CFB portal analysis: Chip Kelly gets his QB at Northwestern

The NCAA transfer portal is officially open. Follow along for analysis of all major transactions.

Chip Kelly gets his QB with Chiles

Northwestern shocked the football world last week by announcing Chip Kelly as the program's new offensive coordinator. Now we know who will be running the veteran's vaunted offense, with Aidan Chiles reportedly committing to the Wildcats.

The former Michigan State quarterback tantalized with his talent over a three-year career with the Spartans and Oregon State, but it's too often a feast-or-famine situation with his play. Chiles threw 13 touchdowns to 11 interceptions in the 2024 season and also lost four fumbles. Although he cleaned things up this past campaign with 10 touchdowns against three picks, his inconsistent play was too frequent, as the Spartans benched him down the stretch.

Despite the struggles in East Lansing, a talented dual-threat quarterback is a dangerous proposition in Kelly's offense. Chiles should help improve the Big Ten's 13th-ranked attack from last year.

Livingstone crosses Red River to Oklahoma

While it's nowhere close to the biggest transfer in the college football world, it might be the most scandalous development of the first couple of days. Texas receiver Parker Livingstone, who doubles as Arch Manning's roommate, announced he was entering the portal earlier this week, with the wording suggesting it wasn't necessarily his decision.

"Never in a million years did I think I would be going into the portal looking for a new home," Livingstone posted on X. "Some things are out of my control. Such is the reality of the ever-changing landscape of college football."

Livingstone didn't just leave Texas, as he's now crossing the Red River to join heated rival Oklahoma in a headline-grabbing move. Livingstone was very productive in his redshirt-freshman season, catching 29 passes for almost 600 yards and six touchdowns. He joins Virginia transfer Trell Harris in beefing up a Sooners passing attack that ranked in the bottom half of the SEC last year.

The move also makes next year's Red River Rivalry extra spicy.

Texas Tech gets its gunslinger in Sorsby

Brendan Sorsby might as well have called Texas Tech after the offense's dismal performance in the Orange Bowl and told them, "The price of the brick going up." The "brick" in this case is Sorsby's transfer portal fee, because being on the wrong end of a playoff shutout on national television is enough to make anyone throw money at the problem.

Not even the best defense in college football - which the Red Raiders had - could overcome what the Big 12 champs trotted out on offense in Miami. Enter Sorsby, fresh off a productive two seasons at Cincinnati. He wasn't cheap, with ESPN's Pete Thamel putting Sorsby on the list of top quarterbacks who could command close to $5 million in the portal.

He's undoubtedly an upgrade on Behren Morton, but the cost is inflated for a player who is 0-8 as a starter in the month of November, when the pressure peaks. Dig deeper, however, and you'll find his defense allowed an average of 34 points per game in that run. Something tells us that won't be an issue with the Red Raiders.

Sorsby's arrival is another sign that Texas Tech needs to be taken seriously among the top programs in the sport in the new NIL/transfer portal era of college football.

Indiana reloads with Hoover

We should probably get used to Indiana lording over the college football universe. Curt Cignetti is busy preparing the Hoosiers for their semifinal matchup with Oregon, but he still found time to dominate the transfer portal competition like it was Alabama in the Rose Bowl. Fernando Mendoza is widely expected to be a top NFL draft pick, so Cignetti nabbed his quarterback for next season in TCU's Josh Hoover. With nearly 7,500 yards passing over the last two seasons, he's another seasoned veteran arriving to lead the offense - an approach that has helped the Hoosiers to an absurd 25-2 record the past two years.

Cignetti ensured Hoover didn't come alone, immediately pillaging conference rival Michigan State for receiver Nick Marsh. The talented second-year player caught 100 balls over two seasons for the Spartans and will replace the graduating Elijah Sarratt as a top target. With Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black's combined 1,900-plus rushing yards also graduating, Cignetti brought in top-15 running back Turbo Richard from Boston College to boost the rushing attack.

The Hoosiers' banner day continued on defense with top-five edge rusher transfer Tobi Osunsanmi coming in from Kansas State and Notre Dame's Joshua Burnham also committing.

Indiana has become a real destination in college football an indication that Cignetti's reign at the top won't be brief.

Alabama's running game gets Hollywood makeover

Only 10 programs at the 136-team FBS level had a worse rushing attack than Alabama in 2025. That sound you hear is Nick Saban throwing things around the office he still holds in the school's football facility. The program that sent the likes of Trent Richardson, Mark Ingram, Derrick Henry, and Najee Harris to the NFL now sits behind Ball State in yards per carry. Well, Kalen DeBoer has addressed that issue.

The electric Hollywood Smothers is on his way from NC State to Tuscaloosa to turn the Tide on the rushing attack's woes. Smothers put up 1,128 all-purpose yards and seven scores while averaging 5.7 yards per play last year for the Wolfpack and will be a major weapon in DeBoer's offense as a runner and pass-catcher from the backfield.

Penn State becomes Ames East

*Only top six of 14 Iowa State transfers listed

It's a great month to own a moving company in Ames, Iowa. Matt Campbell isn't just going from Iowa State to Penn State - he's bringing damn near half the Cyclones with him. The Nittany Lions have now added 14 players from Iowa State through the transfer portal, headlined by quarterback Rocco Becht.

Importing a significant chunk of the seventh-best team in the Big 12 might not sound thrilling, but there's something to be said for having a number of players who are extremely comfortable in a system. One doesn't have to look far to find evidence of this working, as Cignetti brought 13 players with him to Indiana from James Madison.

Regardless of how the entirety of the class performs, Becht should immediately inject some life into the nation's 105th-ranked passing attack. His top two pass-catchers, Benjamin Brahmer and Chase Sowell, are also coming east.

Expect Campbell to go through some growing pains in State College, but at least the offense should be set for takeoff in Week 1.

Oklahoma State's North Texas reboot

The glory days of Oklahoma State under Mike Gundy featured a passing attack that lit up the skies in Stillwater and sent a healthy amount of offensive players to the NFL. Oh, and of course there was the epic "I'm a man, I'm 40" speech.

However, the air attack was grounded in recent years: Only one season since 2018 featured a quarterback with over 3,000 yards passing. That led to the ouster of Gundy and the hire of Eric Morris from North Texas, with the electric Mean Green offense coming with him.

Almost as important as the Morris hire is the transfer of the nation's leading passer, Drew Mestemaker. Add the other two standouts from the North Texas attack in running back Caleb Hawkins and receiver Wyatt Young and the scoreboards at Boone Pickens Stadium should get ready for a workout.