Group of Five Transfers to Know for 2025

Liam Donnan
Jun 9
6 min read

Updated: 13 minutes ago

The transfer portal has garnered an equal amount of praise as it has crticism -- Both are fair. The portal has unequivocally improved individual players the opportunity to move up to a higher level of competition they play at, without impacting their eligibility.

Of course, this hurts the teams at the FCS and Group of five level, but only add to the teams at the power conference level.

Here are a few names to know for this season.

John Mateer - QB - Washington St. -> Oklahoma

It pains me to have Mateer on this list, and it has nothing to do with him... Calling Wazzu a group of five team hurts my soul more than I care to explain. Either way, Mateer is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. He put up absolutely ridiculous, video game numbers as the signal caller for the Cougars.

3139 passing yards
29-7 TD-INT ratio
826 rushing yards
15 rushing TD's

While the jump to the SEC may prove difficult at first, he should be able to reach full form by mid-season. Mateer followed his offensive coordinator from Washington State, Ben Arbuckle, to Norman. Arbuckle is viewed as one of the premier rising stars in the coaching world and that continuity can only help Mateer out.

Oklahoma plays an absolute gauntlet, brutal schedule this year, even by SEC standards. Even going 9-3 on their schedule could see OU in the playoff, and Mateer listed on Heisman ballots.

Isaiah World - OT - Nevada -> Oregon

Fresh off sending former five-star Josh Conerly Jr. to the first round of the NFL draft, Oregon has another first-round talent at left tackle. At 6 foot 8 and well over 300 pounds, World is already NFL size and then some. A transfer player receiving a five-star rating is quite rare, and almost unheard of if they were not a five-star recruit coming out of high school. World wasn't even close. He was a low three-star recruit, and the 167th ranked tackle in the nation.

Now, he may just be the best in the country, and is poised to keep redshirt sophomore QB Dante Moore's pocket clean.

Darian Mensah - QB - Tulane -> Duke

Mensah emerged from a somewhat messy and confusing quarterback situation as Tulane tried to replace multi-year starter Michael Pratt, who went to the NFL draft. The job looked like Ty Thompson's or Kai Horton's to lose, but Mensah ultimately won, and proved head coach Jon Sumrall and his staff right during the season.

He is a dynamic quarterback who should be able to translate seamlessly to the power level.

He caught the eye of the nation leading Tulane to a 7-1 conference record in the American Conference, where he led the conference in completion percentage, passer rating, and yards per attempt. Duke took a huge gamble on Mensah, reportedly paying him top quarterback money. He replaces former Texas QB and now Oregon State Beaver Maalik Murphy as Duke’s QB1.

Makhi Hughes - RB - Tulane -> Oregon

Hughes is the most productive returning running back in the nation, and joins the Ducks looking to stamp his name in a program with a long legacy of elite backs.

He enjoyed two incredibly productive seasons as a true freshman and sophomore. In two seasons with the Green Wave, Hughes had:

2779 yards
5.3 Y/A
22 TD

Oregon has had back-to-back offensive lines nominated for the Joe Moore Award, given out to the best offensive line unit. This year's may be the best of the bunch, and they will create big gaps for the Hughes to run through.

Hughes is the brother of five-star Oregon signee, DB Na'eem Offord.

Rahsul Faison - RB - Utah State -> South Carolina

Faison joins an offense with my favorite to win the Heisman, and be the NFL's first overall pick: QB LaNorris Sellers. He has big shoes to fill, as former South Carolina running back Rocket Sanders was a very productive and explosive back in 2024.

He has had one of the most unique careers of anyone in college football. He graduated high school in 2019, but did not appear in a game until 2022, and wasn't even on a football team for two of those years between. Fast forward to 2024, and he was an 1100 yard rusher and all-conference player.

He adds another issue for SEC defenses when playing South Carolina.

Elo Modozie - EDGE - Army -> Georgia

If Kirby Smart and Georgia are going into the portal... You know he's legit. Especially if that player is a defensive lineman. With the jump in competition, Modozie may end up as more of a rotational guy, rather than a three down defensive lineman as he primarily was at Army.

He had 6.5 sacks and even more TFL's in 2024 and is viewed as a premier portal pickup.

Devonte Ross - WR - Troy -> Penn State

Ross is one of three big-time transfer receivers joining the Nittany Lions via the portal this offseason. Penn State have been, and especially were last year, laughably bad at receiver. In their semi-final matchup with Notre Dame, a wide receiver did not catch a pass.

Ross is a deep threat and creative with the ball in his hands, and should immediately become one of, if not the favorite target of experienced QB Drew Allar.

Penn State has two of the nation's best running backs, and arguably the best offensive line in the nation. Ross will be able to provide some balance in the offense and relieve the running backs from such a big workload.

Gio Lopez - QB - South Alabama -> North Carolina

Lopez has just one full season of tape, but his upside is obvious. Moving from the Sun Belt to the ACC is a big step up in competition to be sure, and his weapons have yet to prove much of anything. He may struggle early on, but expect Lopez to hit stride toward the latter half of the season. North Carolina has many questions on their roster, amidst massive turnover not only on the roster, but also on the coaching staff. It feels like they have their answer behind center, but if any coach is willing to make his big time portal addition QB the backup, it's Bill Belichek.

James Djonkam - LB/EDGE - Eastern Michigan -> Virginia Tech

Beginning his career at the JUCO level, Djonkam spent two seasons at ASU, primarily as a special teamer. Once he transferred to Eastern Michigan, he became a dynamic, rangy, ultra-physical backer and edge rusher, earning all-MAC honors. He lit up the stat sheet, and regardless of where he played before, his traits and instincts can carry over to any level. Djonkam posted 98 tackles and 3 sacks with the Eagles last season.

Eric Rivers - WR - FIU -> Georgia Tech

Rivers led the C-USA in receiving yards and touchdowns, easily one of the best receivers in the group of five. Those numbers also make him the second most productive returning receiver in the nation, only behind Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith.

Georgia Tech lost one of the best receivers in the nation, Eric Singleton Jr. to the transfer portal (Auburn). Rivers could step in and be THE receiving threat for the Yellowjackets, in an offense that features elite talents like QB Haynes King and RB Jamal Haynes.

Chandler Morris - QB - North Texas -> Virginia

Morris is a long tenured player with limited experience actually playing. His first season as a full-time starter? Excellent. He lit up the stat sheet but lacked the supporting cast to put together a really successful season from a team perspective with North Texas. Morris is a more than capable starter, and will be supported by fellow transfer RB J'Mari Taylor from NC Central.

Eric O'Neill - EDGE - JMU -> Rutgers

O'Neill transferred to James Madison from FCS Long Island University, and became one of the best edge rushers in the group of five immediately. He earned first team all-Sun Belt honors, and even received all-American votes from some publications.

He put together an incredibly impressive 2024: