10 college football teams that lost the most in the transfer portal

The transfer portal has become an everyday part of college football roster management as more players switch teams each season.

With more and more players opting to transfer, we have seen quite a few schools lose key contributors this offseason. Looking at the schools that have seen the most transfers since the end of the season, we outlined 10 teams that have lost a number of transfers since November.

We compare what the schools have lost with what they have coming in through the portal to see how well they’re replacing the talent this offseason.

Who’s leaving

Auburn has seen 18 of its players enter the portal since November. Issues within the program and speculation about coach Bryan Harsin arose, partially because of the abnormally large number of players to leave, but the school announced it would retain Harsin after a university-directed inquiry.

Quarterback Bo Nix transferred to Oregon after throwing for 2,294 yards and 11 touchdowns this past season at Auburn. The team’s leading receiver, Kobe Hudson, had 580 yards and four touchdowns this season. He has transferred to UCF to rejoin former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn.

The staff has also seen offensive lineman Tashawn Manning transfer to Kentucky, defensive tackle J.J. Pegues transfer to Texas, running back Shaun Shivers go to Indiana, defensive back Ladarius Tennison transfer to Ole Miss and defensive back Ahmari Harvey switch to Georgia Tech.

Who’s coming in

Auburn has a lot of holes to fill with a number of players on their way out and the fact the staff added only five ESPN 300 prospects in the 2022 class. But the most notable additions came at quarterback, with Texas A&M’s Zach Calzada and Oregon’s Robby Ashford both transferring in.

Calzada has experience and Ashford was an ESPN 300 prospect out of high school, so that should help the quarterback room. On defense, the staff is bringing in North Carolina linebacker Eugene Asante, Oregon cornerback DJ James and Oregon defensive lineman Jayson Jones.

Who’s leaving

Cal has had 10 players enter the transfer portal since November, and that includes offensive lineman McKade Mettauer, who will play at Oklahoma. The team’s leading rusher, Christopher Brooks, is transferring to BYU. Brooks ran for 607 yards and four touchdowns this past season.

Corner Chigozie Anusiem is transferring to Hawai’i, receiver Nikko Remigio transferred to Fresno State and tight end Gavin Reinwald went to Rice. Defensive end JH Tevis, who had 37 total tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss, is transferring to Indiana, as are a handful of others.

Who’s coming in

The big name joining the roster is Washington linebacker Jackson Sirmon, who had 91 total tackles and four tackles for loss last season for the Huskies. Utah defensive lineman Xavier Carlton and Purdue quarterback Jack Plummer are also transferring in, but the team is losing quite a bit of production at wide receiver and in the run game without much immediate help coming in.

Who’s leaving

Remarkably, Colorado has had 20 players enter the portal since November, and quite a few are big contributors. Receiver Brenden Rice, who was second on the team in receiving yards, transferred to USC. Running back Jarek Broussard, who led the team in rushing with 661 yards, transferred to Michigan State.

Defensive backs Christian Gonzalez and Mekhi Blackmon both transferred out — they had nine pass breakups between the two of them. Safety Mark Perry was second on the team in tackles with 66 and also had two interceptions. Perry transferred to TCU, leaving Colorado thin in the secondary.

Who’s coming in

The staff has Alabama offensive tackle Tommy Brown joining the program, which will help offset some of the losses along the line. Baylor wide receiver R.J. Sneed transferred in as well and will bolster some of the production at receiver lost from Rice and Dimitri Stanley.

Defensive lineman Chance Main and running back Ramon Jefferson are also transferring in, but the Buffaloes are still losing a lot of production for next year.

Who’s leaving

The Panthers have had 14 players enter the portal since November, and some will leave holes on the roster for next season. Standout offensive lineman Miles Frazier started all 13 games for FIU this past season and opted to transfer to LSU in what was one of the bigger losses of the offseason for the staff.

Fellow offensive lineman Sione Finau also transferred, as did defensive back Benny McCray, who was fourth on the team in total tackles this past season.

Who’s coming in

Needing help at quarterback, FIU is bringing in Duke’s Gunnar Holmberg. The coaches have a deep returning roster at receiver and were still able to bring in Syracuse receiver Sharod Johnson to add to that room.

His Syracuse teammate, safety Adrian Cole, will help offset the losses in the secondary. There are still some big holes that weren’t filled, though, including offensive line, linebacker and running back.

Who’s leaving

The Hoosiers were hit hard by the transfer portal with 18 players entering since November. Most notably, quarterback Michael Penix Jr. transferred to Washington. The team’s third-leading receiver, Miles Marshall, is transferring out, as are defensive back Reese Taylor and linebacker James Miller among others.

Who’s coming in

To help at quarterback, coach Tom Allen and his staff have Missouri quarterback Connor Bazelak joining the team, and they added Auburn back Shaun Shivers and North Carolina’s Josh Henderson to bolster to the run game.

The coaches needed help at linebacker and were able to get Miami’s Bradley Jennings Jr., Kentucky’s Jared Casey and Myles Jackson from UCLA. Along the defensive line, the team is adding Ole Miss linemen LeDarrius Cox and Patrick Lucas Jr. as well as Cal’s JH Tevis.

The staff did a good job filling some of the holes the team had through players leaving, but there are still some questions because of who is leaving for the NFL and who transferred out.

Who’s leaving

The Tigers have had nine players enter the portal since November, none more notable than defensive back Eli Ricks. He was injured most of this past season; the freshman All-American in 2020 transferred to SEC rival Alabama.

In addition to Ricks, defensive back Dwight McGlothern transferred to Arkansas, as did defensive end Landon Jackson. Quarterback Max Johnson also left the program to transfer to Texas A&M.

Who’s coming in

The Tigers lost more quality than quantity, which is why they made the list, but the staff more than made up for it with whom they brought in through the portal.

At defensive back, coach Brian Kelly has Oklahoma State’s Jarrick Bernard-Converse, Arkansas’ Greg Brooks Jr. and Joe Foucha, and safety Mekhi Garner from Louisiana joining the team. Along the offensive line, Kelly got FIU’s Miles Frazier, one of the more sought-after linemen in the portal, as well as Tre’mond Shorts.

The coaches also added Missouri defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo and Penn State running back Noah Cain. While the coaches have quite a few players leaving, they more than made up for it with whom they’re bringing in.

Who’s leaving

Another Big Ten team that saw high numbers exiting through the portal, Maryland has had 20 players transfer since November. That included former five-star linebacker Terrence Lewis and former ESPN 300 linebacker Branden Jennings.

Running backs Isaiah Jacobs and Peny Boone both entered the portal, as did linebacker Deshawn Holt and receiver Darryl Jones, among others.

Who’s coming in

Mike Locksley and his coaches added Florida wide receiver Jacob Copeland, who helps replace some of the production lost at the position. Linebacker VanDarius Cowan has joined the team from West Virginia and will also help with the loss of Jennings and Lewis.

With the number of players going out, though, Maryland still has quite a few holes left that it wasn’t able to replace through the portal.

Who’s leaving

The Rebels have had 17 players transfer out since November, including backup quarterback-turned-receiver John Rhys Plumlee.

The staff is also losing offensive lineman Bryce Ramsey, safety Tylan Knight, running back Henry Parrish Jr. — who had 553 rushing yards and three touchdowns — as well as defensive linemen J.J. Pegues and Quentin Bivens.

Who’s coming in

Coach Lane Kiffin dubbed himself the transfer “Portal King” for whom he was able to get to transfer in to Ole Miss. He and his staff added USC quarterback Jaxson Dart, TCU running back Zach Evans and tight ends Michael Trigg and J.J. Pegues.

At receiver, the team added Mississippi State’s Malik Heath and Louisville’s Jordan Watkins. The coaches also added offensive linemen Jordan Rhodes and Mason Brooks. On the defensive side, Central Michigan linebacker Troy Brown also transferred in.

Who’s leaving

The Sooners didn’t see the quantity of players leave as some of the others on the list, but there were plenty of contributors who left the program.

The biggest name was freshman quarterback Caleb Williams, who’d supplanted Spencer Rattler as starting quarterback. Williams joined Lincoln Riley at USC, as did receiver Mario Williams, who was also a freshman at Oklahoma this past season.

Rattler and tight end Austin Stogner both transferred to South Carolina, and receiver Jadon Haselwood left for Arkansas. Haselwood is a former five-star who led the Sooners in receiving touchdowns this past season with six. The staff also saw defensive back Latrell McCutchin follow Riley to USC.

Who’s coming in

When the number of players transferring out was first reported, it looked almost insurmountable for the new staff to replace all the departures. But Brent Venables and the coaches have done an excellent job replacing key players.

Replacing Williams at quarterback would be difficult no matter whom the coaches brought in, but Venables and new offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby added UCF transfer Dillon Gabriel. Lebby and Gabriel were together at UCF and have a level of comfortability, which is a big piece of the puzzle under center.

In addition to Gabriel, the staff also brought in offensive linemen Tyler Guyton and McKade Mettauer, as well as tight end Daniel Parker Jr. On defense, the staff added defensive backs C.J. Coldon, Trey Morrison and Kani Walker, as well as linebacker T.D. Roof. Hawaii defensive lineman Jonah Laulu and Jeffery Johnson were also added in what ended up being a big haul for the Sooners.

Who’s leaving

Virginia have had 16 players enter the portal since November, including grad transfer offensive lineman Victor Oluwatimi. The Rimington Trophy finalist transferred to Michigan, where he’ll have a chance to start immediately, and leaves Virginia with a hole in the center of the line.

The team also lost offensive lineman Bobby Haskins, who transferred to USC, and lineman Joe Bissinger, who will play for SMU. On defense, linebacker Noah Taylor left for North Carolina and linebacker West Weeks transferred to LSU.

Who’s coming in

Virginia is losing quite a bit of production through the portal and graduation, most notably along the offensive line. The only linemen the staff is bringing in after losing quite a bit up front is Georgetown’s Mac Hollensteiner and Dartmouth’s John Paul Flores.

There were similar losses on the defensive line, and the coaches have only Michigan State’s Jack Camper and Columbia’s Paul Akere joining the team through the portal. With how much is leaving the program, there are still a lot of questions about how that production will be replaced.