The college football spring transfer portal cycle isn't quite over yet, but it's beginning to slow down with the portal officially closed and many of the top players coming off the board.
As always, there are some major winners (and a few losers) from this cycle. But given the overall muted nature of the spring transfer portal window, there are also a lot of teams we have questions about exiting April and barreling toward summer workouts.
More: Latest on college football's top uncommitted transfers
These are the teams that got better, worse, and could go either way following the spring window. Let's get started in the Sunshine State, where a pair of teams should be feeling very happy about their portal bounties.
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| Winner: Miami added the cycle's No. 1 available running back (Damien Martinez) and wide receiver (Sam Brown). That duo adds to what projects as an absolutely loaded offense that will feature the nation's eighth-leading passer from a year ago (Cameron Ward), a 1,000-yard runner (Martinez), a trio of 800-plus yard receivers (Brown, Xavier Restrepo, Jacolby George), and one of the best offensive lines in the ACC. What was already a top 25 Miami offense should take a leap in 2024 due to those transfer additions. Miami also improved on defense, adding one of the cycle's top available defensive tackles (Michigan State's Simeon Barrow), Louisville starting linebacker Jaylin Alderman, and one of the top cornerbacks in the G-5 with Dyoni Hill from Marshall. They're still pursuing players like four-star edge transfer Tyler Baron. | |
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| Winner: UCF landed four-star running back transfer Peny Boone, who was the 2023 MAC Offensive Player of the Year, along with four-star edge transfer Nyjalik Kelly, former highly ranked recruits Tre'Quon Fegans (USC) and Cedrick Hawkins (Ohio State), and QB Jacurri Brown from Miami. These additions, along with depth at other positions, show the Knights' competitiveness in recruiting in just their second year as a Power Four team. | |
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| Winner: Oklahoma addressed its needs in the trenches by adding SMU center Brandon Hickman and TCU defensive tackle Damonic Williams, among others, improving both offensive and defensive fronts significantly. The Sooners out-muscled TCU for Hickman and arch-rival Texas, along with LSU, for Williams. Brent Venables & Co. are not messing around headed into an SEC jump in Year 3. | |
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| Winner: Auburn quickly bolstered its defensive tackle position with transfers Philip Blidi from Indiana and Isaiah Raikes from Texas A&M, along with adding edge rusher Keyron Crawford from Arkansas State and wide receiver Keandre Lambert-Smith from Penn State, enhancing both sides of the ball. Auburn perhaps could have added a veteran quarterback to compete, but if Payton Thorne rewards Hugh Freeze's trust with a big fall, this is an Auburn team that's going to make some noise. | |
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| Loser: Michigan State lost several key players, including defensive tackles Derrick Harmon and Simeon Barrow, affecting their depth and talent level significantly. The Spartans have a staggering 39 outgoing transfers. Unlike Colorado a season ago, they did not want to lose all those players. When Michigan State's staff arrived in East Lansing in December, it successfully convinced 10 players to withdraw from the portal and stick with the Spartans. Fast forward a few months and four of those players ended up leaving during the spring, anyway. Jonathan Smith has a serious rebuild on his hands, but the good news is he's done this before. | |
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| Loser: Arizona State lost key players like receiver Elijhah Badger, cornerback Ed Woods, tight end Bryce Pierre, and quarterback Jaden Rashada, impacting both its offensive and defensive outlook as it joins the Big 12 in 2024. Kenny Dillingham's job just got much more difficult. | |
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| Loser: Oregon State suffered a significant blow with the departure of standout running back Damien Martinez. Other coveted players left for Texas, Michigan State, Florida State, USC and Tennessee. It was a sad portal cycle for Oregon State, which enjoyed tremendous success the last two seasons, winning a combined 18 games, yet now is facing its future as a football independent after the Pac-12 perished. Ugh. | |
We still have questions about a handful of teams' transfer portal work -- Colorado, Alabama, LSU, Penn State, Michigan and Florida -- and we'll see how those programs add to their 2024 cupboard over the next few weeks. There are spots for each program to improve on.
