Transfer portal news: Belichick’s immediate impact, Norvell’s QB risk, Fritz's QB coup

The transfer portal never stops spinning, especially when quarterbacks are involved. But head coaches play an important role in which way it turns, as evidenced by Bill Belichick's instant impact for North Carolina.

The Tar Heels officially hired Belichick on Wednesday, making an enormous statement about their intention to contend in the ACC and CFP. Houston and Florida State hope their recent acquisitions will help them better contend in the ACC and Big 12 respectively.

Let's look at the latest news from the transfer portal.

Willie Fritz gives Conner Weigman a new home with the Houston Cougars

Former Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman was one of the bigger names to enter the portal this week. It didn't take long for him to make his transfer decision, commiting to Houston on Wednesday with two years of eligibility

Why Houston? Weigman isn't exaggerating about coming home. His hometown of Cypress isn't all that far from from Houston's campus.

Even so, the Cougars weren't the odds-on favorites when the QB entered the portal. Pete Nakos of On3 tapped Syracuse, Missouri, Iowa, Louisville and Wisconsin as potential suitors for the redshirt junior. Houston hardly gave those programs any time to pursue Weigman before locking him down.

Weigman was a five-star recruit coming out of high school in 2022, ranking second behind only Clemson's Cade Klubnik. With a .9899 rating in the 247Sports composite, he would have been the second-highest rated recruit in Houston history.

Willie Fritz and the Cougars had a shot to land a marquee quarterback in the portal and they nailed it. However, this isn't a sure thing, mostly because Weigman has had injury woes up the wazoo. In 2024, his shoulder injury opened the door for him to get Wally Pipped by freshman Marcel Reed.

Florida State traded Luke Krommenhoek for Thomas Castellanos

The transfer portal giveth and the transfer portal taketh away. Every team has to cross their fingers and hope they come out of portal season on the positive side of that seesaw. Florida State is one program I'm not certain got it right, but only time will tell.

After a catastrophic season in Tallahassee, the Seminoles needed to sort out their quarterback situation, along with a bunch of other issues. Instead of committing to one of the freshmen who started games in 2024, Mike Norvell turned to the transfer portal and Boston College's Thomas Castellanos.

Castellanos committed to Florida State on Wednesday and it's not hard to see why. New FSU offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn recruited him to UCF out of high school. He was a three-star recruit in 2022.

However, adding Castellanos cost them Luke Kromenhoek. Rated as the No. 5 quarterback in the class of 2024, he saw action in six games as a true freshman. He entered the portal at the start of the week.

Malzahn's familiarity with Castellanos could make this the perfect pick up. But Kromenhoek's ceiling is simply higher in the long term. The Seminoles gambled on a quarterback with a career 58.6 completion percentage and 19 interceptions in the last two seasons who got benched at his last stop. It'll be impossible not to compare what Kromenhoek does from here against what Castellanos does with FSU. That's the risk Norvell and co. are taking.

Bill Belichick's hire caused a transfer portal reversal for North Carolina

The biggest news of the college football offseason isn't where a top recruit signed or where a coveted quarterback landed in the transfer portal. It's the hiring of Bill Belichick by North Carolina.

Hiring the six-time Super Bowl champion will have a massive ripple effect across the ACC and potentially the broader college football landscape. That's especially the case if reports that UNC is set to increase their NIL budget to $20 million prove to be true.

Belichick's reputation alone is giving the Tar Heels a leg up in what figures to be a critical offseason. One player with their name in the transfer portal reveresed their decision about 90 minutes after reports that a deal was being finalized.

Starting center Austin Blaske would have been a significant loss to the portal. The Heels don't have to worry about that anymore.

It hasn't been confirmed that Blaske's decision was related to Belichick's hiring, but the timing points in that direction.

The new head coach and his staff has more work to do on that front. Defensive lineman Travis Shaw, linebacker Amare Campbell, tackle, Howard Sampson and guard Aidan Banfield also declared for the portal. Shaw and Campbell are particularly important players to pull back in as critical pieces for UNC's defense.

Belichick will obviously want to use a chunk of his war chest on new players from out of the portal but convincing established players to stick around could be just as important.