Portal Power: Following the Top 100 Winter College Football Transfers

Miami won big in the transfer portal. They were able to fill important needs that will allow them to improve on the success of 2024. Last season was the best under Mario Cristobal, as he set a new benchmark for wins in a season. Miami hopes this class, mostly focused on the secondary, will help them get over the hump and make the College Football Playoff.

The first hole that needed to be filled was at quarterback. Cam Ward set single-season records for passing yards and touchdowns for the Canes. Now, he's projected in some mock drafts to be the top pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. To replace him, the Hurricanes scooped up former Georgia star Carson Beck. Beck transferring to Coral Gables was not a big surprise. He went through a down year in 2024 with the Bulldogs, and his girlfriend, women's hoops star Hanna Cavinder, plays for Miami.

Regardless, this was still a massive acquisition for the team as they now have another veteran to come in and stabilize the quarterback room for another year before giving recruit Luke Nickel a shot. He's a proven winner who has national title experience. Miami also lost a collection of their top targets to the draft and graduation. Also, Isaiah Horton left for Alabama. To compensate, Cristobal was able to get CJ Daniels from LSU. Even though Daniels wasn't the Tigers top target, he was still solid.

He was LSU's fourth-leading receiver in 2024, and he has experience in being a number one option in the passing game from his days at Liberty. Daniels will be the standout for the Miami receiving corps next year. The rest of the big gets are on the defensive side of the ball. The Hurricanes' biggest weakness last season was their rotten pass defense. They ranked 57th in that category, and almost every week, they got burned by big plays through the air. As a result, they fired Lance Guidry and brought Corey Hetherman from Minnesota to be the team's new defensive coordinator.

Through the portal, UM added corners Charles Brantley from Michigan State and Ethan O'Conner from Washington State. They were also able to get Jacksonville State safety Zechariah Poyser. The trio combined for 10 interceptions and 23 pass breakups. They can lock opposing receivers down well. There is a great mix of youth with Poyser and O'Conner, with veteran poise in Brantley. The team also added lineman David Blay from Louisiana Tech to help apply more pressure on the opposing signal-caller. He was an ALL-CUSA First Team selection.

Michigan is coming off of a disappointing 2024 season, at least for their standards. After the whole fallout of the cheating scandal and the resignation of Jim Harbaugh, a subpar year was to be expected. Still, Sherrone Moore had the Wolverines finish with a respectable record. Now, he'll look to get the blue and maize back to winning double digit games every year.

Michigan was able to grab one top 100 transfer, running back Justice Haynes. Haynes comes in from Alabama, looking to become a feature tailback after getting limited action. This was a need that Moore needed to fill. The Wolverines' top two tailbacks, Kalel Mullings and Donovan Edwards, are headed to the NFL. Despite not being the feature back at Alabama, Haynes was still prouctive in his role. He will be expected to carry the load next year and this is a great addition to the team.