The first two days of the transfer portal were primarily focused on logistics. Players entered their names, lined up visits, tested the waters, and let the rumors swirl.
Day 3? That’s when things finally got fun.
This is when pen met paper. Big names started coming off the board. Programs showed their hand. And the early portal hierarchy began to take shape. Let’s break down the biggest winner, a team quietly stabilizing itself, a clear loser, and a surprise that no one expected this early.
Winner: Indiana Hoosiers
What a day for the Hoosier Nation.
Indiana is still alive in the College Football Playoff, riding one of the most magical runs in program history, but the grind never stops. The best programs plan for the future while competing in the present, and that’s precisely what Curt Cignetti is doing.
Indiana absolutely crushed Day 3 of the transfer portal, landing a haul that addressed multiple impact positions.
The Hoosiers added Josh Hoover, one of the top quarterbacks available, high-end receiver Nick Marsh, versatile and underutilized running back Turbo Richard, and proven Wisconsin safety Preston Zachman, a defensive cornerstone. And they may not be done yet.
Hoover is the crown jewel of the group, as Indiana once again turned to the portal for a quarterback with real upside, someone capable of winning immediately while still having room to grow. The tools are there; now it’s about development.
Statistically, Hoover checks every box, posting an 86.0 PFSN College QB Impact score that ranked 21st nationally while throwing for 3,472 passing yards and 29 touchdowns, both top-six marks in the country.
He now steps into an offense that already graded out at 93.2 overall, the second-best in the nation post–Fernando Mendoza, and will be tasked with keeping the engine humming, something there’s every reason to believe he can do.
Indiana didn’t just win Day 3. They sent a message that this National Championship run isn’t a fluke.
Quiet Winner: Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin’s decline over the last few seasons has been hard to ignore. Not long ago, they were penciled in as a Big Ten contender every year. That’s no longer the case.
Still, Day 3 gave Badger fans a reason to believe.
Yes, Wisconsin lost safety Preston Zachman to Indiana, but the Badgers responded by adding two underrated, scheme-fitting weapons in quarterback Colton Joseph and running back Abu Sama. Joseph, in particular, brings something Wisconsin has desperately lacked: a legitimate dual threat.
Advanced metrics support that impact, as he posted an 84.2 PFSN QB Impact score (31st nationally), rushed for 1,007 yards (fifth among quarterbacks), and scored 13 rushing touchdowns (11th nationally). His ability to punish defenses with his arm or turn broken plays into explosive runs with his legs immediately changes how opponents must prepare for Wisconsin’s offense.
And they need it.
The Badgers are coming off a brutal 4–8 season (2–7 in Big Ten play). Offensively, they logged just a 75.0 PFSN College Offense Impact score 75.0. The passing game was especially stagnant, with only 1,637 yards and nine touchdowns all season. Joseph won’t fix everything overnight, but he gives Wisconsin a direction, and that alone makes Day 3 a win.
Loser: Iowa State Cyclones
Few programs have been hit harder than Iowa State.
The trouble started weeks ago when head coach Matt Campbell left for Penn State. Since then, it’s been nothing short of a roster collapse.
This isn’t a restructure, it’s a roster teardown. Iowa State has lost both quarterbacks, including Rocco Becht to Penn State, along with a starting running back, both tight ends, multiple wide receivers, and several key defensive contributors.
That mass exodus comes on the heels of a defense that received a 79.4 PFSN College Defense Impact score this season, solid by most standards, but now largely gone. In past years, defense was the Cyclones’ identity; now, that identity is firmly up in the air.
With no clear plan, no established quarterback, and no continuity, Iowa State is staring at a complete rebuild. Day 3 wasn’t rock bottom, but it made clear that the mass exodus is far from over.
Surprise: LSU’s Lack of Fireworks
This one raises eyebrows.
With Lane Kiffin’s reputation as a transfer portal assassin, fireworks were expected early and often, but LSU’s activity through Day 3 has been surprisingly quiet.
MORE: Matt Campbell’s First Move at Penn State? Land 6 Iowa State Players in 72 Hours
Yes, it’s still early, but that’s precisely why the lack of movement stands out. LSU was heavily linked to top-tier quarterbacks such as Sam Leavitt, Brendan Sorsby, and Hoover, yet none of those names have landed in Baton Rouge.
For a roster with obvious holes and plenty of unanswered questions, the lack of movement is noticeable. With LSU’s resources, location, and perceived coaching advantage, you’d expect them to be stacking talent by now, hyperbolic, sure, but still fair.
It’s worth wondering whether Ole Miss’ College Football Playoff run is impacting portal decisions, if the way things ended in Oxford has altered how players view Lane Kiffin, and whether recruits are beginning to question the program’s long-term stability.
All of that could flip in a matter of days, however, and LSU could still walk away with everything they want and more. Or maybe there’s something there. Either way, until the fireworks start, the silence is loud. And for now, adding fuel to the Lane Kiffin portal narrative only makes things more interesting.
