College football transfer portal team rankings for 2022 season

These are the college football teams that got the most from the transfer portal.

Like it or not, the transfer portal has forever changed college football, and is now a major tool that coaches and schools use to fine-tune their rosters.

Some teams are using it better than others, and some a lot better. 

Over 2,000 players have elected to transfer this offseason, changing the face of the sport and potentially some of the races in and around some divisions and conferences.

Which teams got the most out of the transfer portal? These are the 10 teams that got a lot better going into the summer preseason.

College football transfer portal team rankings for 2022

10. Miami

Transfer players added: 11

Best addition: DL Akheem Mesidor

Where Miami is now: Mario Cristobal stepped into a situation crying out for improvement, and his staff went to work adding 11 players via the portal, including two O-linemen he brought with him from Oregon.

Miami added a pair of intriguing skill players in former Ole Miss back Henry Parrish and Clemson receiver Dee Wiggins. Defensive line was an area of need, which the Hurricanes upgraded by adding former West Virginia starter Akheem Mesidor, a consensus top 10 transfer player this offseason.

9. UCLA

Transfer players added: 13

Best addition: LB Darius Muasau

Where UCLA is now: Chip Kelly was close to signing former UCF quarterback Dillon Gabriel, but he jumped ship from Westwood to Oklahoma instead. But that didn't keep the Bruins from making some notable additions, including a pair of pass rushing brothers in Grayson and Gabriel Murphy and two former Oregon standouts in cornerback Jaylin Davis and tackle Jaylan Jeffers. Wideout Jake Bobo comes to UCLA from Duke as a reliable target for this passing game, as does former UCF receiver Titus Mokiao-Atimalala.

8. South Carolina

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Transfer players added: 9

Best addition: QB Spencer Rattler

Where South Carolina is now: Rattler and tight end Austin Stogner came over as a package deal from Oklahoma in a move that immediately upgraded the Gamecocks' offense. Rattler was OU's former top recruit two years ago and finished there a 70 percent passer with a 14 game win streak with almost 4,600 yards and 40 touchdowns in 17 starts.

Plus, he'll have wideout Antwane Wells, a 1,250 yard receiver with 15 TDs a year ago at James Madison, and 200-pounder Christian Beal-Smith, an 1,871-yard career back with 14 touchdowns who was Wake's rushing leader with 604 yards last fall.

7. Nebraska

Transfer players added: 16

Best addition: DE Ochaun Mathis

Where Nebraska is now: A lot better than it was this time last season, especially at two vital positions. The one, at quarterback as former Texas starter Casey Thompson joined the Cornhuskers. And two, at defensive end, as former TCU starter Ochaun Mathis pledged to Nebraska over Texas.

The 6-foot-5, 260-pound Mathis brings two years of eligibility left after starting 34 games for the Horned Frogs. Last season, he had four sacks and seven tackles for loss, following an excellent 2020 campaign in which he led the team with nine sacks and placed second with 14 tackles for loss.

Thompson started 10 games for the Longhorns last season and finished by leading the Big 12 with 24 touchdown passes. An able athlete, he should excel in the offense being crafted by first-year coordinator Mark Whipple.

6. Oklahoma

Transfer players added: 14

Best addition: QB Dillon Gabriel

Where Oklahoma is now: There's no glossing over what the Sooners lost, which included both starting quarterbacks, four receiving targets, and two offensive linemen. (Not to mention their coach.)

But what OU lost, it also gained, including a vital piece at quarterback in Gabriel, an 8,000-yard career passer who orchestrated a top 10 offense with new Oklahoma coordinator when both were at UCF. And there's enough perimeter speed on this roster to get immediate results from Gabriel's addition.

5. Texas

Transfer players added: 7

Best addition: QB Quinn Ewers

Where Texas is now: Quality over quantity was the theme in Austin this offseason, as the Longhorns made four crucial additions to the offensive side of the ball. Not least among them Ewers, the generational 5-star quarterback prospect who originally pledged to Texas before switching to Ohio State and then back again.

Ewers has no college football experience at all, but he brings a skill set that has most analysts already calling him a first round draft pick. That's the kind of difference maker Texas has been searching for under center, and he has an array of new targets, including Alabama transfers in receiver Agiye Hall and tight end Jahleel Billingsley, not to mention former Wyoming wideout Isaiah Neyor.

One addition that flew a little under the radar was linebacker Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey, the former FCS player who has built a solid reputation as a fast-moving, consistent front seven fixture, just what the Longhorns need at the position.

4. Alabama

Transfer players added: 5

Best addition: RB Jahmyr Gibbs

Where Alabama is now: If the best roster in college football can get better, the transfer portal helped it do just that. Alabama didn't have to make a lot of acquisitions, but the ones it did are instant impact fixtures.

Gibbs gives the Tide a physical presence at tailback with over 1,200 career yards over two seasons and a better than 5 ypc average. Also a capable return specialist, Gibbs had 794 yards in that phase to go with 768 receiving yards and five touchdowns.

Eli Ricks steps in at cornerback from LSU with a load of unearthed potential thanks to injury last season. Jermaine Burton was Georgia's leading receiver on the national title team, while former Vandy tackle Tyler Steen steps in up front and Louisville speedster Tyler Harrell at receiver.

3. LSU

Transfer players added: 16

Best addition: DB Jarrick Bernard

Where LSU is now: Attracting and developing players at LSU has not really been an issue, even during the last two forgettable seasons, as evidenced by the school getting 10 players drafted in 2022, second only to Georgia's record 15.

And since arriving at LSU, first year coach Brian Kelly has been very aggressive in the transfer portal, especially at positions of need.

Bernard steps in at corner after the Tigers lost four secondary players, boasting an elite 50% catch rate in coverage. Greg Brooks and Joe Foucha are solid DB additions while Mekhi Wingo adds experience to the defensive line and Jayden Daniels might push for starting snaps at QB this fall.

2. Ole Miss

Transfer players added: 17

Best addition: QB Jaxson Dart

Where Ole Miss is now: When you lose the bulk of what was a top 10 offense in college football, you have to be aggressive and that's what self-proclaimed "Portal King" Lane Kiffin has done this offseason.

Two transfers from USC will give an immediate boost offensively with former 5-star quarterback Jaxson Dart stepping in for Matt Corral and tight end Michael Trigg providing a physical downfield target. Running back Zach Evans is a very important pickup with over 1,200 career yards and 10 touchdowns the last two years.

1. USC

Transfer players added: 20

Best addition: WR Jordan Addison

Where USC is now: No college football program got more from the transfer portal this year than USC, which brought on head coach Lincoln Riley, and who immediately sent out the signal for elite players to make the move out west.

Williams was the consensus top recruit last year and made a huge first impression at OU before following Riley, and he'll get reigning Biletnikoff winner Jordan Addison, who led college football with 17 TD catches last fall in addition to former OU receiver Mario Williams, and Oregon star back Travis Dye.

Jerry Rice's son Brenden steps in at receiver, as does running back Austin Jones from Stanford, and Southern Cal added a trio of badly-needed inputs on defense: linebackers Shane Lee and Romello Height and corner Latrell McCutchin.

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