Ranking The Top Five Transfer Portal Additions Of The 2025 College Football Season At The Halfway Point

We’ve officially passed the halfway point of the 2025 college football season, and while the title picture still seems as murky as it was to start, we are starting to get some answers.

Teams Hosuch as Ohio State and, for the second year running, Indiana, have established themselves as true title contenders. While others, such as Ole Miss and Texas A&M have perhaps exceeded expectations to put themselves right in the thick of things

A big reason for that is due to the addition of big time players in the transfer portal who have either lived up to or far exceeded expectations. We’re taking a look at those players in today’s countdown of the top transfer portal additions of the 2025 season.

Top Transfer Portal Additions In College Football

The transfer portal has already taken on a number of forms since opening in October of 2018. At that point, teams would add a player here and there that they believed could help fill holes their roster.

Then, more and more big-name players began to enter the portal, especially with the introduction of NIL legislation allowing players to more or less create a bidding war for their services.

Now, several star players enter the portal each offseason. And while they don’t all work, many have helped carry their new teams to new heights. These players certainly fit that description.

Honorable Mention: Justice Haynes – Michigan

Justice Haynes came to the University of Alabama as an elite recruit out of the state of Georgia. And while he showed flashes of greatness in two years in Tuscaloosa, he never got the opportunity to shine as a lead back.

Haynes entered the portal this past season and landed with the Michigan Wolverines, where he’s been one of the best running backs in the nation. Through seven games, he ranks fifth in the nation in rushing yards with 857, second in yards per carry among players with at least 100 carries at 7.1, and eighth in touchdowns with 10.

Honorable Mention: John Mateer – Oklahoma

A fractured throwing hand suffered in a win over Auburn has thrown a wrench into an otherwise fantastic first season in Norman for Mateer after coming over from Washington State.

But the Oklahoma Sooners signal caller has still be plenty impressive. In seven starts, he’s completing 63.6 percent of his passes for 1,790 yards, eight touchdowns, and six interceptions.

Mateer has also been a weapon with his legs, rushing for 226 yards and a further five scores.

Honorable Mention: Joey Aguilar – Tennessee

Aguilar took a roundabout path from Appalachian State to Tennessee, making a stop a brief stop at UCLA before leaving when the Bruins brought in, ironically, former Vols QB Nico Iamaleava in the transfer portal.

But sometimes things work out exactly how they’re meant to.

Aguilar has been excellent for the 14th-ranked Volunteers, completing 65.9 percent of his passes for 2,344 yards, tops in the SEC and fourth-most in the country, to go along with 18 touchdowns and just six interceptions.

5) KC Concepcion & Mario Craver – Texas A&M

The Texas A&M Aggies are ranked No. 3 in the country for the first time since 1995, and a high-flying offense is leading the way.

Much of that is due to the development of second-year quarterback Marcel Reed, who has thrived with his arms and legs. Through the air, Reed has most often targeted the dynamic duo of Mario Craver and KC Concepcion.

The fun thing about creating a game is that you get to make up the rules. So we’re treating Craver, who came over from Mississippi State, and Concepcion, from North Carolina State, as one addition here.

The pair has combined to haul in 76 receptions for 1,261 yards and 11 touchdowns, leaving opposing defensive backs dumbfounded and defensive coordinators scrambling to figure out who to account for.

4) Isaiah World – Oregon

At 6-foot-8, 318 pounds, the aptly named Isaiah World is as big as a planet. And the Nevada transfer has helped pave the way for an Oregon Ducks run game that is the best in the Big Ten and one of the best in the country.

World, the Ducks’ starting right tackle, anchors an Oregon unit that has carved out space for 237.0 rushing yards per game, ranking eighth in the country and best among programs in the Big Ten or SEC.

He’s also coming along as a pass blocker, making him a fascinating prospect entering the 2026 NFL Draft.

3) Ahmad Hardy – Missouri

At 6-2 following a heartbreaking loss to Vanderbilt, the Missouri Tigers are clinging to life when it comes to their College Football Playoff hopes.

But the fact that they even have that much is do, almost entirely, to superstar running back Ahmad Hardy. Sure, transfer QB Beau Pribula has shone at times, although games against tougher opponents have exposed his biggest flaws.

Hardy, however, has been nothing short of incredible since joining from the Houston Cougars.

Hardy ranks second in the nation with with 937 rushing yards, more than 200 more than SEC runner-up Jeremiah Cobb of Auburn. He has 11 rushing touchdowns, tied for fifth in the nation and second among running backs, and his 159 carries rank third in the national.

Simply put, Hardy has delivered at every opportunity.

2) Trinidad Chambliss – Ole Miss

The Ole Miss Rebels were not supposed to be good this year. At least, not this good. The Rebs were picked to finish seventh in the SEC preseason poll, and for good reason!

Gone was star quarterback Jaxson Dart. Gone was star wide receiver Tre Harris, and star defensive tackle Walter Nolan. As were Caden Prieskorn, and Henry Parrish, and Princely Umanmielen. The list goes on and on.

And yet, here the Rebs are, at 7-1 and ranked seventh in the country, with an inside track to making the playoffs for the first time.

A big reason for that? Transfer quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who came over from little-known Division II Ferris State, where he led the Bulldogs to national titles in 2022 and 2024.

After winning a QB competition with Austin Simmons, Chambliss has been awesome for Ole Miss. He’s completed 61.0 percent of his passes for 1,864 yards, nine touchdowns, and just a single interception.

Additionally, Chambliss has rushed for 376 yards and five scores, and earned the complete trust of head coach Lane Kiffin.

1) Fernando Mendoza – Indiana

I mean, there was only one possible answer here, right? And that’s Heisman Trophy front-runner Fernando Mendoza.

Mendoza came onto the scene last year as the starter for the Cal Bears, completing 68.7 percent of his passes for 16 touchdowns and six interceptions.

He then hit the portal, taking his talents to Bloomington to replace the graduating Kurtis Rourke, and boy has he ever delivered.

Mendoza has found an even higher level with Indiana, completing 72.9 percent of his passes for 1,923 yards, 24 touchdowns and only three interceptions. He ranks second in the nation in passer rating at 188.5, trailing only Ohio State’s Julian Sayin.

Perhaps most impressively, Mendoza has delivered in every big moment, including in Indiana’s impressive victory over No. 2 Oregon in Eugene.

Right now, he’s both the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy (albeit with a lot of season remaining), and to go No. 1 in the 2026 NFL Draft. There’s no questioning that Mendoza has been the most impactful transfer in the country this season.