Making the jump from the Group of 6 to the Power 4 can be a challenge, but we’ve seen plenty of players do it successfully.
Indiana had a host of former G6 standouts on its national championship team last season. Ahmad Hardy went from leading the Sun Belt in rushing at Louisiana-Monroe to leading the SEC with 1,649 yards at Missouri. Tanner Koziol led all tight ends nationally last season with 74 catches at Houston after making the transition from Ball State and the MAC.
During the winter (and only) portal window, 114 Group of 6 players who earned all-conference honors in 2025 transferred to Power 4 schools, including 48 who were first-team selections.
Some will undoubtedly become stars on the bigger stage this fall. Other, less-heralded transfers will emerge as well.
So, who’s next? Here’s our list of best bets.
Note: All pressure stats are from Pro Football Focus. Missed tackles are from TruMedia.
1. Drew Mestemaker, QB, North Texas → Oklahoma State
The Cowboys have had some prolific passing offenses in the past, but they struggled mightily last year, ranking 116th nationally with 174.1 passing yards per game and throwing more interceptions (10) than touchdown passes (seven). Mestemaker, a redshirt sophomore, comes over from North Texas with coach Eric Morris after leading the country in passing yards (4,379) and finishing second with 34 touchdown passes. It’s pretty much a certainty that Mestemaker, No. 3 in our quarterback transfer rankings, is going to be far more productive than the collection of quarterbacks Mike Gundy trotted out last season.
2. Byrum Brown, QB, South Florida → Auburn
Brown is responsible for 212 explosive plays (16-plus passing yards; 12-plus rushing yards, per TruMedia) over the last four years, the most among returning quarterbacks. Like Mestemaker, he’s following his coach, Alex Golesh, and playing in the same system with plenty of former USF teammates around him. Brown finished sixth — only two spots behind Mestemaker — in passing efficiency last season, completing 66.3 percent of his attempts for 3,158 yards, 28 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. He is also the only G6 transfer in the top 15 in preseason odds (+4000) to win the Heisman Trophy, according to BetMGM.
3. Ty Benefield, S, Boise State → LSU
Broncos coach Spencer Danielson was stunned and heartbroken to lose Benefield, who drew strong interest from Oregon before landing in Baton Rouge. Benefield was a two-year starter at Boise State, including on the Broncos’ 2024 College Football Playoff team, and racked up 107 tackles and two interceptions last season. His new coach, Lane Kiffin, called him “ultra elite” after the team’s first spring practice last week.
“I absolutely did not see him leaving here. I thought it was either going pro or staying, and those were our conversations all the way up.”
-Danielson on Ty Benefield transferring to LSU.
More takeaways from today’s press conference:https://t.co/i4LAbtTpBQ
— B.J. Rains (@BJRains) March 23, 2026
4. Caleb Hawkins, RB, North Texas → Oklahoma State
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound sophomore ran for 1,434 yards and 25 touchdowns and caught 32 passes for 370 yards and four touchdowns last season en route to setting the FBS touchdown record for freshmen. Hawkins, a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award, forced 86 missed tackles and produced 1,056 rushing yards after contact — third most among all running backs (according to TruMedia). He’s walking into a situation where he’ll have every opportunity to be one of the most productive backs in the Big 12.
5. Cam Cook, RB, Jacksonville State → West Virginia
Cook, a former four-star recruit who started his career at TCU, led the nation in rushing last year with 1,659 yards and joins an offense in desperate need of some production in the backfield. West Virginia ranked 14th in the Big 12 in yards per carry in Rich Rodriguez’s first season back in Morgantown. The Mountaineers also added two of Cook’s former offensive linemen at Jacksonville State, Amare Grayson and Cameron Griffin, who were recruited to Jax State by Rodriguez.
6. Adam Trick, edge, Miami (Ohio) → Texas Tech
The Red Raiders have to replace three key starters from their vaunted defensive line, and coach Joey McGuire is already calling the replacements for David Bailey Jr. and Romello Height future “NFL Draft picks.” Trick (6-4, 250) produced 67 pressures and 8.5 sacks last season in earning first-team All-MAC honors and is viewed as Bailey’s replacement.
7. Trey White, edge, San Diego State → Texas Tech
The 6-2, 255-pound White will be asked to step in for Height after producing 93 pressures and 19.5 sacks over the last two seasons at San Diego State.
8. Owen Chambliss, LB, San Diego State → Nebraska
New Cornhuskers defensive coordinator Rob Aurich brought over two starters from his Aztecs defense, and Chambliss, a 6-3, 238-pound middle linebacker who started his career at Utah, will play a huge role in the team’s shift to a 4-2-5 scheme. Chambliss, a first-team All-Mountain West selection last season, had 110 tackles, 9.5 for loss and four sacks in 2025 and has two years of eligibility remaining.
9. Sahir West, edge, James Madison → UCLA
New Bruins coach Bob Chesney brought 10 players from his CFP team at James Madison, including six starters. The 6-4, 270-pound West was the 2025 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year, recording 34 quarterback pressures to go along with 45 tackles, seven sacks and four pass breakups. Ohio State pursued him, but he will join his former coach at UCLA, where he should make a big impact. The Bruins had only 10 sacks last season, the fewest in the country.
10. Ray Coney, LB, Tulsa → Texas A&M
With Taurean York off to the NFL, Coney is perfectly positioned to be the man in the middle for new Aggies defensive coordinator Lyle Hemphill. He produced 129 tackles — including 40 solo — last season for Tulsa and added two sacks and one forced fumble. Coney missed only 11 tackles in 823 snaps last season.
11. Anthony Colandrea, QB, UNLV → Nebraska
Colandrea is the ultimate high-risk, high-reward player, and he should be a good fit in Dana Holgorsen’s offense, which has typically been more productive with a mobile quarterback. A former starter at Virginia, Colandrea earned Mountain West Player of the Year honors in his only season at UNLV. He ranks fifth among active quarterbacks with 203 explosive plays, according to TruMedia, and has accumulated 8,693 total yards in his career.
12. Wyatt Young, WR, North Texas → Oklahoma State
The junior from Katy, Texas, caught 70 passes for 1,264 yards and 10 touchdowns last season and is perfectly positioned to be the No. 1 receiver at Oklahoma State.
13. Bryant Williams, OT, Louisiana → Arkansas
New coach Ryan Silverfield brought in 42 transfers, including seven offensive linemen. The 6-7, 319-pound Williams is lining up at right tackle with the first unit this spring. He started 11 games last season at left tackle, didn’t give up a sack and allowed only 11 pressures.
14. Katin Houser, QB, East Carolina → Illinois
Houser has settled in nicely in Champaign as Luke Altmyer’s replacement. He went 13-6 as a starter at East Carolina, but was only 2-5 in seven starts at Michigan State in 2023. Last season, he completed 65.9 percent of his passes for 3,300 yards, 19 touchdowns and only six interceptions while also rushing for 193 yards and nine scores.
15. Owen Long, LB, Colorado State → Arizona State
The talented junior led the nation in tackles last season (151) and slides into a leading role for the Sun Devils, who had to replace both starting linebackers from last season in Brian Ward’s 4-2-5 system.
16. Braden Pegan, WR, Utah State → Utah
New coach Morgan Scalley gave Pegan a ringing endorsement for his leadership in spring camp, saying he wished he had “20 of them.” Pegan, who previously played two seasons at UCLA, followed his offensive coordinator, Kevin McGiven, to Salt Lake City, where he’s expected to thrive after catching 60 passes for 926 yards and earning first-team All-Mountain West honors last season.
17. Chris Jones, LB, Southern Miss → Florida State
Jones, a 19-year-old junior, produced 181 tackles, 12 for loss with 4.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and two interceptions in his two seasons at Southern Miss. He is wearing No. 10 — a number once worn by Seminoles great Derrick Brooks — and has been praised by the coaching staff for his work in pass coverage. Jones originally committed to Ole Miss before flipping to FSU in the portal.
18. Dorian Thomas, TE New Mexico → Cal
New Bears coach Tosh Lupoi and general manager Ron Rivera did a fine job this winter of surrounding young star quarterback Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele with some weapons, including Thomas and former Rutgers standout receiver Ian Strong. Thomas, a redshirt junior who started his career at Arizona, finished third nationally among tight ends with 56 catches for 560 yards and four touchdowns last season.
19. Chase Hendricks, WR, Ohio → Cal
Hendricks was the most productive of Cal’s offensive portal additions, catching 71 passes for 1,037 yards and seven TDs in the MAC in 2025. He should thrive in new offensive coordinator Jordan Somerville’s offense.
20. Colton Joseph, QB, Old Dominion → Wisconsin
The Badgers, who have endured back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since the early 1990s, have a lot of new faces (33 transfers) in a lot of key places. Joseph, the 2025 Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year, is viewed as a great fit with offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes because of his dual-threat ability. He’ll have his hands full in the tough Big Ten.
10 more to watch
Emmanuel Kojo Poku, iOL, East Carolina → South Carolina
Kolt Dieterich, OT, Sam Houston State → Washington
Jackson Harris, WR, Hawaii → LSU
Ja’Marley Riddle, S, East Carolina → Georgia
Emmanuel Oyebadejo, edge, Jacksonville State → Florida
Danny Scudero, WR, San Jose State → Colorado
Christian Moss, WR, Kennesaw State → Washington
Alonza Barnett III, QB, James Madison → UCF
Cameron Pettaway, RB, Bowling Green → Iowa State
Brody Foley, TE, Tulsa → Louisville