COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Five College Football Transfers to Watch in 2026

Charlie Zschau Updated: 7 hours ago

Taking a look at which 2026 could make a big impact at their new programs during the 2026 college football season.

The landscape of college football as drastically changed in recent years, particularly with the introduction of new transfer portal rules. This year, roughly 4,000 players changed teams in Division I.

We'll examine five of those players who specifically could make a huge impact on their new team, including Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State), Cam Coleman (Texas), Turbo Richard (Indiana), Damon Wilson II (Miami), and DJ Lagway (Baylor).

Drew Mestemaker - Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State has undergone one of the largest rebuilds in college football this season after finishing last in the Big 12 in 2025 with a 1-12 record overall. The Cowboys brought in new head coach Eric Morris from the University of North Texas, and he made his former quarterback, Drew Mestemaker, his priority in the transfer portal.

Mestemaker was the second-highest-ranked quarterback in the transfer portal this year, behind only Sam Leavitt, and decided to follow his coach to Oklahoma State rather than test his luck in another system.

In Morris' offense at North Texas, Mestemaker led Division I college football with 4,379 passing yards, in addition to 34 passing touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns. He will also have fantastic weapons around him, including running back Caleb Hawkins and wide receiver Wyatt Young.

The redshirt sophomore is an elite pocket passer and could help lead the Cowboys to one of the highest-scoring offenses in the Big 12.

Cam Coleman - Texas

Cam Coleman is the highest-rated wide receiver in the transfer portal this year and joins a Texas team led by Arch Manning, which expects to challenge for the SEC Championship and the College Football Playoff title by the end of the year.

Coleman joins the Longhorns after spending his freshman and sophomore seasons in a disappointing Auburn football program. Coleman was one of the few bright spots for Auburn and has the skill and potential to explode in a far better Texas offense.

The junior is a big "X" receiver who thrives on one-on-one routes deep down the sidelines. Coleman has elite speed to get downfield quickly and has an extraordinary catch radius to come down with high-arching passes from Arch, who is very capable of pushing the ball downfield.

Wide receivers Parker Livingstone (Oklahoma) and DeAndre Moore Jr. (Colorado) have both left Texas, leaving a clear void for the Auburn transfer to fill. Coleman will still compete for targets with Ryan Wingo, who earned All-SEC recognition last season, but the two players together will create one of the most dangerous wide receiver duos in college football.

Turbo Richard - Indiana

Running back Turbo Richard joins the reigning College Football Champions, the Indiana Hoosiers, as a four-star transfer from Boston College. Richard was the 10th-highest-ranked running back in the portal this season and should immediately take over the starting position after Kaelon Black and Roman Hemby left to play in the NFL.

Curt Cignetti and Mike Shanahan love to utilize the run game on early downs to open things up for the quarterback on second and third down. They used that game plan for Fernando Mendoza, who was selected first overall in the 2026 NFL Draft, and will surely do it again for transfer quarterback Josh Hoover in 2026.

Richard has explosive speed, averaged 5.1 yards per carry during his two seasons in the ACC, and is the exact archetype that Indiana wants in a running back. He is a very compact runner who can lean on both patience and physicality to get consistent yardage for his offense, while also being a threat to produce large chunk plays thanks to his acceleration and speed.

He will have to battle senior Lee Beebe Jr. and junior Khobie Martin for touches, but Richard is definitely the most talented of the backs in Bloomington.

Damon Wilson II - Miami

Damon Wilson II is a four-star transfer from Missouri and the fourth-highest-ranked defensive lineman in the class. The senior joins Mario Cristobal's University of Miami team, which faces a significant void on the defensive line left by first-round draft picks Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor.

Replicating Bain and Mesidor's production will be nearly impossible, as the two edge rushers combined for 22 sacks and ranked first and third in total sacks in the SEC.

However, Wilson should be able to succeed in Cristobal's defensive scheme, which has produced some fantastic players in the past, such as the two mentioned above. In 2025, Wilson tallied nine sacks, leading Missouri in that category. On an improved defense in a weaker conference, the 21-year-old has every opportunity to thrive in Miami.

Wilson will be joined by defensive tackles Keona Davis and Jarquez Carter, who also transferred to Miami this season. The trio has the potential to create another terrifying front four, similar to the one that powered its way to the 2025 National Championship game.

DJ Lagway - Baylor

DJ Lagway entered college as a five-star recruit and the No. 1-ranked quarterback in the 2024 class. Unfortunately, his first two years at Florida did not go according to plan.

Last season, Lagway led the SEC with 14 interceptions after throwing nine during his freshman season. Although his college career has not been particularly great thus far, his potential still made him the sixth-highest-ranked quarterback in the transfer portal.

In 2026, Lagway returns to his home state of Texas to play for the Baylor Bears in the Big 12. He will work with offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jake Spavital, who was brought in to reinvent the offense in 2025.

If Spavital and Lagway can get on the same page, it could be the connection the junior needs to return to his status as one of the top quarterbacks in his class. Baylor plays a relatively easy schedule out of the gate, facing some porous defenses in Colorado, Arizona State, Kansas, UCF, and TCU, which will ideally build up Lagway's confidence before he faces a gauntlet of BYU, Texas Tech, and Houston in the final three games of the season.