a bunch of Power 4 starters announce they're returning to their team in 2025, including Kevin Jennings (SMU), Garrett Nussmeier (LSU), Kyron Drones (Virginia Tech), Jalon Daniels (Kansas), Rocco Becht (Iowa State), Brendan Sorsby (Cincinnati), Luke Altmyer (Illinois) and CJ Bailey (NC State).
Sources at several Power 4 schools told ESPN that the price for re-signing a proven starter this offseason is typically exceeding $1 million.
The going rate for locking up a QB1 has increased significantly entering 2025, with teams knowing they need to devote a decent chunk of their revenue-sharing funds to retain their signal-caller. They'd rather pay a premium to keep their leader than venture into the portal and roll the dice on somebody else.
So it's a pretty darn good time to be a good-to-great starter who has remaining eligibility. In many cases, these quarterbacks are getting deals for next season of three to four times more compared to what they were earning for their name, image and likeness in 2024. That's life-changing money, and all they had to do was stay where they already were.
Georgia's QB conundrum
Georgia is about to find out what it has in Gunner Stockton. Carson Beck going down because of an elbow injury in the SEC title game win over Texas thrusts Stockton, a redshirt sophomore backup, into the starting lineup right when the stakes couldn't be higher.
That untimely setback puts coach Kirby Smart in an impossible position during this portal window. Between now and Jan. 1 when the Bulldogs play in the Sugar Bowl quarterfinal, the head coach needs to make decisions about Georgia's QB plan for 2025.
Stockton has put in the work to be the clear front-runner ahead of Jaden Rashada, Ryan Puglisi and incoming freshmen Ryan Montgomery and Hezekiah Millender entering the offseason. He's about to go through a high-pressure audition for the job. Stockton thriving during this CFP run would be the optimal outcome for the program's future, no question.
But what if he doesn't? The Bulldogs want to add one more passer and are currently exploring their portal options. The window of opportunity to get one of the top QBs on the market will be closing soon. For Smart, there will be a variety of factors and consequences to weigh, especially with his team three wins away from a national title.
Alabama transfer Dylan Lonergan is planning to visit this week and could be a safe choice. The redshirt freshman from Georgia was a top-50 recruit in the 2023 class and would give the Bulldogs another unproven but talented arm to compete with Stockton.
Georgia has also been in contact with Charlotte transfer Deshawn Purdie, a freshman who's still raw but has shown flashes of exciting potential. A QB with multiple seasons of eligibility remaining might make more sense under these circumstances than a one-year rental. But as of today, until we see Stockton play, it's impossible to say what Georgia needs for next season.
Portal doesn't wait for CFP
Penn State backup QB Beau Pribula faced a brutal predicament when starter Drew Allar decided to return to Happy Valley in 2025.
Entering the portal now gives him the best possible opportunity to find a starting opportunity elsewhere, but it comes at quite a cost: He will not get to finish out this season and this CFP run with the Nittany Lions.
Pribula officially entered the portal as a grad transfer Monday and should have good options for his final two seasons of eligibility. He's ready to be a starter. But making that decision now inevitably brings intense backlash from fans who expect loyalty with the season on the line, especially from a playmaker who has a real role in the Nittany Lions' offense.
In his statement announcing his decision, Pribula said the portal window overlapping with the postseason "forced me into an impossible decision." He's not the only one.
As of Monday morning, 68 scholarship players on College Football Playoff teams have entered their names in the portal. Each coach must decide how he wants to handle that internally.
At Texas, Steve Sarkisian's policy has been that players who enter the portal are off the team, so backup QB Maalik Murphy couldn't remain with the Longhorns for their Sugar Bowl semifinal against Washington last season. Texas has had seven backups hit the portal this month, including four along the defensive line. On Monday, Sarkisian told reporters that defensive linemen Tiaoalii Savea and Justice Finkley will keep practicing and playing with the team.
Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham has taken a friendly approach with his 10 outgoing transfers, encouraging them to enter the portal right away and allowing them to stay with the team. He has even taken the extra step of sharing their announcements and praising them on social media.
Kenny Dillingham's perspective on ASU players who are entering the transfer portal:
— Blake Niemann (@Blakes_Take2) December 9, 2024
"Our guys have the opportunity to stay on our football team, and they're like, 'We'll go in (the portal) at the end,' and I go, 'No, that's not fair to you to go in after our run is over. I want... pic.twitter.com/5HW1JbxQ6l
Georgia has eight scholarship players in the portal, including their former starting cornerback Julian Humphrey who's heading to Texas A&M. Tennessee has two players in the portal in receiver Chas Nimrod and linebacker Jalen Smith who have played significant snaps this season. Oregon has four in the portal, with freshman lineman JacQawn McRoy moving on to Arkansas.
Notre Dame is the one exception so far. The Irish haven't had anybody move on this month. Coach Marcus Freeman is certainly grateful for that dedication.
"Every person in our program understands how valuable they are to us, being in this position that we're in, and we need them," Freeman told reporters Sunday. "We need every single person in our program to reach the goals that we have."