When the dust settled on Deion Sanders’ first roster at Colorado ahead of the 2023 season, the Buffaloes had 52 transfers in the fold, per 247Sports. That number drew shock and awe around college football as the program’s new era began with essentially a complete overhaul.
The 50+ transfer club has some new members for the 2025 season in West Virginia and Purdue. The Mountaineers are rebooting under Rich Rodriguez with 52 transfers, while the Boilermakers are starting fresh under Barry Odom with 54 transfers according to 247Sports.
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John Talty
Going hard in the portal is a necessity for first-year coaches. Players are departing en masse during coaching changes, and others get the message once the new staff arrives that it’s probably best to seek a new home. The result is rosters that feature a dizzying mix of players from all over the country and from multiple different levels of competition mixed with some returners and a handful of freshmen.
Making sense of the rosters led by first-year coaches can be a challenge. So, as the 2025 season approaches, we’ve graded each of the Power Four rosters for teams with new leaders on the sideline.
Grading the rosters of first-year coaches
North Carolina: B+
Transfer class ranking: 9
New coach: Bill Belichick
The biggest difference between North Carolina’s roster and the rosters of other Power Four programs with new coaches appears to be on the offensive line. Relative to their fellow upstarts, the Tar Heels have an embarrassment of riches with three returning starters, some former G5/FCS all-conference performers and Power Four transfers with game experience. The starting quarterback will be a proven G5 producer in Gio Lopez from South Alabama or the veteran Max Johnson, who is back after missing nearly all of last season due to injury. The skill talent is underwhelming, and the defense looks average, though it has at least some upside. Will Hardy, Marcus Allen and Kaleb Cost are back after playing key roles in the secondary last season. The front seven — a potential swing group in determining the ceiling — is a transfer-heavy group that could be led by menacing former UConn edge rusher Pryce Yates. UNC would have claimed an “A” grade had it landed a top prize at quarterback. As it stands, the Tar Heels’ roster is still in better shape than others with first-year coaches.
West Virginia: B
Transfer class ranking: 30
New coach: Rich Rodriguez
Rodriguez’s revamped roster features several productive defensive additions from the portal, including 2024 AAC Defensive Player of the Year Jimmori Robinson at defensive end. Robinson led the AAC with 10.5 sacks last season at UTSA and is one of several transfer-up pieces who will determine the ceiling of a unit led by ex-Oklahoma defensive coordinator Zac Alley. Where the talent — or perhaps money — appears to run out is along the offensive line. If the Mountaineers can figure that group out, don’t doubt Rodriguez’s ability to produce a good offense. But the skill position groups aren’t talented enough to overcome poor line play. However, top QB candidates Nicco Marchiol and Jaylen Henderson are both mobile, which should come in handy if and when things break down.
Wake Forest: B-
Transfer class ranking: 46
New coach: Jake Dickert
Wake Forest has a couple of nice building blocks returning on each side of the ball. Running back Demond Claiborne was a 1,000-yard rusher last season, and safety Nick Anderson was the ACC’s leading tackler. While the quarterback situation looks tenuous, whoever wins the job — Robby Ashford or Deshawn Purdie — will be protected by a couple of veteran tackles. Among them is the highly rated Fa’alili Fa’amoe, who followed Jake Dickert from Washington State. Receiver and defensive back could be issues, and no one is mistaking this team for a College Football Playoff contender. But there is enough talent for the Demon Deacons to contend for a bowl appearance as they navigate an incredibly favorable schedule.
UCF: C+
Transfer class ranking: 42
New coach: Scott Frost
Defensive ends Malachi Lawrence and Nyjalik Kelly account for some returning pop defensively after combining for 10.5 sacks last season. Offensively, the most important returner is arguably tackle Paul Rubelt. Which quarterback the German-born lineman will be protecting remains to be seen, but Indiana transfer Tayven Jackson is an intriguing option after gaining some good game experience the past two seasons. Regardless, the Knights’ lack of proven receiver talent likely means they’ll be relying on Western Michigan transfer running back Jaden Nixon, who ran for 919 yards and 12 touchdowns on 6.4 yards per carry last season. The passing game — or absence of it — could be a problem. But the defensive front and potential for competency in the run game should be enough to make UCF competitive in a wide-open league.
Purdue: C
Transfer class ranking: 47
New coach: Barry Odom
Purdue transfers ended up at Texas, Oregon, Clemson, Texas Tech, Ohio State, Louisville and USC, just to name a few of the destinations for the program’s significant crop of outbound talent. The collection of departing Boilermakers leaves Barry Odom with a massive rebuild, particularly on defense. Thankfully, leading rusher Devin Mockobee returns, but yards could be tough to find behind an overhauled offensive line. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Ryan Browne showed promise in a 50-49 loss at Illinois last season and will battle Arkansas transfer Malachi Singleton for the starting job. The pass-catchers are completely unproven, however. Odom’s defensive acumen will be put to the test.
Stanford: C-
Transfer class rank: 54
New coach: Frank Reich (interim)
Stanford lost some quality players in the spring, as receiver Emmett Mosley V (Texas) and EDGE David Neal (Texas Tech) left after the March firing of coach Troy Taylor. Potential starting cornerback Julian Neal also departed for Arkansas after previously committing to the Cardinal following a standout 2024 at Fresno State. The quarterback situation is murky, and there aren’t any obvious all-ACC type talents on the roster. Stanford had taken a total of just 10 transfers over the prior five cycles, per 247Sports. But general manager Andrew Luck and interim coach Frank Reich are resetting this thing, and they were left with little choice but to exceed that total in this class alone. It’ll take a masterful coaching job to coax anything more than a fifth consecutive 3-win season from this roster.
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