Yes, the Texas Longhorns have the No. 1 recruiting class of 2025 joining their ranks this year. And yes, the Horns are coming off an incredible first season in the SEC. However, Texas is lacking in its class of 2026 recruits, and its current transfer portal class leaves a lot to be desired.
The best news for the Longhorns about their lackluster transfer portal is that many of the other top teams in the conference also walked away from the spring window with little to no success.
In fact, many of the teams atop the conference transfer portal rankings are far from the teams projected to be in contention for the SEC title at the end of the season. So, just how did the SEC transfer portal rankings shake out?
Texas and top SEC teams stunned as rivals win big in transfer portal
One of the biggest surprises in the SEC this spring was that in his second preseason with the Crimson Tide, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer struggled to retain players within his program.
With 21 three-stars and three four-stars entering the portal, DeBoer was only able to recruit 11 total transfers this year.
Most notably, four-star running back Justice Haynes left the program to join the Michigan Wolverines four-star wide receiver Caleb Odom took his talents from Tuscaloosa to Oxford, to play for the Ole Miss Rebels.
Right alongside the Alabama Crimson Tide with a transfer portal index score of -14 (according to On3) are the Florida Gators.
Head coach Billy Napier lost an astonishing 20 players to the portal, including four-star cornerback Ja'Keem Jackson and three-star safety Gregory Smith. However, Jackson was Napier's only four-star loss, and the Gators' coach was able to fill some vacancies through the portal, recruiting six players to come to Florida.
The biggest pickup for Florida from the portal was three-star wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant, adding a downfield target for returning quarterback DJ Lagway.
Sam Pittman is desperately trying to hold onto his job, but his transfer portal class certainly didn't cool off his hot seat by any means.
Pittman lost a jaw-dropping 39 players to the portal, including six four-star transfer prospects. Meanwhile, the Arkansas Razorbacks head coach was only able to recruit 28 players for his program.
Four-star IOL Josh Braun and four-star linebacker Brad Spence joined SEC rivals, Kentucky and Texas, respectively. Pittman also lost four-star IOL Addison Nichols to the SMU Mustangs and four-star safety T.J. Metcalf to the Michigan Wolverines. Offensive tackle Corey Robinson II was the only four-star transfer to commit to Arkansas.
Longhorn fans will be happy to read that Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables fell short for the Sooners, once again, this offseason.
Oklahoma lost a resounding 31 three-star players while only bringing in 25 new three-stars from the transfer portal. However, while Venables lost 37 total players to the portal, he only lost three four-star transfers while bringing in five new four-star Sooners.
According to On3, the Sooners are the last team in the negatives with their current transfer portal index score of -1.
After losing 17 players, who declared for the 2025 NFL Draft, nobody would have been surprised if Georgia head coach Kirby Smart heavily leaned on the transfer portal to rebuild his team, ignoring the fact that he lost his former starting quarterback, Carson Beck, to Miami in the portal.
However, beyond Beck, the Bulldogs only lost 17 players to the transfer portal this year. Then, Smart only recruited 10 players to join his program from the portal.
Four-star edge rusher Damon Wilson was the Bulldogs' other big loss in the portal, but Smart was able to recruit two four-star wideouts in Noah Thomas, from Texas A&M, and Zachariah Branch, from USC.
Jeff Lebby had a less-than-prosperous first season as the Mississippi State Bulldogs' head coach. However, he had a relatively decent offseason with the program as he brought in the exact same number of blue-chip transfers as those he lost.
Most importantly for the Bulldogs, Lebby was able to beef up his disappointing offensive unit from last year.
With four-star running back Fluff Bothwell joining the program from South Alabama and four-star quarterback Luke Kromenhoek joining the program from Florida State, there is some excitement around the Bulldogs' offense that hasn't been there since... well... since Dak Prescott.
Josh Heupel arguably dealt with the most chaos this spring as his projected starting quarterback, Nico Iamaleava, hit the transfer portal amid NIL disputes and drama. However, Heupel came out the other end looking (arguably) better than his former QB1, who landed with the UCLA Bruins.
Yet, Iamaleava wasn't the only former Tennessee Volunteer to hit the portal. 21 other former Vols transferred away from Tennessee. However, Heupel's incoming class earned him a lot of respect as he filled in any holes left behind by departures.
Four-star IOL Wendell Moe and three-star IOL Sam Pendleton were the biggest notables to help repair Heupel's offense.
The Gamecocks fell a little short of glory this offseason as they lost 22 players, all of whom were given a three-star rating, to the transfer portal. Meanwhile, head coach Shane Beamer was only able to recruit 16 blue-chip players to South Carolina.
Four-star quarterback Air Noland, from Ohio State, added competition and support for projected starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers, and four-star running back Rahsul Faison added a great option for Sellers to target when wideouts aren't open downfield.
Also notably, four-star cornerback Brandon Cisse added a much-needed boost to the Gamecocks' defensive secondary.
The Vanderbilt Commodores find themselves smack dab in the middle of the conference rankings simply because they didn't have any major changes to their strength or depth on the roster.
Head coach Clark Lea brought in the exact same number of recruits as he lost (20) as well as recruiting the specific number of four-star (0) and three-star (19) transfers as those he had hit the portal.
Long-snapper Durham Harris was the lowest-rated transfer to join the Commodores, earning a three-star transfer rating but earning zero stars as a prospect out of high school.
Luckily for Texas fans, they don't have to panic about seeing their team near the middle of this list. Head coach Steve Sarkisian lost a minimal 16 players to the portal while recruiting 11 transfers to improve the Longhorns' overall roster index.
Currently, On3 gives the Horns a 23-point index score, most notably including four-star recruits like tight end Jack Endries, from Cal, wide receiver Emmett Mosley, from Stanford, and linebacker Brad Spence, from Arkansas.
The few players who did leave the Texas football program had received minimal playing time during their tenure on the forty acres, such as defensive lineman Sydir Mitchell and cornerback Jay'Vion Cole.
The Aggies had a relatively good transfer portal window, despite former stars like quarterback Conner Weigman, wideout Micah Hudson, and wideout Noah Thomas.
Even with the departures, head coach Mike Elko brought in an impressive class of transfers to rebuild the team that was slightly crumbling after last season. Most notably, Elko recruited four-star wide receiver Kevin Concepcion from NC State and four-star cornerback Jordan Shaw.
Overall, Elko recruited 13 blue-chip players from the portal, adding to his impressive recruiting class of 2025.
Breaking into the top five of the SEC transfer portal rankings are the Kentucky Wildcats and head coach Mark Stoops, despite the team losing a shocking 31 players to the portal.
However, Stoops was able to recruit an impressive 26 players to his roster, including three much-needed four-star transfers. Four-star interior offensive lineman Josh Braun, four-star edge rusher Mi'Quise Humphrey-Grace, and four-star defensive lineman David Gusta all joined the Kentucky roster, adding some necessary strength to both sides of the line.
On the offensive end, Stoops added running back Dante Dowdell, from Nebraska, and wide receiver Kendrick Law, from Alabama, to ramp up his offensive drive.
Since Eliah Drinkwitz took over the Missouri football program, the Tigers have had some ups and downs. However, the last two seasons have led to 21 wins and just five losses. Wins that Drinkwitz seemed to build off during the transfer portal window.
Adding four-star support to the Missouri defensive line with edge rusher Damon Wilson and linebacker Josiah Trotter, the Tigers' defensive unit was shored up through the portal. Similarly, Drinkwitz recruited four-star wide receiver Kevin Coleman and four-star running back Ahmad Hardy to give his offensive unit a boost as well.
Hugh Freeze pulled off the recruiting work that Auburn Tigers fans have been begging for since he took over the program. Not only did Freeze recruit the No. 8 class of 2025 in the nation, but he also brought in the No. 3 transfer portal class in the SEC.
Quarterback Jackson Arnold, wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr., offensive tackle Xavier Chaplin, and cornerback Raion Strader were the only four-star transfers to enter the program, but Freeze didn't lose a single four-star recruit to the portal.
The addition of Arnold was exactly what the Tigers needed after three-star quarterbacks Walker White, Holden Geriner, and Hank Brown all left Auburn to find a new program to call home.
Despite finishing fourth in the conference, Ole Miss earned an embarrassing loss at Florida when the Rebels faced the Gators, and then narrowly escaped the Mississippi State Bulldogs at home to close out the season.
However, head coach Lane Kiffin was able to bring in the second-best transfer portal class in the SEC with big-time four-star offensive additions like wide receivers Caleb Odom and De'Zhaun Stribling as well as running back Damien Taylor.
Edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen and cornerback Jaylon Braxton topped off an impressive defensive class from the portal for the Ole Miss Rebels, perfectly rebuilding any losses that Kiffin suffered form players leaving for the 2025 NFL Draft.
It is undeniable that the LSU Tigers and head coach Brian Kelly have the best transfer portal class in the conference. Even though he lost 23 players and only recruited 18 to join his program, Kelly earned nine more four-stars than he lost, to give his roster a massive boost.
From four-star safeties A.J. Haulcy and Tamarcus Cooley to four-star offensive additions like wide receiver Barion Brown and interior offensive lineman Josh Thompson, the Tigers are going to be difficult to slow down on either side of the ball with their transfer portal additions.
The biggest losses that LSU suffered were in the form of wideout CJ Daniels, who transferred to Miami, and edge rusher Dashawn Womack, who transferred to Ole Miss.