Top 30 Non-QB College Football Transfers for 2026: Ranking the Best Portal Additions
By Owain Jones
The transfer portal has revolutionised college football, whether you like it or not. Much of the conversation is directed by which quarterbacks are transferring where, but their relative success often comes down to who programs surround them with. It has become a way for players to climb the ranks whilst also providing opportunities for teams to retool.
It means teams no longer have to be patient with recruiting classes or development; the biggest programs can buy proven production and experience.
For contenders, that might mean securing a proven left tackle to protect a new quarterback. Elsewhere, it could be replacing a departing pass rusher, finding a new No. 1 receiver or adding the final piece to an already talented secondary.
That context matters when ranking the best non-quarterback transfers entering the 2026 season. Talent is naturally part of the equation, but so are opportunity, positional value and, most importantly, fit. The most impactful addition is not necessarily the biggest name. It is the player whose arrival can change what his new team is capable of doing.
From potential breakout stars receiving bigger opportunities to established All-America candidates joining College Football Playoff contenders, these are the top 30 non-quarterback transfers to know entering the 2026 college football season.
Top 30 College Football Transfers for 2026: Best Non-QBs
30. DJ Kelly, CB | Toledo → James Madison
DJ Kelly is a projection on this list, but his ceiling justifies inclusion for a player who isn’t yet a household name. He played in all 13 games for Toledo last season but started only once, recording 10 tackles, one interception, and one pass breakup.
Yet, there are traits worth developing in a 6-foot, 185-pound corner who now gets the opportunity to take meaningful snaps for a program that made the Playoff a year ago. James Madison has consistently valued players ready for larger roles, and Kelly is its latest bet.
29. Wendell Gregory, EDGE | Oklahoma State → Kansas State
Wendell Gregory had a monster year in 2025, earning Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year honours after recording 12 tackles for loss and generating 23 pressures for Oklahoma State. There is still work to do developing a more complete pass-rush arsenal, but the twitch, explosiveness, and power provide Kansas State with plenty to work with.
28. Sahir West, EDGE | James Madison → UCLA
Few players on this list offer Sahir West’s breakout potential. He exploded for 14 tackles for loss and seven sacks as a redshirt freshman, saving his best performance for the Sun Belt Championship Game with 5.5 TFLs and three sacks.
Now listed at 279 pounds, West has the size and explosiveness to move around the defensive front. Better still, he follows Bob Chesney to UCLA. That continuity matters as the level of competition rises substantially in Big Ten play, allowing West to develop within a familiar system rather than simultaneously adjusting to a new scheme.
27. Christian Alliegro, LB | Wisconsin → Ohio State
Ohio State lost plenty of linebacker talent this offseason with Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese both selected in the top 10 of the 2026 NFL Draft, creating an obvious opportunity for Christian Alliegro.
At 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, the Wisconsin transfer offers size, downhill physicality and pressure ability after collecting eight tackles for loss and four sacks in only 10 games last season. A broken arm ended that campaign early, ironically against Ohio State, but Alliegro now enters a talented Buckeyes defensive core, where he won’t be asked to solve everything himself.
26. Eugene Wilson III, WR | Florida → LSU
It is easy to forget how exciting Eugene Wilson III was as a freshman. He caught 61 passes for 538 yards and six touchdowns in 2023, immediately emerging as one of the SEC’s most dangerous young receivers.
However, injuries have prevented Wilson from building on that start, curtailing each of his last two seasons. It means that LSU’s bet isn’t really on rediscovering the talent. It is on whether Lane Kiffin can finally keep Wilson available long enough to exploit his YAC ability.
25. Ian Strong, WR | Rutgers → Cal
Ian Strong became Rutgers’ featured receiver in 2025 and responded with 52 catches for 762 yards and five touchdowns. While there isn’t much mystery surrounding his move to Cal, there is excitement for a program under new leadership that can get one of the portal’s key weapons.
At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Strong offers a proven, physical boundary target who can compete through contact and provide a sizeable catch radius. With quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele returning, Strong should have an immediate route towards becoming one of the focal points of Cal’s passing attack.
24. Ty Benefield, S | Boise State → LSU
Replacing AJ Haulcy required LSU to find much-needed experience at the heart of its secondary.
Ty Benefield brings plenty of it to Baton Rouge. The former Boise State safety arrives with 32 starts, 235 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and five interceptions on his résumé. He isn’t necessarily the spectacular swing LSU is taking elsewhere in the portal, but his processing, tackling and communication offer reliability and an elevated floor.
23. Ben Brahmer, TE | Iowa State → Penn State
Matt Campbell has done everything he can to make the Nittany Lions his own in 2026, including bringing a host of former Iowa State Cyclones to State College. Alongside quarterback Rocco Becht comes one of his favourite targets in Ben Brahmer.
Brahmer provides an enormous catch radius at 6-foot-7 and 250 pounds, and understands exactly how Campbell wants to use the position. Five of his six touchdowns last season came in the red zone, where his frame and body positioning became difficult to defend. Familiarity with both quarterback and scheme should make his transition to Happy Valley considerably easier.
22. Eric Singleton Jr., WR | Auburn → Florida
Eric Singleton Jr. has caught a pass in all 36 games of his college career, but Florida will hope reuniting him with Gators offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner can produce more than consistency.
The speedy receiver was at his most explosive playing for Faulkner at Georgia Tech, producing 1,468 receiving yards across two seasons before transferring to Auburn. Singleton’s acceleration can stretch coverage vertically while also creating opportunities through manufactured touches underneath.
21. Earl Little Jr., S | Florida State → Ohio State
It has taken Earl Little Jr. some time to finally live up to the hype after arriving in college football with blue-chip expectations, needing until 2025 to truly turn them into production. Once he did, the breakthrough was emphatic, recording 76 tackles, four interceptions, and two forced fumbles for Florida State.
Plus, there are big shoes to fill in the Ohio State in the secondary. Little adds an experienced, versatile safety play with proven ball production to an already loaded defensive talent pool.
20. Jacarrius Peak, OT | NC State → South Carolina
South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers was sacked 42 times in 2025, more than any other Power Four quarterback, while facing pressure on 42% of his dropbacks. If the Gamecocks are truly to unlock his talent, then they desperately need answers up front.
The acquisition of Jacarrius Peak should provide one. The NC State transfer has over 2,200 offensive snaps and experience playing both tackle spots, allowing only four sacks across more than 1,100 career pass-protection snaps. Peak missed spring after suffering an offseason injury, but his experience and reliability could help unlock an offense that too often left Sellers fighting for survival.
19. Jontez Williams, CB | Iowa State → USC
USC had a problem on defense in 2025, but legendary coach Gary Patterson has been brought in to help fix it. He has completely reshaped the Trojans’ cornerback room, adding six new players at the position as USC looks to build a roster capable of competing nationally.
Jontez Williams brings something particularly valuable within that overhaul: proven Power Four experience. The Iowa State transfer has the physicality and maturity to be the secondary leader immediately, providing impactful starting snaps and some much-needed stability whilst the rest of the room develops.
18. John Henry Daley, EDGE | Utah → Michigan
John Henry Daley has the potential to be one of college football’s most impactful transfers as he follows Kyle Whittingham to Ann Arbor.
The Utah transfer was one of college football’s most disruptive defenders in 2025, recording 17.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks before suffering an Achilles injury. His recovery will determine how quickly that production translates to the Michigan Wolverines, but familiarity should help, and he is expected to be healthy to start the season.
17. Isaiah Horton, WR | Alabama → Texas A&M
Texas A&M already had a quality receiver room full of speed and explosiveness. But it was missing a true outside weapon.
At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Isaiah Horton gives Marcel Reed a legitimate big-bodied X receiver capable of winning on the boundary and providing a sizeable target in contested situations. Paired with the dynamic Mario Craver, his size and catch-point ability should give the Aggies a much more varied passing attack.
16. DJ McKinney, CB | Colorado → Notre Dame
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are absolutely loaded all over their roster as they push not only for a Playoff berth, but also a National Championship. That includes one of college football’s best cornerback pairings in 2026.
Leonard Moore already gives the Irish a premier presence on one side, and Colorado transfer DJ McKinney brings plenty of experience to the other. He played 840 defensive snaps last season, recording three interceptions and nine pass breakups while starting all 13 games. With 22 starts across two years at Colorado, McKinney offers proven ball production and reliability to a Notre Dame defense that enters the season with legitimate ambitions.
15. Wyatt Young, WR | North Texas → Oklahoma State
Copy and paste. Eric Morris is taking his best playmakers from North Texas and importing the offense to Oklahoma State.
It means Wyatt Young heads to Stillwater alongside quarterback Drew Mestemaker, giving the Cowboys an established connection within a dramatically rebuilt offense that should raise the floor of a program that won just one game in 2025. Young already understands the spacing, timing and route concepts Morris wants to install, having played in the Mean Green’s offense, which was No. 1 in the nation in scoring offense.
14. Hollywood Smothers, RB | NC State → Texas
Hollywood Smothers is the first of several Texas transfers to appear on this list. The Longhorns have completely reshaped their running back room, also adding Raleek Brown.
The NC State transfer rushed for 939 yards in 2025, but his ability to create beyond what is blocked makes him particularly exciting. Smothers forced 71 missed tackles, the most in the ACC, showcasing excellent vision, contact balance and lateral creativity. Add 37 receptions last season, and Texas has acquired a versatile back capable of contributing in multiple ways alongside an explosive passing attack.
13. Mateen Ibirogba, DL | Wake Forest → Texas Tech
Mateen Ibirogba’s development has taken him from a 250-pound edge defender at Georgetown to a 300-pound interior disruptor heading to Texas Tech in 2026.
Crucially, adding that mass hasn’t stripped away the explosiveness that made him dangerous at a lighter weight. Ibirogba generated 19 pressures for Wake Forest last season, using his first-step quickness to penetrate gaps and create disruption from the interior. After building an elite transfer defensive front in 2025, Texas Tech is returning to the portal looking for its next wave of difference-makers.
12. Melvin Siani, OT | Wake Forest → Texas
Texas player No. 2. For all the excitement surrounding Texas’ collection of offensive weapons, none of it matters if Arch Manning doesn’t have time to use them or the rushing attack isn’t sustainable.
Melvin Siani brings much-needed experience and upside after starting every game for Wake Forest last season, following previous starting experience at Temple. At 6-foot-6 and 317 pounds, he should immediately slot in at right tackle on a Longhorns offensive line undergoing change. Pairing Siani with Trevor Goosby gives Texas an experienced tackle combination tasked with keeping one of college football’s most explosive offenses on schedule.
11. Rasheem Biles, LB | Pitt → Texas
For all the flash in Austin, don’t underestimate the impact Rasheem Biles can have as a chaos creator from the second level.
The former Pitt linebacker finished with 101 tackles in 2025, but it is everything around that number that makes him exciting, including 17 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, six pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two interceptions returned for touchdowns. Biles plays with urgency downhill and consistently finds ways to affect possessions rather than simply rack up tackles.
10. Princewill Umanmielen, EDGE | Ole Miss → LSU
For all the talk of Lane Kiffin’s offense, the new Tigers’ head coach has also been busy rebuilding the defense. He has been aggressive in adding to a defensive front that needed more disruptive talent, and Princewill Umanmielen might be the most exciting addition.
Following Kiffin from Ole Miss gives Princewill Umanmielen valuable continuity, but his explosive first step, length and active hands are why he sits inside the top 10. LSU has also added Jordan Ross, Malik Blocton and Stephiylan Green up front, giving Umanmielen the supporting cast to emerge as one of the SEC’s most disruptive edge defenders.
9. Omarion Miller, WR | Colorado → Arizona State
Arizona State needs someone to replace the production and explosive-play ability of Jordyn Tyson. Omarion Miller arrives having finally proven he can handle that responsibility.
The Colorado transfer broke out with 808 yards and eight touchdowns in 2025, averaging an explosive 18 yards per reception. Miller combines size with legitimate vertical ability and now enters an offense with an obvious opening for a No. 1 receiver. Arizona State has already struck gold with one former Colorado receiver in Tyson. Miller has the opportunity to follow a similar path.
8. Lance Heard, OT | Tennessee → Kentucky
Lance Heard arrives at Kentucky as a much more polished player than the highly recruited but inconsistent tackle Tennessee initially inherited.
The former five-star allowed pressure on only 1.7% of his pass-protection snaps in 2025, the fifth-best rate among SEC tackles. Furthermore, Heard now has more than 1,700 offensive snaps and 24 career starts behind him, providing new head coach Will Stein with some much-needed certainty as he builds his first Kentucky offense. With his combination of size, experience and continued development, Heard could be one of the SEC’s best tackles in 2026.
7. Damon Wilson II, EDGE | Missouri → Miami
Miami led college football with 256 pressures last season, but maintaining that relentless defensive identity became considerably harder when Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor departed for the NFL.
Enter Damon Wilson II.
Wilson exploded for nine sacks and 40 pressures during his only season at Missouri, establishing himself as one of the SEC’s most disruptive pass rushers in 2025. But he has even more talent and promise than he has already shown. His explosiveness threatens tackles off the edge, but Wilson is more than a third-down specialist. He can impact the run and contribute across all three downs, giving Miami a potential new centrepiece up front.
6. A.J. Harris, CB | Penn State → Indiana
Indiana has mastered the transfer portal under Curt Cignetti. He has already shown he can use it to construct a National Championship-winning roster. Now it is about retooling after so many defensive players turned pro.
Adding A.J. Harris is exactly the type of move that keeps the Hoosiers among college football’s elite. The former Georgia and Penn State corner has 26 career starts and was targeted only 18 times across 232 coverage snaps last season. At 6-foot-1, Harris has the size, experience and coverage ability to become the leader of a secondary that will again be tested by some of the Big Ten’s best offenses.
5. Koi Perich, S | Minnesota → Oregon
Replacing Dillon Thieneman was never going to be straightforward, but Oregon has landed one of the most versatile defensive backs in college football to add to an already loaded roster that includes several defensive-front prospects on our 2027 NFL Draft Top 50 Watchlist.
Koi Perich recorded 82 tackles for Minnesota last season, but his value extends well beyond the box score. His range, instincts and football intelligence allow him to impact the game from different alignments, while he also brings proven special teams ability.
4. Justice Haynes, RB | Michigan → Georgia Tech
Justice Haynes returns to Georgia with the opportunity to become the focal point of a Georgia Tech offense entering a new era following the departure of Haynes King.
Before a foot injury derailed his 2025 season at Michigan, Haynes rushed for 857 yards and 10 touchdowns in only seven games, averaging 7.1 yards per carry and producing four runs of at least 50 yards. His vision and burst can make him one of college football’s most explosive backs, while pairing him with Malachi Hosley gives the Yellow Jackets a potentially devastating backfield.
3. Nick Marsh, WR | Michigan State → Indiana
Indiana and Nick Marsh need no introduction. The former Michigan State man recorded 12 catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns across two games against the Hoosiers.
At 6-foot-3 and 213 pounds, Marsh combines size with vertical ability, physicality and yards-after-catch potential. Pairing him with Charlie Becker gives Indiana another imposing one-two receiver duo with Josh Hoover throwing the ball, which ensures the defending champions retain serious firepower in the passing game.
2. Cam Coleman, WR | Auburn → Texas
Cam Coleman might be the most talented non-quarterback to enter the transfer portal this offseason. Now imagine what happens when he finally gets some stability around him.
The elite receiver produced 1,306 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns across two seasons at Auburn despite playing with five different starting quarterbacks. At Texas, he gets Arch Manning throwing him the football and Ryan Wingo occupying attention elsewhere.
Coleman’s combination of vertical speed, body control and contested-catch ability already makes him special. In this environment, he has everything required to become one of college football’s defining players in 2026.
1. Jordan Seaton, OT | Colorado → LSU
Quarterbacks and playmakers grab the headlines, but LSU may have landed the portal’s most valuable non-QB by finding Sam Leavitt an elite blind-side protector.
Jordan Seaton has already started 22 games at left tackle and surrendered just one sack and five pressures across 561 snaps in 2025. Yet, he is still entering only his third college season. His strong base, body control, movement skills and recovery ability have already translated against Power Four competition, while further development remains possible.
Lane Kiffin is rebuilding LSU to win immediately. Having one of college football’s premier tackles protecting his new quarterback gives him a considerable head start.
OWAIN JONES
COLLEGE FOOTBALL & NFL DRAFT ANALYST
OWAIN jones COVERS EVERYTHING college football & NFL DRAFT. COMING WITH PLENTY OF EXPERIENCE, OWAIN was PREVIOUSLY a writer for pfsn, and WAS THE NFL DRAFT EDITOR AT NINETY-NINE YARDS, WHERE HE CREATED DRAFT TALK. YOU CAN FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER @OwainJonesCFB.