The transfer portal has completely unraveled college football as we used to know it. With teams adding new players seemingly every window, roster retention and construction have taken the forefront of college athletics as a whole, but probably more so in football. But being a big spender is one thing, making the right decision is another.
This last transfer portal, while not being the most talented, featured some big name players that will undoubtedly have an immense amount of pressure to immediately elevate their team. There’s no surprise how important the quarterback is in college. But there aren’t just quarterback transfers that will carry the brunt of the pressure.
Here’s five transfers that have the most pressure to succeed after landing with a new team.
John Mateer, QB, Oklahoma Sooners
John Mateer landed in Norman by way of Washington State. The amount of pressure on him to make Oklahoma good again is too big to put into words. For one, he’s the latest Washington State quarterback to leapfrog from the now defunct Pac-12 to a Power 4 team. Last year it was Cam Ward landing in south Florida with Miami and now Mateer is headed to the SEC. Mateer will need a Heisman-caliber season to prove small school quarterbacks can make it in the SEC.
Aside from that, though, Mateer takes over an Oklahoma team that needs to turn things around in Brent Venables’ fourth season. In two of his three seasons at the helm, he won just six games. In 2023, he won 10 with Dillon Gabriel under center. Venables not only poached Mateer from the Cougars but also their offensive coordinator too.
This season pretty much makes it clear the Sooners can’t afford another 6-6 season. Venables hasn’t won a bowl game since he’s been at Oklahoma and his fate lies with Mateer. A lot of people are doubting whether Mateer’s dual threat skillset will translate to the SEC. He can’t afford to not look like a top tier quarterback in college football.
Nico Iamaleava, QB, UCLA Bruins
Nico Iamaleava thought he was going to get a pay raise when he darted to the transfer portal from Tennessee. He ended up taking a pay cut from what he was projected to make at Tennessee and now has to make UCLA contenders this season. If nothing more, at Tennessee, he led the Volunteers to the College Football Playoff.
The Bruins turned to Joey Aguilar from Appalachian State and jettisoned him for Iamaleava in a bizarre, college football style trade this spring. Iamaleava talked a big game this offseason and now he has to back it up in a big way.
UCLA has a favorable schedule, though ranked games against Penn State, Ohio State and Indiana won’t be easy. Iamaleava has no excuses this season. DeShaun Foster put his faith in Iamaleava to win; anything less would prove Iamaleava was overrated all along.
Carson Beck, QB, Miami Hurricanes
Entering the 2024 season, Carson Beck was not only considered a Heisman Trophy winner favorite, but also one of the top quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft class. Now he’s back in college after foregoing the draft thanks to a shortened 2024 season. Miami came within arms reach of a CFP appearance last year. They turned to Beck to get there in 2025.
Beck has had an odd college football career, already winning a national championship with Georgia, but not really building off of that. This season is a chance for him to not only elevate Miami and bring them national success, but also to put himself back in the conversation as one of the top quarterbacks in college football.
This season isn’t just about success in college. He has to put himself into position of being one of the first quarterbacks taken in next year’s draft. Anything less and he just might be considered a bust.
Makhi Hughes, RB, Oregon Ducks
I added Makhi Hughes to this list because Oregon’s offense might be as explosive as it was a year ago. Not necessarily because Dillion Gabriel is now in the NFL, but because the Ducks lost Evan Stewart for most of the upcoming season, they lost Tez Johnson to the draft and the jury is still out on Dante Moore. This offense has a lot of question marks right now, but the one certainty is that Hughes is the real deal.
He was a beast at Tulane and he has the chance to really impact this offense in a good way and take some pressure off the passing offense, while it gets its identity together. Hughes should have a solid season and Oregon needs a reputable running back. He can’t afford a down season this year.
Dane Key, WR, Nebraska Cornhuskers
If there’s one thing Matt Rhule and Dylan Raiola needed, it was a true No. 1 receiver. That’s why Rhule went out and landed Dane Key. And with it, he’ll have the pressure of making sure Raiola and this offense are good. Raiola has pledged his loyalty to Nebraska and they rewarded him with a proven target.
At Kentucky, Key amassed 1,870 yards and 14 touchdowns in three seasons. Though he had just one season over 700 receiving yards, you could argue that having a better quarterback should help him have a breakout season. Last year, Raiola threw for less than 3,000 yards. If he wants to be an NFL quarterback, he needs to play better. That starts with finding Key, relying on him and turning this offense into a passing offense.