There are six teams you could make an argument for as the biggest winner of the 2025 college football winter transfer portal window, and there are lots of ways to look at the team class rankings -- most commits, highest average of commits, best players at specific needs, etc.
For my money -- and also in line with the 247Sports Transfer Team Rankings for 2025, so far -- the biggest winner of the cycle was Brian Kelly's LSU Tigers.
2025 Transfer Football Team Rankings
| Rank | Team | Total Commits | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LSU | 14 | 69.40 |
| 2 | Texas Tech | 17 | 67.52 |
| 3 | Ole Miss | 15 | 64.80 |
| 4 | Auburn | 14 | 61.88 |
| 5 | Texas A&M | 10 | 55.30 |
| 6 | Mississippi State | 18 | 54.10 |
| 7 | Florida State | 11 | 51.40 |
| 8 | Kentucky | 14 | 49.98 |
| 9 | Wisconsin | 16 | 49.63 |
| 10 | Missouri | 13 | 49.41 |
Pick a roster hole and LSU got better.
"What they've been able to do, I think, is really, really encouraging from somebody that follows the program, and seems like a team Year 3 under Brian Kelly that had a lot more holes than you would expect," said 247Sports national scouting analyst Cooper Petagna. "But from a roster-management standpoint, I think they've done a good job to plug a lot of those questions marks going into the offseason and obviously still some work left to do."
The Tigers had to replace several key contributors from the nation's sneaky-best most consistent pass rush unit -- LSU finished first nationally in pressure rate -- so they added the portal's No. 1 edge rusher Patrick Payton along with another four-star edge Jack Pyburn. There's also former Nebraska edge Jimari Butler, who's posted 16 TFLs over the last two seasons. Blake Baker's defensive scheme relies on edge players who can get home. LSU got plenty of them in the portal. The Tigers are getting Harold Perkins Jr. back in 2025, too. We'll see how he plays and how he's utilized coming off an ACL injury and after two seasons of inconsistent play, but that's a win, too.
A porous pass defense needed a talent upgrade, so LSU added the No. 2 cornerback (Mansoor Delane) and No. 8 cornerback (Ja'Keem Jackson) of the cycle.
NCAA transfer portal via 247Sports: Latest portal additions | Team transfer rankings | Top player rankings
Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier lost several of his top weapons in Kyren Lacy and CJ Daniels, so LSU landed the No. 5 WR, Nic Anderson, and No. 8 receiver, Barion Brown, in the 247Sports rankings.
LSU struggled to run the ball this year. It countered that with inking two of the top interior linemen and run blockers in the portal (Braelin Moore, Josh Thompson).
Check. Check. Check. Check.
The Tigers still have a bit more work to do. They need to land an impact interior defender and could use a safety. But it's been an outstanding offseason thus far for a Tiger program that, just a month ago, seemed to be reeling following an 8-4 season and the loss of No. 1 recruit Bryce Underwood.
"What they've been able to do with the redistribution of wealth, I think, has been important," Petagna said.
MORE: 2025 roster strategy paying off as Brian Kelly builds Tigers for pivotal year
