Lane Kiffin, an airport tarmac and the long-term impact of college football’s most memorable firing
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David Hale, ESPN Staff Writer
For as long as there’s been college football, coaches have been getting fired. The annual discussions about who’s on the hot seat is as much a part of the game as a depth chart. But in the history of the sport — perhaps the history of employment — only one man’s termination is universally recalled with just a single word: “Tarmac.”
It’s been 10 years since Lane Kiffin was fired as USC‘s coach, supposedly on the tarmac at LAX. The truth of what happened in the early-morning hours of Sept. 29, 2013, is, like so many things with Kiffin, a bit more complicated.
ESPN spoke to nearly two dozen people who witnessed Kiffin’s tenure at USC, as well as his unlikely second act as one of college football’s most colorful characters and brilliant offensive minds, in an effort to find out what really happened that night and how it changed the rest of his career.
Lane Kiffin, USC head coach 2010-2013
It was a dream job for as long as I can remember to be a major college football coach so you could be somewhere forever, like the Bobby Bowden thing.
Kiffin grew up around the game. His father, Monte, is recognized as one of the great defensive coaches in football history, but Lane’s genius is offense. His first full-time job came with USC in 2001, and he was on the sideline for the Trojans’ rise to the top of college football under Pete Carroll. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2005, and two years later, at just 31 years old, was named head coach of the then Oakland Raiders.
Raiders owner Al Davis fired Kiffin after two seasons amid much controversy. Davis held a news conference, complete with an overhead projector, and called Kiffin a “disgrace to the organization.” In 2009, Kiffin was hired as the head coach at Tennessee, and he immediately made waves in the stoic SEC with his brash demeanor and aggressive recruiting style.
At the end of the 2009 season, however, Carroll resigned at USC to take the head-coaching job with the Seattle Seahawks. The Trojans were eager to maintain the Carroll lineage, and set their sights on Kiffin.
Mike Garrett, USC AD, 1993-2010
I thought he was a student of the game, and I thought I had a maven in the works. I asked him to bring his father in, Monte. I thought Lane, offensively, could handle the load on that side of the ball, and Monte would handle the defensive side, and what a combination that would be.
Scott Wolf, USC beat reporter
They never would’ve hired him at SC except he made this pitch to them that he was bringing Monte Kiffin, who they thought was the best defensive coordinator in the country, and Ed Orgeron, who was a beloved figure at SC. That’s how he got the job.
Mike Locksley, Alabama assistant, 2016-2018
The one thing Lane never got credit for was, he’s a good coach. He’s one of the better playcallers I’ve been around. A lot of that gets lost because he had this looming shadow of one of the great D-coordinators and great people in Monte Kiffin, so a lot of people labeled him as the kid who got everything off his last name.
Clay Helton, USC assistant coach/head coach, 2010-2021
You could see how brilliant [Kiffin] was as an offensive mind, and he had a reputation as being an unbelievable recruiter. He already had Coach Orgeron on board, who is one of the best recruiters in football. … [Orgeron] would take me on the road recruiting with him all the time. You’d get in the car with him and he’d give you a Red Bull, a pack of peanuts and a beef jerky. That was your day of rationing, and he went from daylight to dark recruiting everybody — the principal, the counselor, the janitor at the school.
Dan Weber, former USC beat reporter
USC football was about as big as you could possibly be, and the town was L.A. You’d go to practice and Will Ferrell was there all the time. You’d have to fight your way into practice because Snoop Dogg’s bodyguards would be at the gate. I’d park and there’d be Sylvester Stallone in his Mercedes that was like 40-feet long.
Garrett
I loved [Kiffin’s] brashness. I loved the fact he had a lot of confidence. You could call it arrogance, being young and thought he could change the world, but I kind of liked that. I thought it was something that could work to his advantage.
Roy Nwaisser, Trojans super fan “USC Psycho”
When Lane Kiffin came to USC, there was some baggage. He kept moving up despite failures. But USC fans were super excited because he was part of the Pete Carroll coaching tree.
Tim Tessalone, former USC sports information director
I loved Kiff. Did he have his quirks? Certainly did. But he was just kind of an introvert. A lot of people’s perceptions of Kiff came from just that. He had a hard time engaging with people back then.
Wolf
Pat Haden told him not to do anything to get on the ticker at ESPN. That was the advice. He did seem to find ways to have problems.
JK McKay, former USC administrator
He was a young guy, and he was controversial. They said in the papers that I was supposed to keep him off ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”
Kiffin
I had a very large ego. Kids who are given too much, too early sometimes — you see it in actors all the time. Sometimes you’re not ready for all that. I wasn’t ready at 31 to be the head coach of the Raiders, 32 at Tennessee, 33 or 34 at USC. I wasn’t ready for all that fame and that money. Some of that is my fault. And I think there’s also the factor of being really young, you leave Tennessee so you have part of the country that hates you and is pissed off at you. It’s human nature that there’s some jealousy from guys going, “He’s this age, and he’s got this and he’s got that and got a really attractive wife.” I know there was a lot of that. People want you to fail. That’s America.
People might have been rooting for Kiffin to fail, but the cards were also stacked against him. When he took the job, the Trojans were enmeshed in an NCAA investigation surrounding improper benefits to former running back Reggie Bush. Ultimately, the school was given debilitating sanctions, including a two-year bowl ban, and lost 30 scholarships over a three-year span.
Kiffin
When Pat Haden was hired, he said to me, “I need you to get us through probation. Do not cheat, do not have any violations.” He said, “I know you’re going to lose games, and I know the Coliseum is going to be half-full. … I’m prepared for it. But we need to get off probation.”
Wolf
They used to put out a weekly stat with how many players they had available because they were upset with the NCAA.
Kiffin
Even though no one had ever done it before and been successful, there was a kind of arrogance of, “Oh, we’re USC and it’ll be fine.” But I had a major concern that the numbers were taking their toll.
McKay
My expectations were unreasonably high. With the scholarship restrictions we were under, I just looked this up: A couple years ago a team backed out of a bowl game because they only had 58 players and they felt that was unsafe or unfair. We went years without having 50. I don’t think I understood it at the time.
Despite the sanctions, USC finished the 2011 season 10-2, adding ample hype for 2012. The Trojans opened that year as the preseason No. 1 team in the country. That’s when the wheels came off. USC finished 2012 7-6, including an embarrassing performance in the Sun Bowl vs. Georgia Tech.
Weber
[The Trojans] go to the Sun Bowl. They didn’t want to be there. Lane didn’t want to be there. They had a fight in the locker room afterwards. All these parents that are on the plane with me back from El Paso saying, “Did you hear what happened?” because all their kids had told them these stories. That’s the setup for the next year.
Kevin Graf, USC offensive lineman, 2009-13
The way [2012] ended, I didn’t know if this was a situation I wanted to really come back for. But SC is such a special place to me, and I wasn’t ready to leave it that way. But that [frustration] carried on into spring ball. Spring was a weird situation. And it carried into the season as well.
USC opened the 2013 season 3-1 with an ugly 10-7 loss to Washington State at the Coliseum. Then came a road trip to Arizona State that proved to be one of the most embarrassing losses in recent USC history.
Nwaisser
I don’t think going into 2013 people were expecting a huge turnaround. He was already on a short leash as fans were concerned.
Max Browne, USC quarterback, 2013-16
To think he was not on the hot seat would’ve been naïve.
Helton
As coaches, you’re so ingrained in routine and just getting ready for the next game, it didn’t come into my thought process. We were just trying to get ready each week. I never felt like, “Oh gosh if this happens we may be out of a job.”
Nwaisser
There was a hope, I think, among fans that the end would be coming soon. The “Fire Kiffin” chants had already started.
I have a feeling this won’t be the only time a fire lane is used this way at the Coliseum this year pic.twitter.com/p5rZNC4Qnw
— John Ireland (@LAIreland) September 8, 2013
Kiffin
There’s not many professions that millions of people root for you every Saturday to get fired.
Helton
It was one of those shootout games. We put 40-plus points up, but they put up 60-plus. At that time, if you didn’t bring your “A” game, you’d get your butts beat. And we did not play our best game.
Mike Norvell, Arizona State offensive coordinator, 2012-15
I’ve still got a helmet. Coach [Todd] Graham gave me a helmet because it was the most points they’d ever scored against USC. It was a special night. Our players, that was a big game for our program.
Tessalone
By the end of that season, they had 44 scholarship players available because of NCAA sanctions and injuries. They were working some magic, and Lane really had a plan on how to deal with the limitations that were very severe — way more severe than they should’ve been. But at USC, they don’t take excuses.
Wolf
They decided to fire him — not at the airport. They were in the locker room, Haden, JK McKay and Mark Jackson. They stayed in there after halftime, and they decided in that little locker room to fire him. And they didn’t tell him until they got back to L.A.
Weber
I still remember talking to people in the press box. There’s [USC president C.L.] Max Nikias right behind the bench, and he’s talking to the head of the board of trustees. And you could see him call Pat Haden over, and I’m thinking, “This might not be so good.” And [the conversation] was happening right behind the bench. They weren’t trying to hide it.
Helton
It felt like normal after a loss, after you get your butt kicked. You’re trying to get to the tape as fast as you can to get it fixed for the next week.
Kiffin
Maybe I was naïve, but I was shocked. The whole airport story.
Tessalone
I had no idea what was going down until I walked onto the plane. I was one of the last guys, and Pat pulled me aside and said, “Hey, we need to talk. We’re going to make a change.” So now my mind starts spinning.
Browne
I remember sitting toward the front of the plane. Lane always sits in the very back. I remember him walking up to the front, and I remember thinking, “Hey that’s weird.”
Kiffin
I sat in the back with the players. Pat Haden sat up front in first class. I got a message saying Pat wants to see you after [we land]. I’m certainly not thinking that I’m getting fired. I remember walking up there because I was going to ask him, “Hey, can we just talk on the plane?” I walked up and Pat was sleeping, and his wife, Cindy, looked at me and started crying.
The charter plane landed at LAX around 3 a.m. local time. What happened from there became part of college football lore — the moment the most reviled head coach in the country got pulled off the team bus so he could be fired on an airport tarmac. Only, that’s not exactly how it went down.
Kiffin
I don’t see [Haden] when I get off [the plane], so I get on the bus. JK McKay stops the bus and grabs me and brings me in. I said to him I was going back to sleep in the office because it’s 3 in the morning and I’m getting ready for work the next day.
Rick Carr, USC head of athletics security
For road games, I would drive over to [Kiffin’s] house on Fridays, pick him up, and drive his car over to the airport. Lane had told me before we got off the plane, “Just take my car home because I’m going to spend the weekend at the office.” I was walking from the plane past the buses, and Pat Haden stops me and says, “Where’s Lane?” I said, “He was going back to the office. He’s staying there.” And he says, “Well, bring his car around.”
Wolf
Steve Lopes was an administrator. He literally gets in front of a bus and stops the bus as it’s leaving the parking lot.
Tessalone
Obviously, lots of side stories came out about [Kiffin] getting yanked off the bus.
Browne
That whole bus story, the one that got a bunch of pub, as a player, it was not a drama-filled bus ride.
Wolf
[Kiffin] had this briefcase he used to take with him, and he left it on the bus because he thought he was going to talk to those guys for like 10 minutes and get back on the bus. He went to this little building, and they sent the bus to USC. He had to get someone to get his briefcase and bring it back to his house because he never went back to USC.
Carr
For complete transparency, it was not the tarmac. It was an office in the terminal.
Weber
Lane has developed a sense of humor, but he always used to talk to us about what the storyline was. I think Lane realized tarmac sounded better. He didn’t get fired on the tarmac. There was like a small building where the charter jets would pull up to. But it always sounded better, and Lane was smart enough to realize, “I’m going to go with tarmac.”
Tessalone
It’s a charter company. They have a little building there on the south side of the airport. They go into the building and have a conversation that lasts quite a while. It was very surreal for me, just sitting there waiting for a while, sitting on a couch in this tiny little terminal.
Kiffin
I even said to him, “OK, what’s the use of changing now? Even if you want to fire me, let me just finish with these players and coach the rest of the year.” Actually, I think I had him turned to not firing me because I’m reminding him we don’t have 30 scholarship players. He walks out. And he’s like, “Yeah, I get it, maybe we jumped the gun on this.” So he walks out and makes a call, and he comes back in and says, “No, I can’t take this back.”
Carr
Pat walks out, and Lane’s still sitting there. Pat takes a lap around the patio area and walks back in. Comes back out and does another lap. At that point, I see our sports information guy and our CFO, and they’re off in the corner of the parking lot, and I said to myself, “Wait a minute, he’s getting whacked.” It was like when Joe Pesci walks into the room in “Goodfellas.”
Kiffin
You get that dream job, and I say, you lose it and have it taken away. The reason I say it that way is, when you get fired, you lose your job, and you look at it and say, “I should’ve done it this way or that way. I should’ve hired different.” Whatever it was. It’s all the things you look at vs. saying, “I got screwed over.” In this case, I could’ve done things much better, but I also got it taken away for things that weren’t my fault because there were 30 scholarships lost and a two-year bowl ban. We lost recruits because they couldn’t play on TV. We lost current players because the juniors and seniors could transfer. But that was all forgotten. We’re playing with 30 less scholarships, losing at Arizona State but 3-2 [in 2013], 28-15 overall. Not 0-6 or whatever. Coaches with full rosters of 85 scholarship players, you don’t usually get fired at 3-2.
Garrett
[Haden’s] war was with me. Getting rid of Lane was a way to say I didn’t know what I was doing, and I was lucky with Pete Carroll. Lane was really a byproduct of all that. If [Haden] got rid of Lane, it reflected on me.
ESPN contacted former USC athletic director Pat Haden, former interim coach Ed Orgeron, and former university president Max Nikias. All declined to comment for this story.
Carr
Lane gets in the car and the first thing he says is, “I’m sorry that took so long. I didn’t mean to keep you.”
Tessalone
Lane lived in Manhattan Beach at the time. I lived in Redondo Beach, which was two beaches south of that. It was 3 in the morning, something like that. I told Lane, “Hey, I’ll follow you home.” So there’s Kiff, going down the deserted Pacific Coast Highway, and he turns off, and I kept going down to Redondo. And I got in after 3 in the morning thinking, OK, I have to write a press release that Lane Kiffin’s been fired.
Nwaisser
I remember getting up, it was still dark, and I saw the news on my phone, and I basically had a little minicelebration in our hotel room in Arizona.
Kiffin
It’s 5 a.m. The sun’s getting ready to come up. I’m sitting in the backyard, and I said to my wife, “When I go to bed, I don’t want to wake up.” She’s got a little more perspective, and she said, “You have three children upstairs. Don’t ever say that again.”
When news trickled out about Kiffin’s departure — and the details of how it happened — the story transcended college football and became a pop culture moment.
Nwaisser
Getting fired on the tarmac, the memes kind of make themselves. It was funny and it was sad. It sucked to be a USC fan and have all this happen to us but I don’t think a lot of people were sad to see Kiffin go.
Weber
I’m driving back from Tempe listening to ESPN Radio. The guy’s on, and he sounded half-asleep. And he says, “There’s some rumblings about USC.” I pull over, and I’m sitting there on I-10 with my laptop out trying to write the story. There wasn’t anybody you could call in the middle of the night.
Tessalone
I’d never written a press release at 4 a.m. I remember opening up Twitter, and it’s 7 a.m. on the East Coast, and you could just see the story traveling from the East Coast to the midwest to the West Coast as all these media people start waking up.
Kiffin
If you get fired at the end of the year, you have this disaster, and you have to deal with it, and then you get a new job. You’re in the media with 20 other coaches getting fired. When you get fired in Week 5 in L.A., you’re the story.
Wolf
I was live tweeting this from my hotel room at like 4 in the morning. I’d talked to some people who were on the bus, so I broke that story about the tarmac. I got savaged by people who say I was making it up. Now everybody talks about it — especially him.
Pat Chun, FAU athletic director, 2012-2017
The brand value of USC and Lane Kiffin and social media and it’s a perfect storm of awkward circumstances to separate a coach from his job.
Wolf
And now every time someone doesn’t like a coach, “They need to tarmac him.”
In the aftermath of Kiffin’s dismissal, USC still had games to play, and the Trojans turned to Orgeron to lead the program the rest of the way — or, at least long enough for them to hire someone else.
Browne
We got a text first thing Sunday morning that there’s a team meeting. At that point, you knew the writing was on the wall.
Graf
We were all somewhat relieved because we weren’t living up to what we needed to, and we felt like Lane — I don’t know if he was trying to pin players against each other, but we all felt like it was in our interests to continue on without him. Let’s start clean, have Coach O come in and lead, and you saw quite a switch.
Browne
When Coach Orgeron came in, it was an injection of personality and energy into our locker room. He was getting us fast-food trucks on Wednesday and Thursday. We started going to movies the night before the game. Trying to lighten the air for a team that had a ton of pressure. It was much more fun.
Helton
That whole season, to be honest, is one of my favorite seasons. You always get to see who you are when adversity hits … that group of men, saying our job is to go do our job and not look for the next job.
Tessalone
Ed was incredibly popular with our players and our fans. When he took over — he’s just this larger-than-life personality. He’d done a great job during his time at SC and got the team going. They had the big upset over Stanford at home. I think everybody kind of thought he’d get a shot.
Pat Haden, former USC athletic director, in 2013
I counted them actually. I had 136 pro-Coach O emails today. Those were just emails. That doesn’t count the tweets, letters and phone calls. In my day, they sent ’em by carrier pigeon. Now, I get ’em four or five ways.
USC rebounded after Kiffin’s termination and finished the regular season 9-4, but lost to both Notre Dame and UCLA. Orgeron felt he’d earned the job full time. USC felt differently. On Dec. 2, two days after the Trojans’ final home game, Steve Sarkisian, who’d worked with Kiffin as an assistant under Carroll, was named the new head coach. Orgeron was not pleased, and USC still had a bowl game to play.
Wolf
You had the tarmac incident and two months later Ed Orgeron is storming off campus in his SUV because he didn’t get the job. And nobody sees him again because he was so mad.
With Sarkisian in the press box, and none of the remaining coaches certain they’d have a job the next day, Helton’s staff led a surprising upset of Fresno State 45-20 for USC’s 10th win in a season in which the team had four different head coaches.
Graf
No one knew what we were going through, and so it bonded the team closer. We were in a bad spot, and to turn it around and make it as fun as he did and to win 10 games under four different coaches — other teams would fold, but it almost brought us together as kind of a brotherhood.
Helton
It kind of put an exclamation point on a year that when a group of men rally together and support each other, great things can happen.
Graf
As wild a year as that was, the closeness the team was able to have, the way we finished it off, I’m glad I left SC with a win.
Rece Davis, play-by-play voice for the 2013 Las Vegas Bowl
Tee [Martin] and the offensive coaches were in the booth next to us. As soon as the game was over, he held up a sign that said, “Will coach for food.” It was the proverbial gallows humor.
Sarkisian, too, was ultimately fired midway through the 2015 season. Helton again stepped in as interim and, perhaps aware of the mistake in letting Orgeron walk in 2013, USC ultimately kept Helton on full time. His tenure was marked by more disgruntled fans, a 46-24 overall record, and just one top-10 finish. Helton was fired two games into the 2021 season.
Weber
From August to December [2013], they had four coaches. They’re the only program who’s fired two coaches in the middle of the season two years apart.
Kiffin
You get far enough removed where then you don’t care. Right after I left, it’s human nature [to root against USC]. It’s the ego involved. We think everyone’s comparing, which they aren’t.
Garrett
Haden didn’t know what the hell he was doing. So the place got worse, morale got bad. There’s no question in my mind if he gave Lane the time and the support and didn’t think of him as a Mike Garrett selection, Lane would’ve been successful.
Kiffin
I didn’t do well. [My wife] said, “Utilize this time with your kids and family.” I just sat around and felt sorry for myself and watched football games all the time.
I needed a job. I didn’t have balance. My job defined me. My job was my higher power. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to exist without my job.
Kiffin found salvation in the most unlikely of places — at Alabama, with staid, stoic, understated coach Nick Saban. The results on the field were incredible, with Kiffin reimagining the old-school Alabama offense as an up-tempo attack that brought the Tide in line with the modern game. Off the field, however, the Saban-Kiffin dynamic was … complicated.
Kiffin
[Saban] and [agent] Jimmy Sexton called me when I was [an assistant] at USC, we’d won the [2005] Orange Bowl. Offers me the offensive coordinator job [with the Miami Dolphins]. He’d watched us in the Orange Bowl. We’d just smoked Oklahoma. I didn’t go. Then he gets the Alabama job [in 2007]. After I was fired, he said, “Hey come out here and watch practice.” I did. I spent 10 days out there, got to know him a little bit, and the offensive coordinator job opened up a month later and he called me.
Weber
When Lane left L.A., he sold his house to Vince Vaughn, the actor. You’ve got to have a pretty good house if you’re able to sell it to Vince Vaughn.
Kiffin
That is accurate, yes. [Vaughn] was on “College GameDay.” He picked Alabama and not us. I thought maybe he’d say, “Well, I bought Lane Kiffin’s house, so I better pick them.”
Locksley
Lane and Coach [Saban] are probably more similar than they are different in terms of football. Lane’s a social media darling. That side is different. Coach is more reserved, more conservative. But if you spend enough time with Lane, they’re both high, high, high intelligence levels, great problem-solvers, tremendous ability to communicate. Now, the social media, the outside-the-box stuff that Lane does, that’s obviously different.
Kiffin
Two polar opposite people. The one common theme is ultracompetitive, but outside of that, very different people. Especially back then.
It had its ups and downs. If I were to redo it perfectly, I say you should get a two-day seminar from someone — like a previous offensive coordinator — I would have done it better if I’d had a 48-hour seminar with McElwain or something to explain how it works.
When you say, “Hey, Coach, what do you think about this?” and I think that’s just normal conversation. He’s interpreting it as I’m questioning the process. Because you sit in the staff meetings and nobody talks. I remember looking at Kirby [Smart] or Billy Napier and thinking, “Does anybody say anything but ‘Yes, sir?'” Coach could walk in and say, “This week we’re going to play with 10 players,” and everyone would say, “Yes, sir, great idea.”
But I take all the blame for that there was friction at first. The production worked. But communication and relationship didn’t. I take blame for that because it’s not his job to change. It’s my job to change.
For Kiffin, the on-field success did help him find closure on his exit at USC. At the conclusion of the 2015 season, Alabama won a national title with Kiffin calling the plays. It came almost 10 years to the day after the Trojans’ historic loss to Texas in the national championship game, when Kiffin had notoriously left Reggie Bush on the sideline in the game’s critical, final moments.
Then came Alabama’s 2016 season opener against a familiar adversary: USC.
Locksley
That was actually my first game I was at Bama for [as an offensive analyst]. Going into the game, knowing the situation of Lane and USC and being fired on the tarmac, infamously he’d put something at the top of the call sheet that we all had — either the date or the time that he was fired.
Kiffin
It was the time.
Locksley
I remember in the middle of the game, we were winning pretty handily, and anybody who’s worked for Coach [Saban] knows he’s a class act when it comes to that stuff. He made the decision — when he tells you to take the air out of the ball, as he likes to say, that means slow things down. We don’t need to try to score. Keep the clock moving.
Well, Lane missed that conversation on the headset, and threw a Sluggo touchdown to Gehrig Dieter, and I can remember Coach on the headset saying, “Hey man, does it make you feel any better that you’re doing this? Does it get you your job back?”
And I can remember Lane saying, ‘No, it doesn’t, but it sure feels good.’
And Coach went off on him after that.
After the game, Kiffin posted a photo of his son with the game ball and the hashtag: “3:14AM-LAX.“
Post game w the game ball!!! #3:14AM-LAX pic.twitter.com/cxQkJ89254
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) September 4, 2016
Tessalone
We were talking one time and he goes, “You know my nickname when I was a kid, right?” I said no. He goes, “It was ‘Helicopter.’ Because when I was a kid, I would walk into a room and just stir everything up.”
Davis
Someday, when they write an epitaph for Lane Kiffin, it’s going to be, “He couldn’t help himself.”
Kiffin’s relationship with Saban ultimately blew up after the College Football Playoff semifinal in Atlanta. Kiffin had already accepted the head-coaching job at FAU, and Saban was supposedly concerned that his offensive coordinator already had one foot out the door. Kiffin and Alabama parted ways just a week before the national championship game. He was replaced, again, with Steve Sarkisian.
Nick Saban, Alabama head coach, in 2017
This wasn’t an easy decision, and we appreciate the way Lane handled this in terms of doing what is best for our team. At the end of the day, both of us wanted to put our players in the best position to be successful.
Kiffin
I think a lot of times, I was a jerk. Maybe stubborn is the better word. Just to remember, this is his program. If he says to wear pink underwear, you wear pink underwear. I was so used to the open communication thing, I really struggled with that transition.
Locksley
When I think of Lane, I think of the California cool kid. Being at Alabama really emphasized the importance of structure and having processes and building a program. You can see the role that Coach played — not just in Lane but in a lot of us that came through that program that Coach Saban has built.
Kiffin
Probably not a day goes by where there’s not something that I say [that’s] something he says or think of something [Saban] says. He’s kind of like a parent. I was raised by my dad and had, like, two stepdads in Pete Carroll and Nick Saban. You can still hear those voices. That happens to me a lot. Coach doesn’t pick up the phone and go, “Hey, man. What are you doing? Just driving home and going fishing.” That doesn’t happen. But a lot of times, out of nowhere, I’ll just [text], “Thanks again.”
It was at FAU where Kiffin finally found a fresh start. For the first time in his career, he was at a place that didn’t have national title aspirations. He was building, rather than inheriting, a program.
Chun
He was so well-prepared in his interview. He addressed all the Twitter rumors about himself, very upfront. But it was a very thoughtful, engaging presentation on him as a head football coach, the lessons he learned on his very unique journey and where that put him at in that moment and why he was prepared to be a head coach again.
Kiffin
After we won to go to a bowl game, they bowled in the locker room. I’d never been anywhere that celebrated six wins. And it was so cool because it was on a smaller stage where people were enjoying it — not for what it gives you, but for the enjoyment of the game. And you were giving players something they hadn’t had before. You’re supposed to start that way — Urban [Meyer] at Bowling Green, Saban at Toledo. You’re supposed to start down and work up. You’re not supposed to get your first job at 31 in the NFL and then Tennessee and USC.
Jon Gordon, author and motivational speaker
I’d never liked him. Never liked his public persona, and I didn’t expect to like him. But I went to visit him and I actually liked him a lot. He was beginning the process of wanting to make a change.
Kiffin
I saw a podcast the other day on the rapper Macklemore, and he’s talking about, he’s winning the Grammy. He’s on stage. He’s got everything. And he’s not fulfilled. And later, he’s in rehab. He’s making coffee in the morning for people. He’s serving others. And he says, “I felt more fulfilled doing that than when I was on stage.” I feel like I can relate to that. I can tell people, there are trophies and wins and new contracts and things. I’m not saying they’re not great, but that’s not true fulfillment.
I wouldn’t have said that 10 years ago.
Three years after being hired at FAU, Kiffin landed another Power 5 job — back in the SEC at Ole Miss. He’s still a lightning rod for public scrutiny, but he has shown he has a sense of humor about most of it, publicly tweaking Saban routinely, interacting with fans and critics alike on social media, and finding something approaching a sense of peace with his place in the college football universe.
Weber
He had a lot of learning experiences.
Browne
I remember the criticism around him, some people would champion the point that he was not great with the media, and he wasn’t personable, and you fast forward a decade and he’s maybe the most personable, real coach out there.
He’s set a standard for what it means to be a coach in the social media era.
Helton
To take a step back and it really jumps you three steps forward. I’m just so happy for him to see the maturity and really the peace that he has. He’s still innovative.
Graf
Looking at Lane now, he has a lot of fun. He talks s—. He has fun with his players. If he was more like that during his SC days, things may have panned out different.
McKay
I’m sorry for what happened to Lane at SC, but I think things happen for a reason, and he’s moved on and is a hell of a football coach.
Kiffin
I think people go their whole life without being glad that bad things happen. They hold anger and resentment — toward the people, the AD, the fans. They don’t ever let that go. And it only hurts them. It didn’t hurt USC if I was mad at them. So, I let that go. And I’m glad I’ve had this experience.
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Craig Haubert
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Craig Haubert
ESPN Staff Writer
- National recruiting analyst and analyst for ESPNU
- More than a decade of college and pro coaching experience.
- Graduated from Indiana and Nebraska-Omaha
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Billy Tucker
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Billy Tucker
Scouts, Football Recruiting
- • Recruiting coordinator for ESPN RecruitingNation.
• Nearly a decade of college coaching experience.
• Has been evaluating prospects at ESPN since 2006.
While annual College Football Playoff contenders like Georgia, Alabama and Ohio State are ace recruiters, elite recruiting isn’t the only path to becoming a top program.
The transfer portal has changed how programs build rosters. Some schools go all-in every offseason to overhaul their rosters through the portal, while others use the portal to add depth to a position or target major transfers who could take a team from great to national champion.
And now that spring football and the spring transfer portal period are over, we can look at the best groups of newcomers. When looking at modern roster development, it’s important to consider the combination of recruiting class and success in the portal.
This ranking is the top 25 groups of newcomers — recruits and transfers combined — based on who could see the most impactful immediate returns for 2025.
Top impact recruits: WR Dakorien Moore, CB Na’eem Offord, S Trey McNutt
In 2024, freshman receivers Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State) and Ryan Williams (Alabama) made immediate impacts. Moore, a five-star prospect, looks like the next breakout star at the position. Moore has elite big-play speed, runs excellent routes and has a high football IQ and fierce competitive demeanor. All of those tools can make him a featured target right away for a playoff contender that lost three of its top four pass-catchers from 2024.
Defensively, Offord and McNutt are players to watch. They were both versatile two-way players in high school and bring strong playmaking skills to Oregon’s secondary. With the Ducks needing to reload on the back end, both have a strong chance to contribute in Year 1.
Top transfers: RB Makhi Hughes, OL Isaiah World, OL Emmanuel Pregnon, S Dillon Thieneman, CB Theran Johnson, DT Bear Alexander, OL Alex Harkey, TE Jamari Johnson.
Fresh off a Big Ten title, Oregon signed a top-five recruiting class and an elite group of transfers as it prepares for another national title run. Signing Offord was helpful for the Ducks when his half-brother, running back Makhi Hughes, entered the portal. Hughes was one of the top transfers available after running for nearly 3,000 yards at Tulane. He should help replace 1,000-yard rusher Jordan James in Oregon’s backfield.
To help open running lanes, the Ducks pulled several offensive line starters out of the portal. Both World and Pregnon are poised to anchor the left side of the offensive line. Thieneman was a top-25 portal prospect who brings Big Ten experience from Purdue and looks like a plug-and-play addition. Oregon also pulled out several other transfers who, at a minimum, should provide quality depth and play contributing roles.
Top impact recruits: CB DJ Pickett, OL Carius Curne, OL Solomon Thomas, RB Harlem Berry
While much of LSU’s immediate help will come from transfers, the Tigers signed a top-10 recruiting class that should produce some early contributors. Pickett, a five-star player, is most likely to make an immediate impact. A long, fluid corner, he enrolled early and showed promising flashes this spring. He has the tools to start as a true freshman and help reestablish the Tigers’ reputation for producing elite defensive backs.
At running back, LSU returns Caden Durham, a key freshman contributor in 2024. But four-star Berry brings big-play speed and could complement Durham nicely if Berry can develop physically. The Tigers’ 2022 class produced two immediate freshman starters on the offensive line in Will Campbell and Emery Jones. Don’t expect this group to replicate that impact right away, but there are opportunities up front, and Thomas, another five-star, and Curne, an ESPN 300 player, are names to watch on the two-deep — or even as eventual starters.
Top transfers: WR Barion Brown, WR Nic Anderson, TE Bauer Sharp, OL Braelin Moore, OL Josh Thompson, QB Michael Van Buren, DE Jack Pyburn, DE Patrick Payton, CB Mansoor Delane, S Tamarcus Cooley, CB Ja’Keem Jackson, S A.J. Haulcy
Brian Kelly and his staff aggressively assembled one of the nation’s top-rated transfer classes, which should provide immediate help as the Tigers work to return to the SEC title game for the first time since 2022.
After losing three of their top four pass-catchers from last season, the Tigers reloaded with experienced SEC targets, including Brown (Kentucky), Anderson (Oklahoma) and tight end Sharp, who could fill the void left by Mason Taylor after a 42-catch season at Oklahoma.
Garrett Nussmeier returns as one of college football’s best quarterbacks, but LSU set itself up nicely if it needs to turn to No. 2 bringing in Van Buren, who appeared in 10 games as a freshman for Mississippi State. In the secondary, one cornerback spot could go to Pickett, but transfers like Delane and Jackson are talented options at the other spot. Cooley is another plug-and-play option in the secondary along with ultra-productive Haulcy (Houston). He earned All-Big 12 honors in 2024 after producing 74 tackles, 8 pass breakups and 5 interceptions, which tied for most in the conference. Edge rushers Pyburn and Payton — the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2022 at Florida State — should give LSU a disruptive presence.
Top impact recruits: CB Blake Woodby, DT Jourdin Crawford, DT Malik Autry, S Anquon Fegans, WR Sam Turner
Auburn hasn’t posted a winning season since 2020, but Hugh Freeze is building a roster that could change that. The Tigers’ sixth-ranked recruiting class could produce several immediate contributors.
Although secondary wasn’t an urgent need, it might be tough to keep both Woodby, a five-star prospect, and Fegans, a top-5 safety prospect, off the field — especially after some post-spring departures. Woodby is a supremely confident corner with excellent speed, while Fegans brings versatility and is already battling for a starting spot. Teams can never have enough defensive linemen, and Auburn signed several impactful big men, including Crawford and Autry. Both are 300-pounders with the tools to contribute on the interior this season.
After freshmen receivers Malcolm Simmons and Cam Coleman made contributions in 2024, Turner, a three-star recruit, is poised to follow suit. He has good length at 6-foot-1 and runs sharp routes.
Top transfers: QB Jackson Arnold, WR Eric Singleton Jr., CB Raion Strader, OT Xavier Chaplin, OT Mason Murphy, LB Caleb Wheatland, DT Dallas Walker IV, DE Chris Murray
Both Auburn and Arnold needed a fresh start in 2025. A five-star in 2023, the dual-threat Oklahoma transfer has the physical tools to become one of the most impactful transfers of the 2025 cycle.
Singleton, a Georgia Tech transfer, will provide experience and leadership after logging 100 catches over the past two seasons. His speed and production can help solidify a wide receiver group that was a liability not too long ago. On the offensive line, Chaplin and Murphy are in the mix for starting jobs at tackle.
Top impact recruits: S Jonah Williams, DT Justus Terry, WR Jaime Ffrench, WR Kaliq Lockett, WR Daylan McCutcheon
With the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, Texas can enter 2025 expecting contributions from a deep group of blue-chippers as it eyes a third straight College Football Playoff appearance.
While the Longhorns addressed most of their defensive line needs via the portal, Terry, a five-star, could become a factor, even if he’s not a full-time starter, much like 2024 five-star Collin Simmons. Terry brings explosion and versatility to the interior defensive line.
Texas also signed three ESPN 300 wide receivers — Ffrench, Lockett and McCutcheon — to restock its depth after leaning more on transfers last year. Williams, a five-star DB, is a two-sport athlete who has spent his initial time in Austin with Texas’ nationally ranked baseball program. He has an excellent combination of size and speed. He can contribute this fall as a versatile weapon in the secondary.
Top transfers: TE Jack Endries, DT Maraad Watson, DT Travis Shaw, DT Cole Brevard, DT Hero Kanu.
Texas largely leaned on excellent high school recruiting this year, but after losing three starters and key depth, it used the portal to address immediate needs on the defensive line in 2025. Watson, a Syracuse transfer, was very productive as a freshman starter and can build on that strong start to his career in Austin this season. On offense, Endries was a key spring addition and brings proven production to a position that needed more experience heading into the fall.
Top impact recruits: WR Leyton Stone, WR Michael Dever, WR Bryson Jones
The Red Raiders signed a solid class, but transfers are expected to make the majority of the immediate impact. They also bring back good production at wide receiver, but in a high-powered passing attack with an experienced quarterback in Behren Morton, there’s always opportunity for young players to jump in and contribute. Although he didn’t enroll early, Jones, a four-star, is the highest-ranked receiver in the recruiting class and could work his way into the rotation.
Top transfers: DE David Bailey, DE Romello Height, DL Lee Hunter, DL Skyler Gill-Howard, WR Reggie Virgil, TE Terrance Carter, OT Will Jados, OL Howard Sampson
Few teams were more active and successful in the portal this offseason than Texas Tech, which finished with ESPN’s top-ranked transfer portal class. Much of that activity focused on improving a defense that ranked near the bottom nationally in several categories.
Adding Bailey from Stanford was a big addition. He already has 14.5 career sacks. Along with Height, Hunter and Gill-Howard, they can revitalize Texas Tech’s defensive front.
Virgil and Carter, who caught 48 passes last season for Louisiana, should pair nicely with returning targets Coy Eakin and Caleb Douglas, who combined for more than 100 catches. To help better protect Morton, Texas Tech landed several potential offensive line starters, with Jados and Sampson poised to man tackle spots.
Top impact recruits: OL Devin Harper, WR Caleb Cunningham
There doesn’t appear to be an impact freshman like Quinshon Judkins (2022) or Suntarine Perkins (2023), but Ole Miss still brought in intriguing talent that could play a role, much like William Echoles did last season. Cunningham, one of the top prospects in the state, is a player to watch, and Harper could crack their Rebels’ offensive line two-deep.
Top transfers: DL Da’Shawn Womack, DE Princewill Umanmielen, S Sage Ryan, CB Ricky Fletcher, WR De’Zhaun Stribling, WR Caleb Odom, TE Luke Hasz, OL Delano Townsend, OL Patrick Kutas, CB Tavoy Feagin
Ole Miss has become synonymous with the portal. It has yielded exceptional players, including Jaxson Dart and Walter Nolen, and Lane Kiffin’s staff was once again aggressive in 2025.
They pulled several likely offensive line starters, such as Kutas, who arrived from Arkansas. Hasz also transferred in from Arkansas and could become a focal point in the passing game. A 2023 ESPN 300 prospect, Hasz flashed as a freshman before injuries cut his season short, but he turned in a solid 2024 campaign.
Defensively, Princely Umanmielen transferred in and notched 10.5 sacks as a senior before moving on to the NFL. Now, his younger brother Princewill Umanmielen arrives in Oxford from Nebraska hoping to deliver a similar impact.
Top impact recruits: CB Devin Sanchez, LB Riley Pettijohn, WR Quincy Porter, S Faheem Delane, DE Zion Grady
The defending national champions return a deep, talented roster after recruiting at a high level for several years. So it’s unlikely any freshman replicates the instant impact Jeremiah Smith made last season. That said, this class is very talented and will find a way to carve out roles.
In the secondary, Sanchez is a lengthy, smooth corner. Delane has the physicality to play right away at safety in the Big Ten. Both are on campus and made good first impressions — including a spring game interception from Delane — and might be just a play away from a starting role this season. It’ll be tough to crack Ohio State’s loaded wide receiver mix, but depth is essential to any national title run, and Porter emerged from the spring as another potential weapon.
Top transfers: TE Max Klare, DE Beau Atkinson, OL Phillip Daniels, OL Ethan Onianwa, DE Logan George, RB CJ Donaldson
Ohio State doesn’t need to overhaul its roster via the portal given it consistently signs top-rated recruits. But the Buckeyes are still smart and selective, and last year’s additions, including Quinshon Judkins, Will Howard and Caleb Downs, paid dividends. This year’s group looks poised to do the same.
Klare caught 51 passes at Purdue last season. Targets may be harder to come by this year given the elite stable of wide receivers around him, but he’s a matchup problem who will stress defenses and gain favorable matchups in the middle of the field.
Atkinson, who came from North Carolina in the spring portal, will add more pass-rushing juice, and George looks like an unheralded steal from FCS Idaho State. At least one of their offensive line additions should assume a starting role. Donaldson is a big running back at 6-foot-2, 238 pounds who ran for more than 2,000 yards at West Virginia and will aid a ground game that lost a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson.
Top impact recruits: WR Malachi Toney, OL SJ Alofaituli
Miami has yet to return to college football’s elite class, but after logging their first 10-win season since 2017, the Hurricanes are hoping this new group can help them take the next big step.
The Hurricanes lost their top three pass-catchers at receiver. Transfers should pick up most of the slack, but Toney made a strong first impression this spring, including making eight catches for more than 100 yards and a touchdown in their spring game. He should be squarely in the receiver mix.
Up front, transfer James Brockermeyer will likely slot in at center, but Alofaituli was the top-ranked interior offensive lineman in the 2025 class and is one to watch. Though he’s physically unassuming for a nationally ranked lineman, he’s powerful, flexible and quick. Those traits could help him play a role from day one.
Top transfers: QB Carson Beck, WR CJ Daniels, DT David Blay, CB Xavier Lucas, CB Zechariah Poyser, WR Keelan Marion
Following Cam Ward’s lone season, Miami went back to the portal to replace the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft in the hopes of finding a new signal-caller to help get the team to the next step. Enter Beck, who won 24 games at Georgia and brings both experience and poise. He steps into an offense that lost receivers Xavier Restrepo, Isaiah Horton and Jacolby George, who each accounted for over 50 receptions last year.
To offset that need, Miami added Daniels. He brings experience and proven production between his time at LSU and Liberty and offers Beck a target with good body control who runs sharp routes. The Hurricanes have a rich history of developing excellent defensive tackles, and Blay could become a disruptive presence after notching six sacks last year for Louisiana Tech.
Top impact recruits: QB Bryce Underwood, OT Ty Haywood, OT Andrew Babalola, WR Jamar Browder, WR Andrew Marsh, CB Shamari Earls
Sherrone Moore pulled off the biggest recruiting win of the cycle by flipping Underwood, the No. 1 player in the class, from LSU. The in-state signal-caller addresses a key need and has every physical attribute desired in a passer. He threw for more than 11,000 yards in high school and set a state record with 152 career touchdown passes. Between a need at the position and Underwood’s physical tools, the true freshman could be under center to start the season in Ann Arbor. Marsh, an ESPN 300 player, won’t just be his top target of the future, but also a dynamic playmaker in the rotation this fall.
Moore is a former offensive lineman and offensive line coach, so it’s not surprising he emphasized signing Haywood, a five-star lineman. He’s a powerful big man with excellent length and mobility and could push his way into the rotation. Babalola, who was on campus this spring and performed well, could be the first between these two to see the field and might even contend for a starting tackle spot. Earls, a one-time Georgia commit, has a supreme blend of height, length and speed to contribute in sub packages.
Top transfers: WR Donaven McCulley, RB Justice Haynes, DB TJ Metcalf, OL Brady Norton, DT Damon Payne, DT Tre Williams
Haynes will team up with Jordan Marshall at running back to give Michigan one of the best 1-2 punches in college football. He was successful carrying a big load in high school and certainly can produce in a featured role. Haynes is a strong downhill runner with productive yards after contact. McCulley is a strong, big-bodied receiver at a position of need. He will be a nice target for Underwood on the outside who will win the contested jump balls. Defensively, look for Metcalf to fill a nickel role given his good coverage skills, size and physicality. He’s a ballhawk.
Top impact recruits: DE Javion Hilson, RB Marquise Davis, WR Donovan Olugbode
Eli Drinkwitz has led the Tigers to back-to-back double-digit win seasons, but a hat trick might be tough following some key roster losses. Still, with a top-10 portal class and top-25 recruiting class, they’ve reloaded with talent to remain competitive in the SEC.
Davis, a four-star player, could step into a meaningful role right away in an immediate area of need. He’s a thickly built back with a nice combination of burst and vision who proved this spring he’s ready to make a contribution to their rushing attack.
Keep an eye on Olugbode in Missouri’s receiver rotation. The IMG playmaker has shown he can quickly adapt and be a versatile prospect. The Tigers shouldn’t need to count on Hilson immediately, but the defensive end was a key recruiting win. He has tools to be a disruptive pass rusher and could work his way into a situational role.
Top transfers: DE Damon Wilson, QB Beau Pribula, OT Keagen Trost, DE Nate Johnson, LB Josiah Trotter, S Jalen Catalon, RB Ahmad Hardy, WR Kevin Coleman
Despite several departures, the Tigers replenished well in the portal. Wilson, who came from Georgia, is a big addition. His blend of length and burst rushing off the edge will offset the losses of Johnny Walker Jr. (9.5 sacks) and Jahkai Lang (3 sacks).
Pribula, who was a backup at Penn State in 2024, hasn’t locked up the starting job in Columbia, but he’s a strong option to take over for Brady Cook. Missouri also lost both its leading rushers, though Hardy arrives from UL Monroe off a 1,351-yard season as a freshman. Hardy and Davis could form one of the SEC’s better young running back tandems.
The well-traveled Coleman adds an experienced option to a wide receiver room that lost multiple players to the portal. He’s coming off his best season yet at Mississippi State last fall. Catalon and Trotter are plug-and-play caliber additions on defense.
Top impact recruits: WR Malik Clark, WR Donovan Murph, WR Brian Rowe, OL Shedrick Sarratt Jr.
The Gamecocks knew they needed to elevate their passing game for LaNorris Sellers after losing three of their top-five pass-catchers from 2024. They did it the traditional way, signing five four-star receivers from the high school ranks.
Clark and Murph are a pair of 6-foot-2 receivers who are prime candidates to emerge. Clark brings size, speed and the tools to step in right away. Murph didn’t enroll early, but the Under Armour All-American is a big target with excellent hands, body control and a knack for the big play. At 5-foot-11, Rowe is slightly built, but he’s explosive. On the offensive line, Sarratt, a high three-star prospect, impressed during spring practice and could work his way into the mix at guard.
Top transfers: TE Jordan Dingle, RB Rahsul Faison, DL Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy, OL Boaz Stanley, CB Brandon Cisse, LB Shawn Murphy, LB Justin Okoronkwo
The Gamecocks also made targeted moves in the portal to fill holes with experience and upside. Dingle, coming from Kentucky, had a strong spring at tight end. His well-rounded skill set should make him a reliable option in both the run and pass game.
Up front, Stanley is providing quick returns and has seemingly already won the starting job at center. Both Brownlow-Dindy and Murphy were touted ESPN 300 prospects, with the former a five-star in the 2022 class, so each comes with talent to break out. Cisse is also coming off a strong spring.
Top impact recruits: QB Julian Lewis, DE London Merritt, WR Quentin Gibson, WR Quanell X. Farrakhan Jr.
Lewis, a five-star recruit, is one of the most heralded quarterbacks in the ESPN recruiting era. He headlines Colorado’s recruiting class and arrives with all the tools to set records in Boulder. Lewis could work his way into the mix as the season progresses.
Farrakhan might see the field before any other freshman, as either a returner or rotating outside receiver. He brings big-play speed, great hands and good football instincts to the Buffs. Gibson is small in stature but is coming off a monster senior season when he had more than 2,000 receiving yards with 36 touchdowns. At 5-foot-9, 155 pounds, his lack of physical stature could limit his initial role, but he’s another electric option in the return game and an offensive weapon if coordinator Pat Shurmur can create ways to get him the ball in space.
Top transfers: QB Kaidon Salter, OT Xavier Hill, WR Joseph Williams, WR Sincere Brown, OL Zylon Crisler, OL Akinola Ogunbiyi
Salter arrives from Liberty as a more dynamic runner than his predecessor, Shedeur Sanders, especially when making plays outside the pocket. He’s not that far behind Sanders’ accuracy, either. Salter’s presence allows the five-star Lewis to develop patiently in his first year without immediate pressure.
The offensive line has undergone a near-complete overhaul, though it’s too early to say whether it will be better than last year’s group. At 6-foot-4, 318 pounds, Hill, a Memphis transfer, has impressive mobility for his massive size and can play either guard or tackle. Brown was a key spring addition who caught 61 passes for 1,028 yards and 12 scores at Campbell last year. His production will translate to the Big 12 and, at the very least, in the red zone, where the 6-foot-5 receiver has great ball skills.
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Mel Kiper Jr.’s top players to watch for the 2026 NFL draft
Mel Kiper Jr. breaks down his top prospects to watch for the 2026 NFL draft, including Penn State quarterback Drew Allar,
Top impact recruits: DT Kevin Wynn, QB Kevin Sperry, WR Jayvan Boggs
It’s all hands on deck as the Seminoles dig out of the wreckage stemming from last year’s 2-10 season. Transfers will carry much of the load, but there are young, talented players coming in who could play a role, even after the poor 2024 season led to some defections from the class.
Wynn’s decision to stick with Florida State should pay off early. He’s a powerful player with the size to contribute right away. Boggs posted eye-popping numbers as a high school senior with more than 2,000 yards receiving and 21 touchdowns. If he can replicate even just a quarter of that, he’ll be a productive freshman. Sperry isn’t a plug-and-play option at quarterback, but he has impressed enough this spring that the Seminoles could turn to him sooner rather than later if they falter again this season.
Top transfers: WR Duce Robinson, QB Tommy Castellanos, WR Squirrel White, CB Jeremiah Wilson, DE Deante McCray, DE James Williams, LB Stefon Thompson, OL Luke Petitbon
Though Florida State has experienced the benefits and pitfalls of the transfer portal, it once again leveraged the portal to turn things around. Castellanos is undersized at 5-foot-9 but can be a dynamic and improvisational playmaker. He’s an upgrade at the position if he can limit his turnovers.
At 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, Robinson is a massive target who moves like a wide receiver in a tight end’s body, and he has an interesting multi-sport background as a one-time baseball prospect. Petitbon brings toughness to the trenches, and he’ll move right into the starting center job. Wilson, McCray and Williams are among the portal additions who are expected to step in and help elevate the defense.
Top impact recruits: DT Elijah Griffin, CB Dominick Kelly, WR C.J. Wiley
Seven Georgia defensive linemen have become first-round draft picks since 2022. Adding Griffin could help keep that pipeline flowing. The nation’s top-ranked defensive tackle impressed during Under Armour All-America week in January, then followed it up with a strong spring in Athens. His dynamic combination of size, explosion and agility draws early comparisons to Jalen Carter. Kelly highlights the depth of Georgia’s class. He also had a good spring and should immediately bolster the Bulldogs’ secondary.
Top transfers: WR Zachariah Branch, RB Josh McCray, WR Noah Thomas, LB Elo Modozie
After signing nine consecutive top-three recruiting classes, Georgia doesn’t need to live in the portal. However, the Bulldogs used it to supplement their roster, especially at wide receiver. Branch, a five-star coming from USC, has blazing speed and could be one of the most electrifying players in college football. He’ll factor into the return game but could elevate his presence by becoming a weapon in the passing game. Thomas led Texas A&M in receiving in 2024. At running back, McCray is a big, physical back at 6-foot-1, 235 pounds to complement Nate Frazier.
Top impact recruits: CB Dijon Lee Jr, OT Jackson Lloyd, S Ivan Taylor, QB Keelon Russell, WR Lotzeir Brooks
Nick Saban set an incredibly high bar in recruiting. So far, Kalen DeBoer has met that high standard. He signed two five-stars who could contribute in 2025. At 6-foot-4, Lee has elite length and very smooth movements for his size at corner. He’ll be tough to keep out of the mix, even if Alabama returns two starters.
Alabama returns multiple offensive line starters, but Lloyd and Michael Carroll are competing for open spots at left guard and right tackle. At a minimum, they should factor into the offensive line two-deep.
Quarterback Ty Simpson enters as the likely starter on a similar timeline to Bryce Young, who was a reserve in his first season in Tuscaloosa. Russell could follow a similar path, but he was one of the most talented prospects in the 2025 class regardless of position.
Top transfers: WR Isaiah Horton, CB Cameron Calhoun, LB Nikhai Hill-Green, OL Kam Dewberry, DL Kelby Collins
In the portal, Alabama added some experience at multiple spots. Calhoun’s arrival from Utah only strengthens the cornerback unit. Horton caught 56 passes for Miami last season and should be productive in a starting role. While the Tide have a freshman option, 2022 ESPN 300 offensive lineman Dewberry (Texas A&M) will likely take over Tyler Booker’s left guard spot. Hill-Green, a Colorado transfer, is also plenty experienced and could step into multiple roles on Alabama’s defense, even if he doesn’t win the starting job outright.
Top impact recruits: OT Lamont Rogers, DT Landon Rink, DT D.J. Sanders
Mike Elko has an eye for identifying and developing talent. The Aggies didn’t need to use the portal to replenish their offensive line given their considerable returning depth. Instead, they added Rogers, a five-star, with an eye on the future. He has good feet, flexibility and already gained some experience this spring. He has a chance to work his way into the mix up front.
Texas A&M lost a lot of production along the defensive line. Rink executes with good technique and a relentless motor. He can fill a rotational role immediately. At 300 pounds, Sanders brings what Rink lacks — size — and could contribute right away as well.
Top transfers: WR Kevin Concepcion, WR Mario Craver, WR Jonah Wilson, DL T.J. Searcy, CB Julian Humphrey, DL Tyler Onyedim, DE Dayon Hayes
To jump-start a passing attack that ranked near the bottom of the SEC last year, the Aggies aggressively retooled their receiving corps in the portal. Concepcion was one of the top receivers available and won ACC Rookie of the Year in 2023 at NC State. He hauled in more than 120 receptions over two seasons. Craver is quick and elusive and jumps from SEC foe Mississippi State. The Aggies hope he can build upon his productive freshman season. Wilson, coming from Houston, is another target with nice size.
On defense, Humphrey, coming from Georgia, provides SEC starting experience. The Aggies needed to replace nearly 100 tackles and 8.5 sacks along their defensive front, and Searcy headlines several portal additions who can pack some pass-rushing punch.
Top impact recruits: CB Bryson Webber, WR Cortez Mills
Unlike a year ago, when freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola played a vital role, the Cornhuskers’ 2025 class doesn’t appear poised to inject much immediate impact. Mills and Isaiah Mozee, both ESPN 300 receivers, add quality depth, and one could emerge as the season progresses. Carving out a role in a crowded secondary could be tough, but Webber flashed enough this spring that he is a player to watch among the incoming freshmen.
Top transfers: WR Dane Key, DE Williams Nwaneri, WR Nyziah Hunter, LB Marques Watson-Trent, LB Dasan McCullough, OL Rocco Spindler, OL Elijah Pritchett
Key was Nebraska’s top portal addition. He provides Raiola a sorely needed steady, polished target who runs great routes with good size and hands. Key, who comes from Kentucky, will replace Nebraska’s lost production at receiver after it sent a pair of pass catchers to the NFL.
Hunter spent two seasons at California and gives Raiola a young target with nice size at 6-foot-2 whom he can grow with. Watson-Trent was not a highly touted name in the portal out of Georgia Southern but brings a wealth of experience. His leadership qualities appear to already be making a significant impact.
Top impact recruits: WR LeBron Bond, S Byron Baldwin
Bond is a dangerous, elusive weapon with the ball in his hands who has big-play speed out of the slot. Baldwin, an ESPN 300 player, is an aggressive defender who can quickly close on the ball. At minimum, he should be a strong special teams contributor as a freshman.
Top transfers: QB Fernando Mendoza, C Pat Coogan, G Kahlil Benson, OT Zen Michalski, TE Holden Staes, DT Hosea Wheeler, S Devan Boykin, S Louis Moore
Mendoza should thrive in this offense and keep Indiana in the playoff picture. He’s a better overall passer than his predecessor, Kurtis Rourke, and will benefit from a much better offensive line and supporting cast around him. Expect him to put up big numbers.
His line will be new, but it’s not inexperienced. Coogan (Notre Dame) will be the catalyst at center, Benson (Colorado) is a driving interior force and Michalski (Ohio State) will protect the edge. Up front on defense, Wheeler has strong hands and leverage to eat blocks and still get a push. Moore and Boykin (NC State) are really solid instinctual and rangy pickups in the secondary. Moore returns to Bloomington after a spotty season at Ole Miss, but when healthy he’s a productive ball hawk.
Top impact recruits: OL Michael Fasusi, DT Trent Wilson
The Sooners’ first season in the SEC was disappointing, but their first official recruiting class was solid, especially up front. Look for Fasusi, an ESPN 300 player, to provide quality depth at the important left tackle position. He’s the No. 1-rated tackle with a ton of upside given his length and great footwork, but he won’t have the benefit of waiting to develop in Norman. Wilson has size and mature physical attributes to provide depth on the interior defensive front.
Top transfers: QB John Mateer, RB Jaydn Ott, WR JaVonnie Gibson, TE Will Huggins, DE Marvin Jones Jr.
The Sooners emphasized impact portal additions on offense, landing two backfield game changers in Mateer (Washington State) and Ott (Cal). Mateer has quickness and accuracy and will keep defenses honest with his legs. His offensive coordinator should count as the most significant transfer, as Mateer followed his offensive coordinator at Washington State, Ben Arbuckle, to Norman. When healthy, Ott is one of the best backs in college football. He’s explosive, fast and can break tackles in the second level.
Gibson is coming off a broken leg suffered in the spring, but he should be ready for fall. What does that mean for the offense? The Arkansas Pine-Bluff transfer was one of the top FCS receivers last year with 70 catches for 1,215 yards. His size and speed will transfer to the SEC.
The defense received a boost with Jones, a former ESPN 300 outside linebacker who developed into a productive end at Florida State (four sacks) after two lackluster seasons at Georgia. He has the ideal physical makeup, but Sooners fans need him to put it all together this fall.
Top impact recruits: OT Jaylen Gilchrist, QB Malik Washington, DT Bryce Jenkins
Maryland kept its best talent home, signing one of its strongest recent classes by winning key DMV-area recruiting battles. Gilchrest and Washington lead the way. An in-state ESPN 300 quarterback, Washington has a big arm and dynamic mobility. He fits well in offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton’s scheme, and he arrives with swagger and confidence, although Maryland won’t need to rush him given his upside. Gilchrist is powerful enough to provide depth inside along the offensive line, particularly as a run blocker, but he could help at tackle as well if he continues to develop his feet.
On defense, Jenkins is a massive interior lineman out of Washington, D.C., who eats up blocks and holds his ground at the point of attack but also plays with deceptive quickness to disrupt. He should provide quality snaps at nose guard.
Top transfers: WR Jalil Farooq, TE Dorian Fleming, QB Justyn Martin, DB Jamare Glasker, DB Dontay Joyner
Martin didn’t win the job this spring, but his experience as a starter at UCLA and his strong physical skill set will be valuable until Washington is ready to take the reins. Farooq (Oklahoma) returns home after an up-and-down career in Norman. He racked up 694 receiving yards and 15.4 yards per catch two years ago. When healthy, he’s a versatile playmaker who can move the chains after the catch and produce in the return game. Fleming (Georgia State) had a breakout season in 2024 and should upgrade tight end for the Terps in 2025 with his size and strength. On defense, Glasker (Wake Forest) and Joyner (Arkansas State) are improvements on the perimeter.
Top impact recruits: S Martels Carter Jr., WR DJ Miller, WR Montavin Quisenberry
Kentucky finished under .500 for the first time since 2020 and with its fewest wins (four) since Mark Stoops’ first season at the helm in 2013. The Wildcats hope their offseason roster overhaul helps reverse course in 2025. Stoops landed a top-30 recruiting class and Carter, a dynamic in-state talent, is one to watch. He’s a great athlete who was a two-way threat in high school and has the combination of speed, coverage skills and size to factor into Kentucky’s two-deep at safety.
Miller and Quisenberry fill different roles as pass catchers. The 6-foot-3 Miller has desirable length and tallied over 1,700 receiving yards as a high schooler in the St. Louis area. Quisenberry is only 5-foot-10 and slightly built, but the 2024 Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year is a shifty, slippery threat who should push for time in the slot.
Top transfers: QB Zach Calzada, OL Joshua Braun, OL Shiyazh Pete, OL Alex Wollschlaeger, RB Dante Dowdell, WR Kendrick Law, Edge Sam Green, DT David Gusta
The Wildcats brought in two dozen transfers, including plenty on offense, as they rebuild a unit that finished last in the SEC last year. Calzada, 24, is on his third stint at an SEC school sandwiched around two years at Incarnate Word, where he took a big step forward last year in throwing for 3,744 yards and 35 touchdowns to just nine interceptions.
Dowdell is well-traveled as well after stints at Nebraska and Oregon, and at 6-foot-2, 227 pounds, his physical run style should suit the SEC. Law should contribute right away in the slot for Calzada. He didn’t turn his four-star pedigree into consistent production at Alabama, but he has a much clearer path to a consistent role in Lexington. Shiyazh (New Mexico State, 6-foot-8) and Wollschlaeger (Bowling Green, 6-foot-7) are massive bookend tackles with considerable starting experience that now must translate against much tougher competition, and expect Braun, a 340-pounder who has 50 career games and 32 starts at Florida and Arkansas, to plug in right away at guard.
Top impact recruits: OLB Madden Faraimo, S Dallas Golden, WR Elijah Burress
The Irish signed a top-15 recruiting class as they continue to emphasize player development and long-term roster building under Marcus Freeman. Faraimo caught on quickly in South Bend, and he should be in the mix for playing time because of his versatile skill set. He has linebacker size and physicality with safety range and athleticism.
Golden won’t arrive until summer, but he should push for time in the secondary and as a key special teams contributor because of his dynamic athleticism. Burress, the son of former NFL receiver Plaxico Burress, turned heads this spring as well with his speed, elusiveness and polished route running. The four-star had 15 touchdowns as a senior for state champ DePaul Catholic in New Jersey.
Top transfers: WR Malachi Fields, WR Will Pauling, DL Jared Dawson, S DeVonta Smith, S Jalen Stroman
Freeman has been selective in the transfer portal and hit on Fields, who has size and speed to produce big plays vertically. The 6-foot-4 220-pounder is an upgrade from the Irish’s wide receiver unit last season and a legit go-to playmaker with his impressive size and explosiveness. Pauling (Wisconsin) is smaller but plenty quick and productive as an underneath target.
Defensively, Smith (Alabama) and Stroman (Virginia Tech) will bolster the secondary. Smith sets the tone with his physicality versus the run and solid coverage skills. He should lock down the nickel position. The powerful Dawson arrives from Louisville and should see plenty of snaps, providing disruption as an interior defensive lineman.
Top impact recruits: WR Dallas Wilson, S Lagonza Hayward, S Hylton Stubbs
While the 2024 season presented challenges, the Gators finished strong under Billy Napier, which led to a boost on the recruiting trail, particularly in their backyard. Florida kept Wilson and fellow ESPN 300 pass catcher Vernell Brown III home. Wilson has turned heads the most this spring. At 6-foot-4, 190 pounds with a 4.5 40-yard dash, he has a rare combination of size, speed and understanding of the position for a freshman.
Hayward and Stubbs should be in the backend rotation this fall. Both ESPN 300 safeties have been as advertised this spring. Stubbs is very instinctive with range and physicality to make plays in all three levels of the defense.
Top transfers: WR J. Michael Sturdivant, QB Harrison Bailey, CB Micheal Caraway
The Gators brought in weapons for their talented young quarterback DJ Lagway after their two top wideouts graduated. Sturdivant is a proven pass catcher with 1,667 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns over three seasons at UCLA and Cal. He has big-play potential and NFL talent, but perhaps most valuable will be his veteran leadership for freshmen Wilson and Brown. Caraway (Southern Miss) might not project as an impact defender, but he’s scheme versatile with experience.
Top impact recruits: WR Corey Simms, OT Alex Payne, QB Husan Longstreet, DE Jahkeem Stewart, RB Waymond Jordan
Lincoln Riley is known for his explosive offenses, but the Trojans need to strengthen their defense if they want to become a true national title contender and erase last year’s disappointing 7-5 finish. At roughly 6-foot-6, 270 pounds, Stewart is long, explosive off the ball and moves like an edge player with interior size. He’s still a bit green without a lot of high school experience but checks all the physical boxes and should be impactful as the season progresses after making a strong impression this spring.
On offense, the receiver room is inexperienced, but Simms has the size and catch radius on the outside to work into the rotation. Longstreet is well-groomed and has the physical makeup to play at quarterback if needed. He has a quick release and strong arm, but his intangibles will get him on the field early. Payne has impressive agility and might be called into action given the lack of depth at offensive tackle. The Trojans’ X factor, though, could be Jordan, a juco prospect with the size, speed and vision to become a true every-down back.
Top transfers: WR Prince Strachan, OG DJ Wingfield, OC J’Onre Reed, RB Waymond Jordan, DT Keeshawn Silver, CB DJ Harvey, S Bishop Fitzgerald
The Trojans were decimated by losses in the portal but did a good job finding transfers to fill some holes. At 6-foot-4, 336 pounds, Silver (Kentucky) fills a need as an early-down two-gap nose tackle who wins with leverage and deceptive burst.
On the opposite side, the Trojans are replacing three offensive line starters from 2024, so finding a quality center like Reed, who comes over from Syracuse, and strong interior play from Wingfield (Purdue) is instrumental. Strachan, a Boise State transfer, has been impressive as a true X receiver. Defensively, Harvey (San Jose State) and Fitzgerald (NC State) are productive secondary additions. Fitzgerald is a real ball hawk with great range.
Top impact recruits: OG Byron Nelson, QB Bryce Baker
Most of North Carolina’s impact additions came via the portal, and the new regime under Bill Belichick kept things close to the vest this spring in Chapel Hill. Nelson and Baker stand out as two freshmen who could push for time early. Nelson, a 300-pound interior lineman out of Texas, remained committed to the Tar Heels even after the coaching change and enrolled early, giving him a leg up as he pushes for a role amid several new faces on the interior. The dual-threat Baker also stuck with Belichick. The in-state four-star throws a great deep ball and has the physical tools to at least push incoming transfer Gio Lopez in the Tar Heels’ quarterback competition.
Top transfers: WR Aziah Johnson, OG Daniel King, OT William Boone, QB Gio Lopez, DE Smith Vilbert, DT CJ Mims, DE Pryce Yates, OLB Khmori House, S Gavin Gibson, CB Thaddeus Dixon
The portal was quite active for the Tar Heels in both directions and yielded North Carolina a slew of potential starters. Lopez might be the most high-profile of them all. He was the sixth-best player in the spring portal after throwing for 2,559 yards and 18 touchdowns to just five picks as a starter in the Sun Belt at South Alabama last year. The lefty is like a point guard who distributes quickly and efficiently with enough athleticism to keep defenses honest.
King, a three-year starter in the Sun Belt at Troy, should team with Boone (Prairie View A&M) to protect Lopez and rebuild the right side of North Carolina’s line. Johnson was a North Carolina target out of high school and now arrives via Michigan State as a potential slot receiver.
Belichick prioritized experience in the portal to restock his defense. Yates played in 32 games over three seasons at UConn, and the defensive lineman arrives with 12.5 career sacks. Vilbert is in his seventh year of eligibility and comes over from Penn State. Gibson (Maryland/East Carolina) and Dixon (Washington) combined for 60 career collegiate games in the secondary, and Dixon arrives with a leg up already knowing the scheme after playing for defensive coordinator Steve Belichick last year at Washington. He’s one of four former Huskies to transfer to North Carolina.
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