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From Fernando Mendoza to Texas Tech’s d-line: These are the 25 best transfers in the College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff is just a week away, and many of the players poised to star in December and January are former transfers. This is the reality of college football in 2025, where thousands of players change teams every offseason and many of the sport’s most outstanding players are at their second (or third) school. So who are the best transfers in the playoff field? Let’s break them down, starting with a potential Heisman winner: #1 | Fernando Mendoza | QB, Indiana Former school: CalThe catalyst for Indiana’s first No. 1 team in history, Mendoza threw himself into the Heisman conversation and was the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. He threw for 2,980 yards and 33 touchdowns while completing 71.5% of his passes for the 13-0 Hoosiers. 2 | David Bailey | Edge, Texas Tech Former School: StanfordTexas Tech paid big — more than $2 million — to lure Bailey to Lubbock. It was worth the investment. He posted a Big 12-high, 17.5 TFLs and 13.5 sacks. His 74 pressures are the most in college football and 13 more than the next closest Power Four player. #3 | Caleb Downs | S, former Ohio State school: AlabamaDowns has been in the conversation for the best safety in college football since his first season at Alabama and remains one of the sport’s elite players. He posted 60 tackles, five TFLs and two interceptions this season for an Ohio State defense that allows the fewest passing yards per game in the FBS. #4 | Julian Sayin | QB, Ohio State Former school: Alabama Another former Alabama player who had a lot of success in Columbus, Sayin had a brief tenure (weeks) with the Tide before moving on after Nick Saban’s retirement. He emerged as one of college football’s top passers as a sophomore, throwing for 3,323 yards and 31 touchdowns while completing 78.6% of his passes. That completion percentage would be an NCAA record if it held until the playoffs. #5 | Dante Moore | QB, Oregon Former School: UCLAA smooth passer with pinpoint accuracy, Moore has been excellent for the Ducks this year. He threw for 2,733 yards and 24 touchdowns with a 72.5 CMP%. Despite a series of injuries to wide receivers, Oregon is in the top 10 nationally in terms of yards per play and points per game. No. 6 | Cashius Howell | Edge, Texas A&M Former School: Bowling GreenFrom Bowling Green to College Station, Howell’s emerged as one of college football’s premier edge rushers. He ranks fourth nationally with 11.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss. He’s the biggest reason the Aggies rank 12th nationally in pressure rate. 7 | Trindade Chambliss | QB, Ole Miss Former School: Ferris StateChambliss is no stranger to the playoff scene. He led Ferris State to the Division II national title last season. He was the best player on the field at that time. He’s still arguably the best player right now despite the jump to the Power Four. He has thrown for 3,016 yards and 18 touchdowns this year, completing 65.5% of his passes. He also ran for 470 yards and six scores. The move from Austin Simmons to Chambliss changed Ole Miss’ season. No. 8 | Romello Height | Edge, Texas Tech Former School: Georgia TechThe other half of college football’s premier edge rush tandem – with apologies to an excellent one in Coral Gables – Height finished this season with 33 tackles, 10.5 TFLs and nine sacks. He would be the most skilled pass rusher on almost any team. But he stars alongside Bailey. No. 9 | Emmanuel Pregnon | OG, Oregon Former school(s): Wyoming, USCPregnon is a double transfer. He started his career at Wyoming, transferred to USC and arrived at Oregon this season. In Eugene, he emerged as one of the best interior linemen in the game. Pregnon did not allow a sack this season and led the nation’s fifth-ranked offense in terms of yards per play. 10 | KC Conceição | WR, Texas A&M Former School: NC StateConcepcion, a weapon that Texas A&M frequently moves from outside to the slot, consistently creates a ton of yards. He has 40 receptions of 10-plus yards this season, ranking eighth nationally, and is averaging 15.5 yards per reception despite a high target volume. He is also the best punt returner on the field in the playoffs, with two return touchdowns this season. 11 | Akheem Mesidor | Edge, former Miami school: West Virginia A 6-foot-4, 280-pound burley edge, Mesidor is perhaps the best edge setter in the playoffs. He’s an elite defender (90.7 PFF rushing grade), but he also creates a lot of havoc in the backfield with 44 pressures this season, along with 12 tackles for loss and seven sacks. No. 12 | Kewan Lacy | RB, Ole Miss Former School: MissouriThe SEC leader in rushing touchdowns with 20, Lacy does a lot on his own as a runner. He leads the Power Four with 86 forced missed tackles in just 12 games and has 858 yards after contact among his 1,279 total rushing yards. 13 | Lee Caçador | DT, former Texas Tech school: UCFYep, another Texas Tech defensive lineman. Hunter is a big space eater in the middle of Texas Tech’s defense at 6-foot-3 and 330 pounds. His ability to eat up double teams and collapse the interior allows Bailey, Height and fellow DT AJ Holmes to pressure the pocket with devastating consistency. Texas Tech allows an FBS low 68 rushing yards per game. 14 | Dillon Thieneman | S, Oregon Former School: PurdueThere isn’t a lot of room to play against Oregon at the second and third levels because Thieneman is a space eraser at safety. The former 247Sports True Freshman of the Year finished this season with 67 tackles, 1.5 TFL and two interceptions. He rarely misses a tackle in the open field and is one of the elite coverage safeties in the game. No. 15 | Isaiah World | OT, Former Oregon School: Nevada There aren’t many college football players who look like World, a 6-foot-3, 318-pound anchor on the left side of Oregon’s offensive line. He is a future early draft pick and has yielded just one QB hit in 685 snaps this season. World is also a big part of Oregon’s top five rushing attacks. 16 | Aiden Fisher | LB, Indiana Former School: James MadisonA havoc in the middle of Indiana’s defense, Fisher is an instinctive, sure-handed defender and one of the main reasons the Hoosiers have been so strong against the run. He posted 77 tackles, seven TFLs, 2.5 sacks and two interceptions this season. 17 | Jacob Thomas | S, MiamiFormer school(s): Middle Tennessee/TennesseeA transformational presence on the back end of Miami’s defense, Thomas helped Miami’s secondary go from a failing unit in 2024 to one of the best in college football this season. He posted 49 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, three sacks and four interceptions on the season as a do-it-all presence for a top-10 Miami defense. No. 18 | Mário Craver | WR, Texas A&M Former School: Mississippi State The other half of A&M’s superstar wide receiver transfer duo, Craver recorded 52 receptions for 825 yards and four touchdowns on the season. His production has slowed a bit in recent weeks — he hasn’t broken the 70-yard barrier since mid-October — but he’s a big play waiting to happen, and his early-season production is a big reason why A&M made the playoffs. 19 | Zacarias Branch | WR, Former Georgia School: USC Instant tackle for the Bulldogs, the 5-foot-10, 180-pound Branch is one of the fastest players in college football. Georgia tends to throw to him with an average depth of target of just 3.3 yards, and Branch tends to make things happen from there. He is averaging eight yards after the catch and has 744 yards and five total touchdowns on the season. No. 20 | Carson Beck | QB, former Miami school: Georgia Beck has been a very productive player with 3,072 yards passing, 25 touchdowns against 10 interceptions and a 74.7% completion rate. He ranks 11th in ESPN’s QBR metric. If Beck can avoid playoff upsets — he again ranks near the bottom of the FBS in interceptions thrown with 10 — Miami will have a chance. No. 21 | Germie Bernard | WR, Alabama Former school(s): Michigan State, WashingtonRyan Williams gets all the attention, but Bernard is Alabama’s leader in catches and yards. The former Washington transfer lines up a little bit of everywhere for the Tide. It almost always passes. He has only dropped one pass this season. He ran for 101 yards and two scores. He even completed both pass attempts. No. 22 | Davison Igbinosun | CB, former Ohio State school: Ole MissA lockdown corner on the outside for the Buckeyes, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound former Ole Miss transfer had the best year of his career. He has posted 45 tackles, two interceptions, eight pass breakups and is holding opposing receivers to a 41.9% catch rate for a top-10 Buckeyes pass defense. 23 | Isaiah Sategna | WR, Former Oklahoma School: ArkansasSategna has emerged as John Mateer’s go-to playmaker this season since transferring from Arkansas. He caught 65 passes for 948 yards and seven scores. He was a 10.8 second 100 meter runner coming out of high school and it shows. He ranks fourth nationally in receptions of at least 70 yards. No. 24 | D’Angelo Lagoons | CB, Indiana Former school: James Madison There aren’t many 5-foot-10, 173-pound corners you’d feel comfortable leaving on an island with any consistency in the Big Ten — Ponds is an exception. Aside from a tough night against Jeremiah Smith in the Big Ten championship game (join the club), Ponds has been exceptional this season, holding opposing receivers to a 43.6% catch rate. 25 | Jake Retzlaff | QB, former Tulane school: BYURetzlaff is a player who finds ways to make plays when it counts. He has thrown for 2,862 yards and 14 touchdowns this season, along with 610 rushing yards and 16 scores on the ground. If the Green Wave doesn’t suddenly pick up Retzlaff during the summer, they won’t be on PCP.
Published: 2025-12-12 17:26:00
source: www.cbssports.com
