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Every year during the college football transfer portal cycle, fans of teams across the country get a renewed sense of hope. Because of the mass exodus that happens every season, players often fall under the radar and become stars at their next destination. 

On the flip side, some highly touted players don't work out at their next stop -- or it takes time to do so.

The biggest name who entered the transfer portal this past offseason was Nico Iamaleava. The former Tennessee quarterback went back to the West Coast and enrolled at UCLA. Although there were some low lights during Iamaleava's first season with the Bruins, there were moments when Iamaleava showed why he was a highly regarded recruit in the first place. One of those was when he engineered one of the biggest upsets of the 2025 season against Penn State in the best statistical game of his career.

Another player from Iamaleava's high school recruiting class was Jackson Arnold. The former Oklahoma quarterback transferred to Auburn last offseason, and it didn't work out. Arnold was benched against Arkansas on Oct. 25 and appeared in just two more games the rest of the season.

With the college football transfer portal set to open again next month, it's time to look at some of the biggest disappointments from this past cycle.

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Nic Anderson, WR, LSU

Previous school: Oklahoma | 247Sports transfer ranking: 9

Outside of logging just nine snaps in a game against Tennessee, Anderson was sidelined for the majority of the season. During the 2023 campaign, Anderson had a breakout year, accounting for 798 yards and 10 touchdowns. The third-ranked wide receiver in the 247Sports transfer portal rankings enrolled at LSU, looking for a fresh start, but couldn't replicate similar production. Anderson finished with 12 catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns in seven games.

Elo Modozie, EDGE, Georgia

Previous school: Army | 247Sports transfer ranking: 46

The eighth-ranked edge transfer by 247Sports was expected to be a key part of Georgia's defense this season. After all, Modozie was the third-highest-ranked transfer the Bulldogs added this offseason behind receivers Zachariah Branch and Noah Thomas. After posting 6.5 sacks at Army, Modozie has yet to record a sack with his new team. In the SEC title game against Alabama, Modozie logged just 12 snaps.

Rahsul Faison, RB, South Carolina

Previous school: Utah State | 247Sports transfer ranking: 49

Faison had to wait until days before South Carolina's first game to find out if he would be eligible to play in 2025. Ultimately, Faison, the third-ranked running back in the transfer portal rankings, was granted an additional season of eligibility by the NCAA. His best game of the season came against Vanderbilt, when he finished with 74 rushing yards and a touchdown. Overall, he ran for just 470 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games.

Jaydn Ott, RB, Oklahoma 

Previous school: Cal | 247Sports transfer ranking: 50

Perhaps one of the most surprising developments of the entire season was Ott seeing his production plummet. After rushing for over 1,700 yards and 16 touchdowns the last two seasons with Cal, Ott was limited to just 21 carries (68 yards) during the regular season. His best game came against Kent State, when he ran for 49 of his 68 total yards on 11 attempts. He hasn't recorded a stat since the Red River Rivalry showdown against Texas.

Micah Hudson, WR, Texas Tech

Previous school: Texas A&M | 247Sports transfer ranking: 64

Hudson, who originally committed to Texas Tech out of high school, transferred to Texas A&M after the 2024 season ended. However, during the spring window, Hudson re-committed to Texas Tech. The former five-star recruit caught eight passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns in five games for the Big 12 champs.

Maalik Murphy, QB, Oregon State

Previous school: Duke | 247Sports transfer ranking: 82

Murphy, the former Texas and Duke quarterback, transferred to Oregon State this past offseason. The No. 82 overall player in the 247Sports transfer rankings finished the season with 1,805 passing yards and a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 9-to-8. Murphy completed 58.1% of his passes and Oregon State finished the season 2-10.

Jackson Arnold, QB, Auburn

Previous school: Oklahoma | 247Sports transfer ranking: 146

The best way to sum up Arnold's season at Auburn is the quote his former coach, Hugh Freeze, gave Justin Hokanson of AuburnSports.

"... But certainly, it didn't work out to the level that he nor I both expected for him and our team. And that's why I'm sitting here."

Arnold, the former Oklahoma quarterback, was benched during a 33-24 win over Arkansas. He finished the season with 1,309 passing yards and was never able to find consistency within the offense. It went downhill for Auburn and Arnold after he rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Baylor in the season opener.

Gio Lopez, QB, North Carolina

Previous school: South Alabama | 247Sports transfer ranking: 421

After a productive season at South Alabama last year, Lopez entered the transfer portal and enrolled at North Carolina. Lopez was named the starting quarterback over veteran Max Johnson ahead of UNC's opener against TCU and finished 4 of 10 for 69 yards after leaving early due to injury. That blowout loss was a sign of bad things to come for UNC in Bill Belichick's first season in Chapel Hill. Lopez completed 65.1% of his passes for 1,747 yards and 10 touchdowns (to five interceptions) as UNC finished 4-8.

Zach Calzada, QB, Kentucky

Previous school: Incarnate Word | 247Sports transfer ranking: 408

Calzada enrolled at Kentucky this offseason after previous stints at UIW and Texas A&M. He was expected to be UK's starting quarterback for the full season. However, he was benched after just two games and ended the year with 238 yards passing and two interceptions. Kentucky reportedly paid around $1.25 million to pull him out of the transfer portal.

Kaidon Salter, QB, Colorado

Previous school: Liberty | 247Sports transfer ranking: 203

One of the most watched quarterback competitions this offseason was at Colorado, where the question "who will be Shedeur Sanders' successor" came up frequently. Coach Deion Sanders landed Salter out of the transfer portal. Salter was a star at Liberty, and the fit on paper seemed ideal. However, Colorado's quarterback situation was fluid throughout. Three different signal callers (Salter, Julian Lewis and Ryan Staub) got starting-level snaps. While Salter played the most of the bunch, he never established himself as the Buffaloes' full-time starter.