The NCAA transfer portal window for college football teams closes tomorrow and, to absolutely no one’s surprise, the portal has been incredibly active as players come and go from schools across the country and the latest round of what some call “free agency” for the college game.
As of this writing, more than 4,000 college football players have entered the transfer portal, and On3 Sports reports over 1,400 of them have found a new home, while 31 have withdrawn and returned to their previous school. Those numbers are quite staggering but again, not surprising, as it’s just another example of “business as usual” in college sports.
No matter how you feel about the transfer portal and the rules surrounding it, coaches would be foolish to not do a little “exploring” and see how they can improve their team with who’s available. Heck, even noted “portal hater” Dabo Swinney has taken in 10 transfers this season! That should tell you all you need to know about how important this time of year is, even if the current season still isn’t over just yet — and the new season is still several months away.
Closer to home, Iowa and Iowa State have both been active in the portal, but on totally different tracks.
On Iowa’s side, as of Monday afternoon, the Hawkeyes have added 11 players from the portal and lost eight to transferring. The biggest surprise departure from Iowa City was that of starting safety Koen Entringer, who formally announced he’d be leaving the Hawkeyes late last week. The former team captain for Iowa is taking his talents to Louisville, where you’d assume he’ll be a key leader for the Cardinals’ defense. Punter Rhys Dakin was another surprise transfer out of the Hawkeyes’ program, but with his position coach LeVar Woods headed to Michigan State, maybe it wasn’t too shocking to see Dakin make his way to East Lansing in the end.
When it comes to additions, Iowa has secured a pretty impressive list of players out of the transfer portal, even if the majority of them aren’t from the FBS level. Just last week, Kirk Ferentz and staff got commitments from the rushing leader in all of the FCS (South Dakota RB L.J. Phillips), a 2025 FCS Freshman All-American (WR Tony Diaz of UT-Rio Grande Valley), and a safety from a College Football Playoff team (Tyler Brown of James Madison). Add in a defensive end who had 12 sacks last season (Kahmari Brown of Elon) and a kicker from a perennial powerhouse at that level (North Dakota State transfer Eli Ozick), that in and of itself is enough to at least make Hawkeye fans feel a little optimism that the staff has identified the right pieces to the puzzle to help them move forward this year. The caveat, of course, is that not all transfers work out; for every Rusty Feth or Nick Jackson, there are plenty of Cade McNamaras out there, too, where a player comes into a situation but doesn’t live up to the hype — or just straight-up flops. It happens — that’s life and college football.
For Iowa State, the players coming and going are much different than that of the Hawkeyes. As of Tuesday morning, On3 Sports’ data shows that 54 players have left Iowa State, while 38 have transferred in.
This is not unexpected, especially after a coaching change. When Matt Campbell left for Penn State, the question was not “will his players follow him to Happy Valley?” but “how many?” The answer (so far) is 22 former Cyclones, including numerous key contributors like quarterback Rocco Becht, running back Carson Hansen, tight end Ben Brahmer and linebacker Caleb Bacon, among others who’ve entered the portal and exited at Penn State. No one can really blame them for wanting to close out, or continue, their college career with the coach who recruited and developed them, but I totally understand Iowa State fans being upset with those players for leaving their school — at the same time saying they’re “forever a Cyclone” — when that’s obviously not the case.
The departure of so many key players puts new Iowa State coach Jimmy Rogers in a tough spot — and he’s doing exactly what he needs to do to field a team in 2026: do what he can to retain players but fill out the rest of the roster through the portal. It’s hard to know just how these new faces will fit and who will become a key contributor to the Cyclones this year, but you’d imagine players like QB Jaylen Raynor (Arkansas State) and some of the defensive players that came over from Washington State after Rogers’ one and only season in Pullman will be names you hear early and often in this new era of Cyclone football.
What do you think about the transfer portal season in college football? How would you change things, if at all? And which transfer players are you most excited about for your team? Send me an email, spencer@kgymradio.com, or chat with me on X to continue the conversation.
Spencer Wagen is the host of “Spencer on Sports,” weekdays from 4-6 p.m. on 1600 ESPN. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @SWOnTheRadio.
