The NIL and Transfer Portal era has made the College Football offseason far more intriguing as teams are able to rebuild and reload their roster in a way that they never could in the history of the sport. In the past, College Football teams would use the offseason to hire and fire coaches along with signing their recruiting classes.
Now, College Football programs can add instant impact starters via the transfer portal, changing the entire outlook of their roster in a moment. Coming off of back-to-back seasons where the Big 10 won the National Championship, the SEC is tasked with moving to build rosters capable of returning to the top of the College Football world.
This offseason, the biggest names in the College Football world made a ton of pivotal moves that could end up shaping the race for the College Football Playoff.
1. Ben Arbuckle and John Mateer move to Oklahoma
Last season, the Oklahoma Sooners were defined by their struggles on offense, which led to offensive coordinator Seth Littrell being fired and quarterback Jackson Arnold entering the transfer portal. Brent Venables went out and hired one of the best young offensive coordinators in Ben Arbuckle from Washington State after leading two explosive offenses with Cam Ward and John Mateer under center.
Landing Ben Arbuckle instantly made the Oklahoma Sooners the front runners to land his quarterback John Mateer. For Brent Venables, there isn't a bigger win than landing a quarterback of John Mateer's stature as he can totally transform the offense.
As a passer, John Mateer completed 64.6% of his passes for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns with just 7 interceptions making him a massive upgrade over Jackson Arnold and Michael Hawkins. The area where Oklahoma fans should be the most excited is with Mateer's ability as a runner after rushing for 826 yards and 15 touchdowns last season.
If John Mateer and Ben Arbuckle can turn this offense around, the Oklahoma Sooners will have a chance to make the College Football Playoff, as defense has never been the problem under Brent Venables.
2. The Tennessee Volunteers Quarterback swap
Arguably, the biggest story of the College Football offseason took place when Nico Iamaleava and Tennessee couldn't come to an agreement on the quarterback's NIL value, leading to Iamaleava entering the transfer portal. Iamaleava landed back at home in California, committing to UCLA, which unseated their projected starter, Joey Aguilar.
As Iamaleavea landed at UCLA, Joey Aguilar completed the quarterback swap transferring to Tennessee to compete for the starting job. At this point, Aguilar is still battling with Jake Merklinger and George MacIntyre but, it's going to be hard for either to beat him out just with the experience he has.
Whether Joey Aguilar will be able to perform at the same level, if not better than Nico Iamaleava would've played at, will be impossible to fully determine, but it'll decide Tennessee's season. This roster is talented enough to compete for a return trip to the playoffs, and if the Vols fall short, the decision to let Iamaleava leave may be seen as an abject failure.
3. Bryce Underwood leads to LSU's All In push
Late in the recruiting cycle, the Michigan Wolverines stunned the LSU Football team, flipping the Nation's top-ranked recruit, Bryce Underwood. While losing Bryce Underwood was seen as a massive loss for the LSU recruiting class, as a whole, the Tigers likely feel that they ended up better off than they ever could've imagined.
The Tigers' missing out on Bryce Underwood led to a bigger buy-in from boosters when it comes to NIL donations, which in turn led to LSU bringing in a loaded transfer class. The Spring saw LSU level up at receiver landing transfers Nic Anderson, Barion Brown, and Destyn Hill to give Garrett Nussmeier plenty of weapons. On the offensive side the Tigers also added offensive linemen Braelin Moore and Josh Thompson to help soften the blow of losing 4 offensive linemen to the NFL Draft.
On the defensive side is where LSU's all in push using the transfer portal truly paid off as this group should be far improved compared to the last two seasons. On the defensive line, LSU added an elite defensive tackle in Bernard Gooden along with the edge rush trio of Patrick Payton, Jack Pyburn, and Jimari Butler to give the Tigers a presence up front. In the secondary, LSU underwent a complete makeover adding cornerbacks Mansoor Delane and Ja'Keem Jackson along with safeties AJ Haulcy and Tamarcus Cooley all of whom can start this season.
Missing out on what would've been a backup quarterback to Garrett Nussmeier this season resulted in LSU building the best roster of the Brian Kelly era giving the Tigers a National Championship caliber team.
4. Steve Sarkisian's top class will need to make an instant impact
This past recruiting cycle, the Texas Longhorns signed the Nation's top recruiting class, and while the hope is they'll develop, Texas may need them to make an early impact. At wide receiver, 5-stars Kaliq Lockett and Jaime Ffrench will be tasked with helping fill the void of Matthew Golden and Isaiah Bond leaving for the NFL.
On the defensive side of the football, Texas signed a top 15 recruit in defensive lineman Justus Terry, who will have to give the Longhorns snaps in their defensive line rotation. At defensive back, the Longhorns signed elite recruits Kade Phillips, Jonah Williams, and Graceson Littleton, who could end up playing a role this season.
It'll be interesting to see which Freshmen end up playing a key role for the Longhorns this season as it could determine the race for the National Championship.
5. Missouri embraces throwback Football
After losing the focal points of a great passing attack as Brady Cook, Luther Burden III, and Theo Wease, Missouri moves toward a different identity. This season, the Tigers will embrace a smashmouth style of football based on the additions they made. Beau Pribula made his impact at Penn State as their change-of-pace quarterback, becoming a weapon as a rusher. Ahmad Hardy was an elite running back at UL Monroe and he'll step into the SEC as one of the best backs in the Country.
While Missouri can still have an explosive passing attack, the Tigers will largely be a run-first team. Pribula and Hardy can form one of the most dynamic duos in the Conference, and if the two can gel, the Tigers can shock teams with their rushing attack.
6. Hugh Freeze rebuilds his Quarterback room
Last season, the Auburn Tigers' season was derailed by quarterback struggles as Payton Thorne regressed rather than taking a next step. As Hugh Freeze steps onto the hot seat, he was forced to reload the quarterback room, and he went out and ensured he would have the options to turn to if things go poorly this season.
The reload started by signing elite recruit Deuce Knight, who could potentially play this season but is the clear future of the program. The biggest addition is former 5-star recruit and Oklahoma starter Jackson Arnold, who will look to rebound after a bad season. Auburn also added an experienced veteran to bridge the time between Arnold and Knight in Stanford transfer Ashton Daniels, who will be valuable if Arnold goes down early in the season.
Jackson Arnold will need to bounce back if Auburn is going to have a successful season, but the room is far improved compared to last season.
7. South Carolina hires Mike Shula
After losing Offensive Coordinator Dowell Loggains, the South Carolina Gamecocks elevated Mike Shula to the role, keeping some continuity in the offense. Mike Shula played such a massive role in helping develop LaNorris Sellers, which will make it easy for the Gamecocks' offense to keep building on the progress they had last season. Shula will look to help South Carolina go on a College Football Playoff run while helping Sellers go on a run for the Heisman Trophy.
8. The return of Diego Pavia
When Diego Pavia transferred to Vanderbilt, it was viewed as a one-year move as he seemingly only had one season of eligibility remaining. Instead, Diego Pavia sued the NCAA in November and was granted an injunction allowing him to play another season, supporting his claim that his time in JUCO shouldn't count against him.
The Vanderbilt Commodores now return one of the most talented quarterbacks they've ever had, coming off of a season where Pavia flipped the mentality of the program. Pavia is the driving force for Vanderbilt, and he's incredibly talented, which gives the Commodores a great chance to build upon the success they had last season.
9. Texas A&M adds an arsenal for Marcel Reed
During the first season of the Mike Elko era, the Aggies were tasked with finding a starting quarterback with Conner Weigman suffering an injury early in the year. Texas A&M seemingly found their guy in quarterback Marcel Reed who showed plenty to build around but, the Aggies didn't have the right arsenal of weapons around him.
This offseason, Mike Elko and his staff went out and got Reed the weapons he needs to have a massive season in 2025. KC Concepcion is the most impactful addition the Aggies could have made adding a weapon that can truly make an impact at all three levels as a receiver and on designed handoffs. Mario Craver had an impressive freshman season at Mississippi State and will benefit from the consistency at quarterback. Amari Niblack had an impressive showing at Alabama before sitting at Texas but, he can make a massive impact for the Aggies.
Marcel Reed now has all the pieces he could ask for at receiver and tight end, which will give Texas A&M a chance at making the College Football Playoff.
10. Alabama, Georgia, and Ole Miss stand pat with their quarterback rooms
Oftentimes, the biggest stories come when a program goes out and adds a transfer quarterback even if they aren't a great player. This offseason, Alabama, Georgia, and Ole Miss made strong statements by not going out and adding quarterbacks when they easily could've gone after a guaranteed starter.
The Crimson Tide still has a quarterback battle ongoing, but Ty Simpson appears poised to finally get his chance to lead the Alabama offense. The former 5-star recruit has sat behind Bryce Young and Jalen Milroe, and like Garrett Nussmeier at LSU, opted to wait his turn to earn the role.
This offseason, Carson Beck transferred to Miami which left a hole for Kirby Smart to fill at the quarterback position. Gunner Stockton has gotten some high leverage experience with a start in the College Football Playoff and will lead the Bulldogs offense this season. While Kirby Smart and his staff did look at other quarterbacks, their decision to stick with Stockton speaks volume.
Lane Kiffin is the King of the Transfer Portal, and when he opts to leave a position, it should have everyone interested in the projected starter. The most anyone has seen of Austin Simmons was incredibly encouraging as he came in off the bench and led the Rebels on one of their best touchdown drives of the season against Georgia.
If Simpson, Stockton, and Simmons live up to their potential, they can all lead their team to the SEC Championship and a College Football Playoff berth. On the other hand, this could have the potential to blow up in their coaches faces and make the entire fanbase question their decision making.