The spring transfer portal window is now closed, and even though not as much change happened as opposed to the winter window, there was still quite a bit of action, and even a little bit of drama.
Michigan was fortunate to have not suffered many transfers at important positions relative to the rest of the country. Earlier this week, we ranked Michigan’s portal exits by significance to further demonstrate that point.
Today, we looked nationally to see who the winners and losers were of the spring window.
Winners
UCLA
The Bruins were on the receiving end of one of the most bizarre transfer decisions we’ve seen in college football history. Reportedly unhappy with Tennessee’s offense and the NIL package he was receiving, quarterback Nico Iamaleava opted to transfer closer to home and play at UCLA.
In totality, UCLA was able to bring in a former five-star recruit at the most important position on the field for a non-absurd amount of NIL money. That has to be considered a win for the Bruins.
Joey Aguilar
Aguilar finds himself in an incredibly unique position. Formerly of Appalachian State, he decided to transfer to UCLA, only to be pushed out the door following the addition of Iamaleava. Aguilar filled the void at Tennessee in a de facto trade between the programs.
Volunteer fans burned by Iamaleava’s decision have no choice but to get fully behind Aguilar as their presumptive starter. Should he have a breakout season, he would be beloved by fans for a long time.
Oklahoma
The transfer portal’s fourth-highest rated running back, Jadyn Ott, was a surprise addition to Oklahoma’s roster this spring. Formerly a star at Cal, Ott goes to Norman with 3,460 all-purpose yards under his belt and a First-Team All-Pac 12 honor from 2023 to boot. While his 2024 season wasn’t quite as good as 2023, he should start immediately at Oklahoma.
It’s not often you’re able to acquire a starting running back at a Power 4 program in the spring window, but Oklahoma did just that. Throw in the addition of guard Jake Maikkula from Stanford, and you can see it was a very successful spring for the Sooners.
Losers
Cal
On the flip side of Oklahoma’s winner status is Cal’s as a loser. The Golden Bears had a nice start to the season last year by defeating Auburn on the road. However, after a 3-0 start, they lost four consecutive heartbreakers, including one as a host for College GameDay.
Cal lost quarterback Fernando Mendoza to Indiana earlier in the offseason, but was expected to lean heavily on Ott and the running game in 2025. With Ott gone, it will be a total rebuild for Cal.
Nico Iamaleava
Iamaleava came out of his transfer saga looking so much worse. He left a team that had just made the College Football Playoff for a Big Ten basement dweller. On top of that, he reportedly left Tennessee due to an NIL dispute, only to make considerably less at UCLA. To add insult to injury, Tennessee’s offensive scheme is much more quarterback-friendly than UCLA’s is.
At the end of the day, Iamaleava left Tennessee to go to a worse team while making less money and in a less friendly scheme. Perhaps he should hire an actual agent to handle his business for him.
Jaden Rashada
The fall from grace for Rashada continued this spring. Formerly a top high school prospect, he was committed to Florida at one point and viewed as the future of the Gator program. He never made it to Gainesville, as he backed out an enrolled at Arizona State instead. After one season with the Sun Devils, he transferred to Georgia, where he was subsequently buried on the depth chart.
This spring, Rashada transferred once again, this time to Sacramento State. It’s possible he gets it figured out and resurrects his career. However, he belongs in this category for now considering he could have been in the SEC as the face of Florida football and not at a program like Sacramento State.
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