The college football transfer portal has revolutionized the sport. It’s allowed teams to build dominant rosters and allowed players to elevate their profile, turning playing time into eye-popping stats and national recognition.
The PFSN All-Transfer Portal team honors those players who found a new home in 2025 and immediately found success. Some of the names featured across the two teams, powered by PFSN College Impact metrics, serve as a testament to the importance of the transfer portal in this new college football era.
PFSN All-Transfer Portal First Team Offense
- QB: Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
- RB: Ahmad Hardy, Missouri
- RB: Kewan Lacy, Ole Miss
- WR: Zachariah Branch, Georgia
- WR: Brenen Thompson, Mississippi State
- TE: Tanner Koziol, Houston
- OL: Corey Robinson II, Arkansas
- OL: Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon
- OL: Matt Gulbin, Michigan State
- OL: Evan Beerntsen, Northwestern
- OL: Keagen Trost, Missouri
The PFSN All-Transfer Portal First Team Offense is the ultimate potential of the process. Fernando Mendoza was impressive for California in 2024, but in making the move to the Indiana Hoosiers, he positioned himself to reach new heights. He could end the season as a Heisman Trophy winner and national champion, and ranked second with a 93.2 PFSN College QB Impact score.
Ahmad Hardy hopped into the transfer portal after showcasing his skills in the Sun Belt as a true freshman, landing in Missouri, where he led the nation in 2025 with 130.0 rushing yards per game. Passing him on the way out of the Tigers was Kewan Lacy, who swapped Missouri for Ole Miss and promptly led the SEC with 20 touchdowns while surpassing 1,000 yards for the Rebels.
Playmakers are always at a premium in the transfer portal, and there are few more electric than Georgia’s Zachariah Branch, who led the SEC with 73 receptions after spending two years with the USC Trojans. He was the third-highest-graded wide receiver by PFSN in 2025, while Brenen Thompson and PFSN All-American Tanner Koziol round out the receiving room.
The transfer portal goes against all accepted norms about creating offensive line cohesion with continuity, but Corey Robinson II, Emmanuel Pregnon, Matt Gulbin, Evan Beerntsen, and Keagen Trost were all among the highest-graded players at their position despite having to adapt to new surroundings this fall. Trost was PFSN’s top-ranked offensive lineman in 2025.
PFSN All-Transfer Portal First Team Defense
- EDGE: David Bailey, Texas Tech
- EDGE: Clev Lubin, Louisville
- DT: Ezra Christensen, New Mexico State
- DT: Santana Hopper, Tulane
- LB: Xavier Atkins, Auburn
- LB: Mani Powell, Purdue
- CB: Mansoor Delane, LSU
- CB: Brice Pollock, Texas Tech
- CB: Hezekiah Masses, California
- SAF: Wydett Williams Jr., Ole Miss
- SAF: A.J. Haulcy, LSU
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The PFSN All-Transfer Portal First Team Defense is headlined by Texas Tech juggernaut David Bailey. After spending three seasons at Stanford, Bailey entered the transfer portal as one of the most sought-after edge rushers and promptly went about proving why. A PFSN All-American, he also earned multiple honors from the Big 12 Conference.
Clev Lubin made the jump from the Sun Belt to the ACC (is it really that much of a leap, though?!) after transferring from Coastal Carolina to the Louisville Cardinals for 2025. He terrorized offensive linemen all season long, tallying 11.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
PFSN All-Americans Ezra Christensen and Santana Hopper (who is back in the portal) complete the defensive line. Auburn linebacker Xavier Atkins arrived on The Plains after spending 2024 at LSU and asserted himself as one of the best in the nation. Leading the SEC in solo tackles and tackles for loss, he was PFSN’s highest-graded linebacker in 2025 (91.7).
While Atkins was a notable defensive loss for LSU in hindsight, the Tigers more than made up for it with their transfer portal acquisitions in the secondary. 79% of the Earth is covered in water, but the other 21% is covered by Mansoor Delane, who was the dictionary definition of a lockdown cornerback after arriving in Baton Rouge from Virginia Tech.
PFSN All-Transfer Portal First Team Special Teams
- K: Tate Sandell, Oklahoma
- P: James Ferguson-Reynolds, Oregon
- KR: Da’Realyst Clark, Kent State
- PR: KC Concepcion, Texas A&M
Short shorts. Long field goals. Can’t lose. Tate Sandell went from volatile UTSA placekicker to Lou Groza Award winner following his transfer portal flip to the Oklahoma Sooners and headlines the PFSN All-Transfer Portal First Team Special Teams.
Former Boise State field-flipper James Ferguson-Reynolds continued his punting prowess at Oregon, while Da’Realyst Clark and KC Concepcion were almost unstoppable with the ball in their hands, fielding kickoffs and punts respectively in 2025.
PFSN All-Transfer Portal Second Team Offense
- QB: Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss
- RB: Mike Washington Jr., Arkansas
- RB: Cam Cook, Jacksonville State
- WR: Duce Robinson, Florida State
- WR: Isaiah Sategna III, Oklahoma
- TE: Carsen Ryan, BYU
- OL: Carver Willis, Washington
- OL: TJ Ferguson, Syracuse
- OL: Jordan White, Vanderbilt
- OL: Omar Aigbedion, Baylor
- OL: Travis Burke, Memphis
Trinidad Chambliss is arguably the most extraordinary transfer portal story of the 2025 college football season. A DII standout for Ferris State, he took a chance on himself, and despite starting the year as a backup, he showcased that he truly belongs at the highest level of the season once he secured the starting role.
The Ole Miss quarterback finished as the fifth-ranked quarterback in the country by PFSN College QBi.
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It’s easy to focus transfer portal success on players who elevate themselves from the Group of Six level (and beyond) to the Power Four level, but Cam Cook showcased that there is value in rejuvenating your career at a place where you can dominate.
The Jacksonville State running back led the nation with 1,659 rushing yards in 2025, earning a spot on the PFSN All-Transfer Portal Team as the 11th-highest-ranked running back.
PFSN All-Transfer Portal Second Team Defense
- EDGE: Nadame Tucker, Western Michigan
- EDGE: Keyshawn James-Newby, New Mexico
- DT: Jared Dawson, Notre Dame
- DT: De’Jon Benton, Hawaii
- LB: Bryun Parham, UConn
- LB: Amare Campbell, Penn State
- CB: Noah Avinger, Utah State
- CB: Brent Austin, California
- CB: Tacario Davis, Washington
- SAF: Louis Moore, Indiana
- SAF: Alex McLaughlin, Washington
The PFSN All-Transfer Portal Second Team Defense is headlined by a pair of All-Americans in Western Michigan’s Nadame Tucker and New Mexico’s Keyshawn James-Newby. Tucker tallied 1.5 sacks in three seasons for the Houston Cougars before transferring in 2025 and leading the nation in tackles for loss (21) and sacks (14.5), and taking the Broncos to a MAC title.
For defensive backs entering the 2026 college football transfer portal, look no further than Washington and California as prime landing spots. Brent Austin continued to showcase his lockdown potential after transferring to the Golden Bears from USF, while Tacario Davis and Alex McLaughlin continue the Huskies’ rich heritage of producing top-tier playmakers in the secondary.
PFSN All-Transfer Portal Second Team Special Teams
- K: Ethan Sanchez, Houston
- P: Marshall Nicholls, Georgia Tech
- KR: Devin Gandy, Louisiana Tech
- PR: KC Concepcion, Texas A&M
No, your eyes don’t deceive you, Texas A&M standout Concepcion appears twice among the PFSN All-Transfer Portal teams. There’s a reason that the former NC State playmaker earned the Paul Hornung Award as the most versatile player in college football this season. Meanwhile, no kicker had more game-winning field goals in 2025 than former Old Dominion Monarch turned Houston Cougar, Ethan Sanchez.
