Not all spring portal news is bad. In fact, for a handful of teams, this cycle delivered exactly what they needed—and maybe even more.
While most of the action happens in December and January, spring has become a time for teams to plug remaining holes, bring in late-blooming talent, and sometimes, steal a major difference-maker. A few programs treated it like a second chance. Others used it to stockpile talent for what could be a title run.
Here are the teams that walked out of the spring transfer window feeling pretty great about where they stand.
Texas Longhorns
Texas knew exactly what it needed for the spring window: Defensive line help. The Longhorns added several defensive linemen through the portal, including Hero Kanu, Travis Shaw, and Cole Brevard. In the spring window, they added two more defensive linemen in Lavon Johnson (Maryland) and Maraad Watson (Syracuse).
Offensively, they scored a commitment from Stanford starting WR Emmett Mosley and added one of the top tight ends in the portal in former Cal TE Jack Endries.
Steve Sarkisian and his staff are building a roster that’s deep and physical, and Texas looks primed to be back competing at the top this season, as well.
Oklahoma Sooners
Brent Venables isn’t playing it safe. After a rocky start to his time at Oklahoma, he’s hitting the reset button with some bold moves.
The Sooners brought in running back Jadyn Ott from Cal, which is a big-time pickup. They also added John Mateer, a transfer quarterback from Washington State, in the winter portal window and brought his OC Ben Arbuckle with him to install a more up-tempo offense.
Oklahoma has added several big-time pieces in the portal this spring, including taking Stanford starting OL Jake Maikkula and Utah State DL Ricky Lolohea.
Penn State Nittany Lions
The Nittany Lions might not have made the loudest moves, but they made smart ones. Adding wide receiver Trebor Pena from Syracuse addressed one of the team’s biggest needs—giving quarterback Drew Allar another reliable target.
They also brought in Devonte Ross and Kyren Hudson, boosting a receiver room that was dangerously thin. Penn State already has a stacked defense, a veteran O-line, and one of the most talented backfields in the country. If the passing game takes a step forward, James Franklin’s squad could be in the mix for a national championship run.
This spring was about finishing touches, and Penn State nailed it.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
While bigger programs grabbed headlines, Texas Tech just quietly went out and landed arguably the best overall player in the spring window: EDGE David Bailey from Stanford.
This dude can play. He’s a legit impact defender, and adding someone of his caliber to the Red Raiders’ defense changes everything. Joey McGuire continues to stack a program that’s already been trending up, especially with all the money and emphasis being placed on talent acquisition from the portal.
Texas Tech is poised to not only be a competitor in the Big 12, but may be one of the favorites to win the conference.