College Football's Top-10 Most Impactful Transfer Players of the 2025 Season

For the second time in as many seasons since the College Football Playoff adopted its current 12-team format, the national championship game featured two teams with offenses led by transfer quarterbacks. This time, it was Indiana's Fernando Mendoza against Miami (Fla.)'s Carson Beck. Last year, following the 2024 season, it was Will Howard from Ohio State against Riley Leonard from Duke. All of them were one-time rentals who became legends; none of them were the top-ranked quarterback in the portal. 

The media outlets and websites that create exhaustive rankings of transfers each winter have, in many respects, a thankless job. Folks who work there are trying to blend production with potential, outdated high school recruiting profiles with what could be massive jumps in competition from smaller schools to blue bloods. It’s as inexact as science gets, no matter how much effort the people behind such rankings apply. 

With so many unknowns that can unfold between the time players commit to their new school and the season itself, the only accurate summation of how impactful a potential transfer really was comes at the end, when all the games have been played. 

That said, here are the 10 transfers who wound up having the largest influence on this year’s national title race.

10. Keelan Marion, WR, Miami (Fla.)

(Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

Transferred from: BYU
Portal ranking: No. 79 overall, No. 16 WR
Final stats: 57 catches, 746 yards, 2 TDs

When Marion committed to Miami after earlier stints at BYU and UConn, he was known more for his prowess as a kick returner than a receiver. He returned two kickoffs for touchdowns with the Cougars in 2024 — tied for first nationally — but had never amassed more than 474 receiving yards in a single season. With the Hurricanes, however, Marion blossomed into the team’s No. 2 receiver alongside freshman sensation Malachi Toney. He played the best game of his career in the CFP semifinals against Ole Miss by hauling in seven passes for 114 yards and a touchdown to lead Miami in all three categories. For Marion to more than double his single-season best in receptions speaks to how impactful he was for the Hurricanes this season.

9. KC Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M

Transferred from: NC State
Portal ranking: No. 18 overall, No. 5 WR
Final stats: 61 catches, 919 yards, 9 TDs

Though he was only a three-star recruit coming out of high school, Concepcion quickly opened eyes on the national level in 2023 by recording 71 receptions for 839 yards and 10 touchdowns to earn ACC Rookie of the Year honors at NC State. He struggled to match that production as a sophomore before entering the transfer portal, but Concepcion returned to form in his first season with the Aggies alongside quarterback Marcel Reed. He scored at least one touchdown in eight of his team’s 13 games and never recorded fewer than three receptions in a single outing. When Texas A&M desperately needed him in a furious second-half comeback against South Carolina, which led 30-3 at the break, Concepcion made seven receptions for a season-high 158 yards. 

8. Roman Hemby, RB, Indiana

Transferred from: Maryland
Portal ranking: No. 236 overall, No. 15 RB
Final stats: 230 carries for 1,120 yards and 7 TDs

Hemby established himself as one of the best young players in the Big Ten when he carried 188 times for 989 yards and 10 touchdowns as a redshirt freshman at Maryland in 2022. He struggled to replicate that success in subsequent seasons until transferring to Indiana, where Hemby and fellow tailback Kaelon Black both topped 1,000 yards for a rushing offense that averaged 212.9 yards per game. Though Hemby only contributed two 100-yard games this season — the opener against Old Dominion and a late November win over Purdue — Hemby’s average of 4.9 yards per carry was his highest in the last three seasons. In a reflection of how much trust Hemby earned from the coaches, he carried the ball at least 17 times in each of Indiana’s CFP games. 

7. Kewan Lacy, RB, Ole Miss

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Transferred from: Missouri
Portal ranking: No. 277 overall, No. 18 RB
Final stats: 306 carries for 1,567 yards and 24 TDs

What an incredible evaluation this was by then-Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin and the offensive staff to identify Lacy as a potential lead back. A blue-chip recruit coming out of high school, Lacy only carried the ball 23 times for 104 yards and zero touchdowns during his freshman year at Missouri before entering the portal, with most of that production coming against inferior competition in non-conference matchups. However, Lacy exploded into a bona fide star with the Rebels by posting seven 100-yard games while finishing third nationally in rushing yards and second nationally in rushing touchdowns. He performed exceptionally well in the CFP by carrying 33 times for 201 yards and three touchdowns — plus an additional receiving score — in games against No. 3 Georgia and No. 10 Miami.

6. Pat Coogan, C, Indiana

Transferred from: Notre Dame
Portal ranking: No. 138 overall, No. 9 IOL
Final stats: 0 sacks and 10 pressures allowed in 1,027 snaps

For an offensive lineman to be named Offensive MVP of the Rose Bowl underscored just how critical Coogan’s presence was to the Hoosiers this season. He infused an already veteran group with the experience and maturity gleaned from reaching the national championship game with Notre Dame in 2024, even though the Fighting Irish had fallen short to Ohio State. As Indiana’s starting center, Coogan anchored a high-flying unit that finished third nationally in scoring at 41.6 points per game and housed the eventual Heisman Trophy winner in Mendoza. It was Coogan who threw a diving block for Mendoza on the game-changing fourth-and-4 scramble that produced an unforgettable 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter against Miami. He’ll be remembered as an Indiana legend. 

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5. Keionte Scott, DB, Miami (Fla.)

Transferred from: Auburn
Portal ranking: No. 715 overall, No. 85 CB
Final stats: 64 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 INT, 2 FF, 2 TDs

What an incredible ascent this has been for Scott, whose career began at the community college level in Utah before an up-and-down stint at Auburn and — ultimately — a revelatory campaign with the Hurricanes. Deployed by defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman at the nickel/slot position where he often lurked near the line of scrimmage, Scott morphed into one of Miami’s most devastating blitzers and led the country in both quarterback pressures (20) and sacks (5.0) among cornerbacks, per Pro Football Focus. His instinctive pick-six in the second quarter against No. 2 Ohio State in the CFP quarterfinals will be remembered for years to come, blasting through a would-be screen to snare the pass from Julian Sayin and outrace everyone to the end zone. Scott should have a long NFL future ahead of him.

4. David Bailey, edge rusher, Texas Tech

(Photo by Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Transferred from: Stanford
Portal ranking: No. 12 overall, No. 3 edge 
Final stats: 81 pressures, 14.5 sacks, 3 FF

Was there a better pass rusher in college football this season than Bailey? The Red Raiders and general manager James Blanchard reportedly splashed several million dollars in NIL money to land Bailey from Stanford, where he tallied 14.5 sacks over the previous three seasons combined. Bailey and fellow transfer edge rusher Romello Height, previously of Georgia Tech, formed one of the most fearsome edge-rushing tandems in college football for a defense that finished third nationally in scoring (11.8 points per game) and third overall (258.3 yards per game). Bailey also ended the year tied with Western Michigan’s Nadame Tucker for the most sacks while finishing second in quarterback pressures behind Miami’s Reuben Bain Jr. Without Bailey, it feels unlikely that Texas Tech would have won the Big 12 championship and made the first CFP appearance in school history. 

3. Carson Beck, QB, Miami (Fla.)

Transferred from: Georgia
Portal ranking: No. 4 overall, No. 2 QB
Final stats: 338 for 467 (72.4%) for 3,813 yards, 30 TDs, 12 INTs

Detractors will ding Beck for finishing his career with back-to-back seasons featuring 12 interceptions, the last of which sealed Miami’s fate against Indiana earlier this week. They’ll also knock him for a 72.4% completion rate that was inflated by scores of screen passes, check downs and short throws near the line of scrimmage. Still, Beck accomplished something that hundreds of other quarterbacks failed to do this season: get their team to the national championship game. The poise, toughness, unselfishness and timely running ability he flashed in wins over No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 6 Ole Miss helped explain why so many within the Miami locker room revered him. Beck more than validated the decision by head coach Mario Cristobal and offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson to make him a high-priced focal point of the Hurricanes’ offense. 

2. Trinidad Chambliss, QB, Ole Miss

Transferred from: Ferris State (D-II)
Portal ranking: No. 843 overall, No. 60 QB
Final stats: 294 for 445 (66.1%) for 3,937 yards, 22 TDs, 3 INTs

Had Ole Miss finished the job against Miami to reach the national championship game, Chambliss might be even higher on this list — especially considering the team’s CFP run came without Kiffin, who had already accepted a new job at SEC rival LSU, and with several more distracted staff members. Originally brought to Ole Miss as backup, Chambliss became nothing short of a revelation when he replaced injured starter Austin Simmons early in the season. He could throw it (eight 300-yard games), he could run it (527 rushing yards and eight touchdowns) and he could escape pressure in ways that evoked comparisons to former Texas A&M wunderkind Johnny Manziel, a Heisman Trophy winner. If Chambliss prevails in his ongoing legal quest for another year of eligibility, the Rebels will have an excellent chance to reach the CFP for a second consecutive season. 

1. Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana 

(Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)

Transferred from: Cal
Portal ranking: No. 22 overall, No. 4 QB
Final stats: 273 of 379 (72%) for 3,535 yards, 41 TDs, 6 INTs

Who else could occupy the top spot? Around this time last year, Mendoza, a former two-star recruit, was wrapping up a successful stint at Cal and looking for the chance to hone his skills on a bigger stage than the ACC could offer. Imagine telling him then that the future would include a Heisman Trophy, a Big Ten championship, the first national championship in Indiana history, the sport’s first undefeated season since Yale in 1894 and an NFL Draft profile so flawless that he will likely become the No. 1 overall pick in a few short months. It’s hard to imagine the Hoosiers getting a better return on investment than that. Just as it’s hard to imagine Mendoza conjuring anything more than what he gave Indiana this season. A remarkable player and a remarkable run. 

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