10 numbers breaking down the 2026 college football transfer portal

The college football transfer portal officially closed on Friday, Jan. 16. With all of the changes we have witnessed over the past two weeks, here are 10 numbers recapping the 2026 cycle.

15 — How many days players had to enter their name into the transfer portal. This is the first offseason of the single window that spanned from Jan. 2 to Jan. 16. In previous seasons, there were two transfer windows — one in the winter and one in the spring. The spring window was eliminated, leaving the past two weeks as the only opportunity for players to enter the portal.

5 — How many days Miami and Indiana players have to enter the portal following the championship game. The Canes and Hoosiers get from Jan. 20 to Jan. 24 to enter their names into the portal, as not to disrupt the preparation for the championship game. Cignetti has done well juggling both aspects, already securing former TCU QB Josh Hoover and one of the portal's top rated receivers in Nick Marsh from Michigan State.

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10,500+ — How many college football players entered the transfer portal across all divisions. There are roughly 70,000 to 80,000 total athletes between DI, DII and DIII.

1,200+ — The amount of FBS scholarship players still in the portal as of Thursday night. The peak of the portal has certainly passed, but there is no deadline for when players in the portal must commit to a school. They are just required to formally enter the portal by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 16.

32 — How many new head coaches there are at the FBS level. Much of the transfer portal action can be tied to the head coaching carousel, and this offseason was a big one, including 17 at the Power Four level.

3 — Starting quarterbacks following their head coaches to a new school. This isn't an uncommon theme, but we had three big names this offseason. Auburn picked up Byrum Brown (South Florida), Oklahoma State Drew Mestemaker (North Texas) and Penn State Rocco Becht (Iowa State). These are three huge names that should make the new head coach transition easier for each program. More backups also followed such as Aaron Philo following his former offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner to Florida, AJ Hill following Ryan Silverfield to Arkansas and Ethan Grunkemeyer following James Franklin to Virginia Tech.

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2 — Top quarterback prospects who transferred to likely sit. One of the biggest storylines of this window was former Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola committing to Oregon. Well, starter Dante Moore decided to stay in Eugene after Raiola committed, but the former Cornhusker is staying put. It seems as though Raiola is following the same path Moore took, sitting behind Bo Nix after transferring from UCLA. The same goes for Husan Longstreet, a former top 25 overall recruit in the 2025 class who transferred to LSU, likely deciding to sit a year behind fellow incoming transfer quarterback Sam Leavitt from Arizona State. It looks like not everyone is eyeing a starting job, choosing development over minutes.

50 — Number of incoming transfers to Oklahoma State under new head coach Eric Morris from North Texas — the most of any FBS school. This transfer class includes running back Caleb Hawkins, who also followed Morris to Stillwater with Mestemaker. Hawkins led the FBS with 25 rushing touchdowns last season.

6 — Ohio State wide receivers who hit the portal, with two heading to Notre Dame (Mylan Graham and Quincy Porter). Four have committed to new schools with two more undecided. This departure is likely related to offensive coordinator and receivers coach Brian Hartline taking over as head coach at South Florida. Hartline coached the recent surge of wideout talent coming out of Columbus, including Marvin Harrison Jr., Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Garrett Wilson and of course Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate this past season. The Buckeyes won't be short on pass catchers, but it is a trend worth pointing out for one of the sport's biggest programs.

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