With the offseason basically wrapped up, it’s a good time to look back at the personnel across the college football landscape. I scoured the rosters and selected my favorite move by each Power 4 team.
This is not limited to a transfer addition or a hot recruit. Retention is also a critical part of roster management, so that, too, was fair game. As were the hiring of assistant coaches.
ACC
Boston College: Bill O’Brien taking over play calling
Finding a move I liked for BC was a tough assignment. The Eagles lost six starters to the portal and their offensive coordinator to the NFL following a 2-10 season. The good news is O’Brien was a pretty good play caller at Alabama under Nick Saban and in New England when Tom Brady was his quarterback. Of course, there’s a bit of a talent difference between those places and Chestnut Hill.
Cal: Bolstering JKS’s supporting cast
New coach Tosh Lupoi and general manager Ron Rivera feel like a dangerous combination in Berkeley. Keeping QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was an obvious victory. Bringing in running back Adam Mohammed (Washington), receivers Ian Strong (Rutgers) and Chase Hendricks (Ohio) and tight end Dorian Thomas (New Mexico) will pay immediate dividends.
Clemson: Adding speedy Chris Johnson to the backfield
Dabo Swinney is recycling his former offensive coordinator Chad Morris after the Garrett Riley hire didn’t pan out. Johnson, a former Miami signee, has track speed and averaged 7.1 yards per rushing attempt at SMU in 2026. Will he solve all of Clemson’s woes? No. But he’ll help.
Play of the Day No. 321: More of new Clemson Tigers RB Chris Johnson Jr. This time, it’s a 54-yard sprint for a touchdown (SMU vs. Cal, 2025). #POTD pic.twitter.com/AJH3zEtULT
— Sam Teets (@Sam_Teets33) April 12, 2026
Duke: Signing veteran QB Walker Eget
There’s no doubt the defending ACC champions were put in a terrible position when quarterback Darian Mensah and 1,000-yard receiver Cooper Barkate bolted for Miami late in the portal window. But Manny Diaz and staff responded by landing a veteran FBS starting quarterback in Eget, who threw for 5,555 yards and 30 touchdowns in his two seasons as a starter at San Jose State.
Florida State: Retaining key members of the 2025 class
Someone, please hand me a fishing rod as I search for a compliment for the Seminoles’ offseason. Mike Norvell is showing all the signs of a coach likely on the way out, but at least Florida State was able to hang onto a handful of key young players, including running back Ousmane Kromah, receiver Jayvan Boggs, and defensive linemen Mandrell Desir and Darryll Desir.
Georgia Tech: Signing RB Justice Haynes
The Yellow Jackets lost several key players and both coordinators from last year’s 9-4 team. Haynes, who ran for 857 yards and 10 touchdowns at Michigan before his season was cut short by a foot injury in late October, has star potential. The offense will likely be in transition this year with a new quarterback and play caller.
Louisville: Retaining star RB Isaac Brown
Jeff Brohm is always looking for upgrades in the portal, and he found some again. But his top accomplishment was keeping Brown around for another year. Brown, who has rushed for 2,057 yards and 18 touchdowns in two seasons, initially entered the portal but opted to stay at Louisville after the Cardinals ponied up.
Miami: Plucking Darian Mensah from Duke
Mario Cristobal is often criticized for failing to develop quarterbacks. But you don’t have to develop them if they come ready-made, and Miami has been on a nice run of finding arms via the portal. Cam Ward, Carson Beck and Mensah make it three fantastic transfer signings in a row. Throw in the fact that Mensah brought 1,000-yard receiver Cooper Barkate with him from Duke, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Canes’ new QB is a viable Heisman Trophy candidate.
NC State: Keeping CJ Bailey
Dave Doeren has a lot of key players to replace, but he managed to bring back the most important one — his quarterback. New supporting cast members, like Bailey’s old high school teammate Jojo Trader (a transfer from Miami), will have to step up. But Bailey will keep NC State in most games by himself.
North Carolina: Signing a top-20 recruiting class
It took some digging to find a positive nugget for Bill Belichick’s team, which lost most of its best defensive players to the portal and/or graduation. So, we’ll give some credit to the staff for signing 12 blue-chip prospects as part of the Tar Heels’ 19th-ranked recruiting class.
Pittsburgh: Adding WR Malik Knight
Pat Narduzzi is adept at finding under-the-radar reinforcements. Knight, who averaged 16.5 yards per reception at Western Carolina last season, appears to be the best of the offseason’s 16 pickups. He’ll team with holdover Cataurus Hicks to give quarterback Mason Heintschel explosive weapons in the passing game.
SMU: Signing RB Kendrick Raphael
Rhett Lashlee had to replace both coordinators and several veteran players after a 9-4 season. Raphael, who led the ACC with 232 carries and finished fifth in the league with 943 rushing yards last season at Cal, gives returning starting quarterback Kevin Jennings a workhorse running back to complement the passing attack.
Stanford: Signing a top-40 recruiting class
General manager Andrew Luck and new coach Tavita Pritchard kept some key pieces like second-team All-ACC linebacker Matt Rose around. The better news is they were able to sign a handful of blue-chip recruits in the 2026 class, including four-star receiver Zion Robinson — a top-200 prospect who flipped from Michigan.
Syracuse: Hiring Vince Kehres as DC
The Orange fielded one of the worst P4 defenses in the country last season. Coach Fran Brown addressed the situation by hiring Kehres, a two-time Division III national championship-winning coach (at Mount Union) who had the best Group of 6 defense last season at Toledo. Between the coaching change and the additions of defensive tackles Dillan Fontus (Maryland) and Tunmise Adeleye (UNLV), the Orange should see immediate improvement on that side of the ball.
Virginia: Bolstering the backfield
Tony Elliott guided the Cavaliers to the ACC Championship Game last season thanks in large part to a successful run on transfers, and he is trying to do it again with a large portal class that includes 13 starters from other FBS programs. Are any of them stars? Not necessarily. But the trio of running backs — Jekail Middlebrook (Middle Tennessee), Peyton Lewis (Tennessee) and Solomon Beebe (UAB) — should be able to take advantage of the team’s biggest strength: the offensive line.
Virginia Tech: Swiping 11 former Penn State commits
James Franklin did more than bring a bunch of former Penn State players and coaches with him to Blacksburg. He also convinced 11 of his former commitments to sign with the Hokies. The best of the bunch is going to be running back Messiah Mickens. Check back in 2027.
Wake Forest: Reuniting QB Gio Lopez with his former coordinator
Jake Dickert had a terrific 9-4 opening season in Winston-Salem, then signed 13 transfers who had started at other FBS schools to fill gaps. The smartest move was reuniting Lopez — who spent last season at North Carolina — with Rob Ezell, his coordinator at South Alabama in 2024, when Lopez ranked second in the Sun Belt with 274.7 total yards per game.
Big 12
Arizona: Retaining Noah Fifita
Brent Brennan made a significant improvement from Year 1 to Year 2, but the Wildcats lost 14 starters from last year’s 9-4 team and need a lot of new faces to step up to contend in the Big 12. The best news this offseason is that Fifita, the first-team all-conference quarterback in 2025, is staying put. Think about how often a three-year starter bolts town to play his final season elsewhere.
Arizona State: Adding two transfer WRs
The Sun Devils lost their quarterback and top three pass catchers. The new QB — likely Kentucky transfer Cutter Boley — will have a pair of talented transfer receivers at his disposal in 6-5, 217-pound Reed Harris (Boston College) and 6-2, 210-pound Omarion Miller (Colorado).
Baylor: Hiring veteran DC Joe Klanderman
I’m not sure how many lifelines Dave Aranda has left, but if he’s going to survive the 2026 season, the defense must improve dramatically. Klanderman, who was the DC for Chris Klieman at Kansas State the last six years, inherits a unit that slipped to 15th in the Big 12 last season in scoring defense and 13th in yards per play allowed.
BYU: Adding Cade Uluave via the portal
Uluave, the Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2023, started 26 games for Cal and led the Bears last season with 100 tackles, including 12 for loss. He’ll help fill the void left by Jack Kelly, a first-team All-Big 12 selection last season who was picked in the sixth round of the NFL Draft.
Cincinnati: Retaining three starters on the OL
General manager Zach Grant has done a stellar job of finding under-the-radar talent, but he and coach Scott Satterfield have to replace 19 starters from last year’s 7-6 team, including six who entered the portal. The good news? Left tackle Joe Cotton, left guard Evan Tengesdahl and right guard Taran Tyo are back and were a big reason the Bearcats allowed only eight sacks and ranked eighth nationally in yards per play last season.
Colorado: Hiring Brennan Marion as OC
Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes needed some juice following a depressing 3-9 season in the post-Shedeur Sanders/Travis Hunter era. In comes Marion, who was the head coach at Sacramento State in 2025, and his potent and creative “Go-Go offense.” Colorado also signed two quality receivers in the portal — Danny Scudero (San Jose State) and DeAndre Moore (Texas) — to work with promising young QB Julian Lewis.
Go-Go Offense Triple Option pic.twitter.com/XfDpEXPNW1
— Firstdown_XO’s (@FirstdownX__Os) June 1, 2024
Houston: Signing 5-star QB Keisean Henderson
Willie Fritz has created real momentum and will once again have a good team after winning 10 games in Year 2. The Cougars are set at QB in 2026 with the return of Conner Weigman, but signing Henderson — a hometown product who was the No. 1 prospect in the class in the 247Sports Composite — is a sign that this program can be a contender in the Big 12 for years to come.
Iowa State: Making strong coordinator hires
Jimmy Rogers has a tough job maintaining the standard Matt Campbell set in Ames, but at least he’s surrounded himself with veteran assistants familiar with the area. Tyler Roehl (OC) and Jesse Bobbitt (DC) used to go head-to-head in the North Dakota State-South Dakota State rivalry and can build winning units with lower-level recruits. That’s the kind of tonic Iowa State needs after its roster was fleeced by its former coach.
Kansas: Upgrading the defensive front
The Jayhawks finished 12th in the Big 12 in scoring defense and 13th in yards per carry allowed. Lance Leipold and his staff hope they’ve addressed that by signing edge rusher David Santiago from Michigan State and three former Group of 6 starters — defensive linemen Tre’Von McAlpine (Tulane) and Eamon Smalls (UAB) and linebacker Jibreel Al-Amin (Marshall).
Kansas State: Signing the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year
Sure, it’s going to be nice to have new coach Collin Klein working with quarterback Avery Johnson. But the Wildcats needed a frontline star on the other side of the ball to help move the program back in the right direction. Landing Wendell Gregory from Oklahoma State is a step in the right direction.
Oklahoma State: Signing QB Drew Mestemaker
Mestemaker led the nation with 4,379 passing yards as a redshirt freshman at North Texas. He had many suitors when he entered the portal, but he opted to follow his coach, Eric Morris, to Oklahoma State. He wasn’t alone. Standout running back Caleb Hawkins and receiver Wyatt Young were also among the 17 players who moved from Denton to Stillwater.
TCU: Signing QB Jaden Craig
Sonny Dykes decided to dump the Air Raid offense for a more run-dependent, pro-style attack and hired Gordon Sammis from UConn as a coordinator to execute it. The better move was signing a veteran like Craig, who turned the ball over only 16 times while going 19-5 as a starter for the Crimson.
Texas Tech: Signing edge rushers Trey White and Adam Trick
Brendan Sorby’s recent win in court didn’t change my mind about the best signings general manager James Blanchard made this offseason. Texas Tech was good last year because it overwhelmed opponents with its defensive line. White, a transfer from San Diego State, and Trick, from Miami (Ohio), may not be on the elite level first-round pick David Bailey and third-round pick Romello Height were, but they’re close.
UCF: Signing QB Alonzo Barnett
There’s plenty of work for first-year Scott Frost (in his second stint at UCF), but the arrival of Barnett at least brings stability to the team’s most important position. He went 21-6 as the starter at James Madison and was the 2025 Sun Belt Player of the Year en route to leading the Dukes to the CFP.
Utah: Signing OT Kelvin Obot
Morgan Scalley lost several key players who followed Kyle Whittingham to Michigan, but he kept quarterback Devon Dampier and running back Wayshawn Parker and did decent work in the portal. The best move, though, was keeping Obot in the recruiting class. Utah lost a lot on its offensive line, and the five-star prospect from Idaho will have a chance to play right away.
West Virginia: Signing FBS leading rusher Cam Cook
Rich Rodriguez is flipping his roster yet again following a 4-8 season in his return to Morgantown, with more than 80 newcomers on the roster between the portal and his recruiting class. With Cook, at least, the Mountaineers have a true No. 1 running back. Also watch out for four-star freshman Amari Latimer to bloom and become Cook’s eventual replacement.
Big Ten
Illinois: Signing QB Katin Houser
Bret Bielema had to replace 16 starters from a team that won nine games in 2025, most notably quarterback Luke Altmyer. Houser, who began his career at Michigan State, threw for 3,300 yards, 19 touchdowns and six interceptions at East Carolina last season. Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, Oregon’s Dante Moore and USC’s Jayden Maiava are the only returning Big Ten quarterbacks with better efficiency numbers in 2025.
Indiana: Reloading on defense
Everything is rolling in the right direction for Curt Cignetti. His coordinators stayed put, and strong reinforcements arrived across the board via the portal. The better haul, to me, is on defense where Bryant Haines’ unit shouldn’t take a step back despite significant losses to the draft. Chiddi Obiazor (Kansas State), Tobi Osunsanmi (Kansas State), Josh Burnham (Notre Dame), A.J. Harris (Penn State), Jiquan Sanks (Cincinnati) and Preston Zachman (Wisconsin) will all play huge roles in 2026.
Iowa: Retaining key O-linemen
Kirk Ferentz brought in some solid offensive skill pieces from the FCS level in running back L.J. Phillips (South Dakota) and receiver Tony Diaz (Texas-Rio Grande Valley). Iowa also signed a really good safety in Tyler Brown from James Madison. But the top move was retaining right guard Kade Pieper and left tackle Trevor Lauck, two key pieces of an offensive line that won the Joe Moore Award in 2025.
Maryland: Holding onto Malik Washington
Maryland is 2-16 in the Big Ten the last two seasons. The good news? The Terrapins managed to hold onto their top young players, none more important than rising sophomore quarterback Malik Washington. Throw in the fact that Maryland signed the No. 1 edge rusher in the 2026 cycle in Zion Elee, a Baltimore native, and coach Mike Locksley is at least providing hope for a brighter future.
Michigan: Hiring Jason Beck as OC
The Wolverines held onto their top-15 recruiting class, including five-star running back Savion Hiter, during the tumultuous Sherrone Moore situation and ensuing coaching change. That was obviously important, but Beck’s decision to follow Kyle Whittingham to Michigan is a bigger deal. Beck did a very good job last year with QB Devon Dampier at Utah, and I’m betting he’s going to unlock all of Bryce Underwood’s talents.
Michigan State: Signing RB Cam Edwards
Pat Fitzgerald is taking over a complete rebuild, and the addition of Edwards, who runs angry at 5-11 and 210 pounds, will add some physicality to the ground game. He ran for 1,226 yards and 15 touchdowns at UConn last season and averaged 3.7 yards per carry after contact, which ranked in the top 25 in the country according to TruMedia.
TOUCHDOWN‼️
Cam Edwards takes it 50-yards to the house 🔥 pic.twitter.com/KKL5vjRaCS
— UConn Football (@UConnFootball) September 7, 2024
Minnesota: Retaining the Big Ten leader in sacks
Defensive end Anthony Smith, an All-Big Ten pick who recorded 17.5 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks, could have been a top-100 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but he decided to return for his final season. P.J. Fleck won’t likely get Minnesota to the top of the Big Ten, but he continues to field a consistent winner.
Nebraska: Hiring Rob Aurich as DC
Landing Anthony Colandrea, the 2025 Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, was a pretty good consolation prize after Kenny Minchey flipped his commitment to Kentucky. But the best move of the offseason by Matt Rhule was hiring Aurich to run the defense. San Diego State ranked fifth nationally in yards per play allowed in Aurich’s lone season as the Aztecs’ DC.
Northwestern: Hiring Chip Kelly as OC
Kelly has proven to be a much better play caller in college than in the pros. He may not have the personnel to turn the Wildcats into an elite offense overnight, but he’s definitely going to make them more exciting to watch in their new $872 million stadium.
Ohio State: Signing 5-star WR Chris Henry Jr.
Ryan Day’s staff did some solid portal work to replace a bunch of high-end defensive players, and I have confidence that Matt Patricia will have a top-15 unit in 2026. But this is the final year All-American Jeremiah Smith will be in Columbus, and the Buckeyes not only need someone to fill his shoes when he leaves but also a player who will prevent him from being triple-teamed this season.
Oregon: Plucking safety Koi Perich from Minnesota
We’ll have to see how much losing both coordinators and a lot of the team’s depth affects the Ducks in big-time matchups this fall, but the starting lineup remains top-notch. Perich, a two-time All-Big Ten safety, is a better talent than Dillon Thieneman, the first-round pick he’s replacing.
Penn State: Hiring DC D’Anton Lynn
Matt Campbell brought over 23 players and most of his coaching staff from Iowa State, which should help the Nittany Lions improve after a middling 7-6 season. The best move he made, though, was bringing over Lynn, a Penn State grad, from USC. Lynn did terrific work at both UCLA and USC to improve bad defenses and will have more to work with in Happy Valley than he did out West.
Purdue: Hiring OL coach Zach Crabtree
Barry Odom’s first year in West Lafayette wasn’t much better than Ryan Walter’s final season, but he’s plugging away little by little. Crabtree, who spent last season at Fresno State, played for Purdue offensive coordinator Josh Henson at Oklahoma State and coached under him at USC. Staff cohesion is important.
Rutgers: Bolstering the front seven
Greg Schiano made changes to his defensive staff and did a fine job selecting former South Dakota head coach Travis Johansen as the DC. Johansen, though, needs better players to win in the Big Ten. Two portal additions — defensive end Malachi Davis (Toledo) and linebacker Ty Morris (Rice) — won’t fix everything, but they’ll help.
UCLA: Adding 10 Dukes
Will this have the same impact as the imports Curt Cignetti brought from James Madison to Indiana? Not likely, but seven starters and 10 players overall followed new coach Bob Chesney from JMU to UCLA. The most notable are edge rusher Sahir West, running back Wayne Knight and offensive linemen Carter Sweazie and Riley Robell. Culture matters.
USC: Signing WR Trent Mosley
Last season we saw how much freshman Malachi Toney meant to Miami’s run to the national championship game. Mosley, a similarly built 5-10, 180-pound freshman from Chicago, was among the early standouts in the spring and was a key member of USC’s No. 1 recruiting class. Considering the talent USC has to replace at receiver, Mosley will have an opportunity to contribute right away.
Washington: Holding onto Demond Williams
All’s well that ends well? That’s what Williams and Washington are hoping is the case after the offseason drama that saw Williams announce that he would enter the transfer portal four days after signing a revenue-sharing agreement to stay at Washington. The two sides made up, and Williams is back for his third season with the Huskies and figures to be one of the top QBs in the Big Ten.
Wisconsin: Signing QB Colton Joseph
Luke Fickell’s tenure has been a disappointment due in large part to progressively worse quarterback play over the last three seasons. Joseph, the 2025 Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year at Old Dominion, at least provides hope for a brighter future. He’s one of 33 transfers Fickell is counting on to turn things around in Madison.
Independent
Notre Dame: Signing two big-time DTs in the portal
Marcus Freeman’s decision to return to South Bend instead of potentially leaving for the NFL was the best offseason news in South Bend. From a personnel standpoint, signing Tionne Gray (Oregon) and Francis Brewu (Pittsburgh) will make the biggest impact on the field. Both should immediately help fill holes and support edge rusher Boubacar Traore in his pursuit of the quarterback. It’s a deep defensive line group.
SEC
Alabama: Signing the SEC’s top recruiting class
Kalen DeBoer’s biggest accomplishment to this point has been maintaining the Crimson Tide’s place atop the SEC’s recruiting landscape. Only one recruit from Bama’s 2025 signing class left after last season’s College Football Playoff run, and the 2026 signing class — ranked No. 3 nationally and No. 1 in the SEC — is loaded with bona fide stars. My favorite is five-star running back EJ Crowell, a 5-8, 221-pound Alabama native who should become one of the top offensive players in the country in the next few years.
Arkansas: Hiring Gaizka Crowley as GM
New coach Ryan Silverfield has his hands full trying to get the Razorbacks, who haven’t had a winning SEC record since 2015, back on track. He made an astute GM hire, luring Crowley away from Arizona. At a place like Arkansas, you need someone with experience finding under-the-radar prospects.
Auburn: Retaining DC DJ Durkin
There’s no doubt in my mind that new coach Alex Golesh is going to improve the Tigers offense. What Auburn fans really should celebrate, though, is Golesh managing to retain Durkin, who has done a fine job building defenses in the SEC in recent years.
Florida: Hiring Phil Trautwein as OL coach
If the Gators are going to return to glory, it will need to start up front on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Trautwein, who coached 35 all-conference offensive linemen and three first-round picks in his time at Penn State and Boston College, has already started to pay dividends on the recruiting trail.
Georgia: Picking up Isiah Canion in the portal
Quarterback Gunner Stockton lost his top five pass catchers from last season, so landing Canion was pivotal for an offense searching for playmakers. The 6-4, 216-pound transfer from Georgia Tech caught 33 passes for 480 yards and four touchdowns last season and is capable of playing a leading role for the Bulldogs.
Kentucky: Overhauling the O-line line
New coach Will Stein did well in swiping quarterback Kenny Minchey (Notre Dame) away from an initial commitment to Nebraska, but the Wildcats’ best transfer additions were on the offensive line. Lance Heard (Tennessee), Coleton Price (Baylor) and Tegra Tshabola (Ohio State) were starters at P4 programs and will serve as catalysts for Kentucky’s offensive improvement this fall.
LSU: Retaining DC Blake Baker
The Tigers spent boatloads of money to bring in Lane Kiffin and a colorful cast of assistant coaches — including Ed Orgeron — and then millions more to upgrade the roster via the portal. But you can make the case that the best thing Kiffin did was keep the defensive coordinator. Baker turned the LSU defense into a reliable unit after it had lost its way, and maintaining the same system will provide needed continuity.
Mississippi State: Bringing back DC Zach Arnett
Jeff Lebby has things headed in the right direction offensively but badly needed an upgrade on defense. Hiring Arnett, the former head coach at Mississippi State (for one season) who has been an analyst at Ole Miss and Florida State the last two years, was a great move. Mississippi State’s defense ranked in the top five in the SEC in yards per play allowed in two of Arnett’s three seasons as Mike Leach’s DC.
Missouri: Upgrading the passing game
The Tigers have a terrific running game led by SEC rushing leader Ahmad Hardy — assuming he is ready to go — but they badly needed to upgrade the passing attack. And they did so in the form of Ole Miss transfers Austin Simmons (quarterback) and Cayden Lee (receiver). Eli Drinkwitz still has to replace 11 starters on defense from last year’s 8-5 team, but new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey has the type of talent on his side of the ball to keep the Tigers relevant in the SEC.
Oklahoma: Getting John Mateer some help
The offense improved in 2025 with John Mateer at QB, but the Sooners didn’t have enough reliable pass catchers, and the offensive line wasn’t elite. Signing receivers Trell Harris (Virginia) and Parker Livingstone (Texas) along with right tackle E’Marion Harris (Arkansas) and pairing them with a talented cast of returnees should help Mateer and the offense take a step forward.
Ole Miss: Adding reinforcements at LB, DB
Pete Golding’s defense finished ninth in the SEC in both yards per play allowed and scoring defense and needed some upgrades after last year’s run to the CFP semifinals. The additions of Edwin Joseph (Florida State), Jay Crawford (Auburn), Joenel Aguero (Georgia) and Sharif Denson (Florida) instantly make the Rebels better in the secondary. Keaton Thomas (Baylor) and Luke Ferrelli (Cal) are also upgrades at linebacker.
South Carolina: Bolstering the OL
Shane Beamer retooled his offensive staff — hiring Kendall Briles as his coordinator — and kept quarterback LaNorris Sellers from leaving. None of it will matter, though, if the Gamecocks don’t get better play from the offensive line, which gave up 43 sacks last season. South Carolina signed six O-linemen who started at their previous schools, including tackle Jacarrius Peak (NC State) and guard Emmanuel Poku (ECU).
Tennessee: Signing the tandem of Xavier Gilliam and Amare Campbell
Josh Heupel will have a young, inexperienced starting quarterback trying to navigate the SEC this fall. At least, there are some veterans on the other side of the ball familiar with new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ system. Gilliam, a 6-2, 305-pound quick-footed defensive lineman, and Campbell, a 6-0, 230-pound linebacker who earned third-team All-Big Ten honors last season, both played for Knowles at Penn State last season.
Texas: Landing Cam Coleman
You could argue Arch Manning has the best set of pass catchers in college football, thanks to the arrival of Coleman, the top-ranked receiver in the 2024 recruiting cycle, who didn’t get nearly enough balls thrown his way in two seasons at Auburn.
Most frightening thing about Top 10 pick Texas WR Cam Coleman?
Auburn transfer doesn’t turn 20 until August pic.twitter.com/tmZOw2joTw
— Clint Goss (@NFLDraftDome) May 5, 2026
Texas A&M: Raiding SEC schools for O-linemen
Mike Elko had to replace four offensive line starters from a CFP team and did so by plucking talent — four former starters, to be exact — off rosters of conference rivals. I’m pretty sure nobody else in college football was able to pull that off. Quarterback Marcel Reed is the obvious beneficiary.
Vanderbilt: Flipping QB Jared Curtis
There are lots of holes to fill after the Commodores’ first 10-win season, none more important than at quarterback following the departure of Diego Pavia. But Clark Lea has a budding star in Curtis, a five-star prospect who flipped from Georgia and opted to sign with the hometown Commodores.
