As the college football regular season is now over, and teams either get ready for a bowl game or start to prepare for next year, the transfer portal is now open. With the emergence of NIL, we’ve seen more and more big-name players enter the portal every year, and this year is certainly no different. Today we’ll be talking about some of the top players to enter the portal so far, and predicting where they may end up.

Dillon Gabriel-Quarterback

Now heading into his 6th season of college football, star quarterback Dillon Gabriel looks to transfer to his third school after playing for both UCF and Oklahoma. Gabriel’s eligibility is approaching its end, and he’s likely looking to head to a program who is ready to compete for a national title right away as he has proven himself to be more than capable of winning games. Gabriel finished his stellar 2023 season with 3,660 passing yards and 30 touchdowns to 6 interceptions, while also adding 373 rushing yards and an impressive total of 12 rushing touchdowns. With his limited window of time left in college football, and his proven abilities, teams will likely be fighting for the opportunity to get Gabriel, and with several of the top programs in the country losing their quarterbacks to the draft this year, he should have no shortage of possible landing spots. I predict that with the likely departure of J.J. McCarthy from Michigan to the draft, this would be a perfect place for him to go, especially with the format of their offense utilizing mobile quarterbacks.

Dante Moore-QB

After a solid but underwhelming freshman season at UCLA for former top 5 recruit Dante Moore, he has decided to enter the transfer portal. Moore finished the season with 1,610 passing yards and 11 touchdowns to 9 interceptions, playing in 9 games although to a very limited extent in two of them. With the current state of the Pac-12 conference being dissolved and the teams heading to multiple other conferences, this could possibly be a factor as to why he entered the portal; as now UCLA will have to face tougher competition on a regular basis in the Big 10, making it harder to compete for a championship. But regardless of the reason for his decision, he will without a doubt be one of the more highly pursued players in the portal, as even with his mediocre numbers this season, he showed tremendous promise. I predict that a school that already has a very solid team built up, but is lacking at the quarterback position will make a hard push for Moore, someone like Texas A&M or Oregon since Bo Nix will be heading to the draft. If I had to pin it down to one school I would predict that he goes to Texas A&M. Between their remarkably high NIL spending, and new hiring of former Duke coach Mike Elko, College Station should be a hotspot for transfers this offseason.

Raheim Sanders-Running Back

One of the most exciting players in the country when healthy, Raheim ‘Rocket’ Sanders had a down year this fall due to nagging injuries. Prior to the season he was considered by some to be the best running back in the 2024 draft, but after missing time and not looking like himself when he returned, Sanders wants to revive his draft stock with one more year. A lot of run-heavy college football teams are losing their bellcow running backs to the draft this year, so Sanders will have myriad options to choose from, with schools such as Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Oregon all sending running back(s) to the draft. I think that to maximize his potential, Sanders will transfer to a run-heavy team with a good offensive line, and who fits that picture better than Notre Dame. So all in all, I predict that Sanders will be suiting up for the Fighting Irish next season.

Andrew Mukuba-Safety

As one of the better safeties in the country over the past few seasons, as well as a projected day 2 draft pick this upcoming spring, many are confused as to why Mukuba has decided to enter the transfer portal. Clemson has had a down couple of years with their standards, so Mukuba wanting to go to a program that is headed in the right direction would make sense, if he wasn’t draft eligible. With his draft stock being fairly high as he is largely considered to be a 2nd to 3rd round pick, it doesn’t make much sense why he plans to transfer instead of entering the draft. However, since he has made this decision, one can only assume he wants to go out with a bang on a winning team and potentially elevate his stock to first-round draft status. So taking these factors into account, I think that schools like Michigan, Georgia, and Alabama have the best chance of getting him; but if I had to narrow it down to one school, I would guess Alabama due to their history of producing first round defensive backs, and the fact that they are losing 3 of their starters in the secondary to the draft this year.

Kyle McCord-Quarterback

After an up and down first season as a starter at Ohio State, Kyle McCord has entered his name into the transfer portal, likely due to the Buckeyes looking to make a change at quarterback whether he transferred or not. Although there were certainly highs and lows in McCord’s play this season, he showed a lot of promise as someone who could run a successful offense, and he should be pursued by many big-name programs. A lot of teams are losing their long-time starting quarterbacks to the draft or graduation this year, so there’s plenty of options of places for him to go, such as Florida State, LSU, USC, Oregon, Washington, and more. With his skillset being that of a pocket passer who likes to air the ball out, I think a school like Washington would be a perfect fit as they will be trying to continue their stretch of dominance without star quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

If I didn’t mention a player in the portal that you are interested in hearing about, don’t worry, this is only part one in a series of similar articles.