It’s officially that time of year again, as the spring transfer portal opened up on Wednesday morning and dozens of Big 12 athletes have entered their names into the NCAA database.
This cycle is set to be particularly intriguing, as it’s likely the last time that we’ll see an undetermined market price for players with the House vs. NCAA settlement looming this summer. Tennessee starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava got things started off with a negotiation-gone-wrong and now he finds himself with “no market” after demanding a $4 million deal with the Volunteers.
However, that’s not the only headline that we’ve seen emerge from the college football portal, and there were several notable things happening around the Big 12 on Wednesday. Here are the top five takeaways from what we saw in the Big 12 transfer portal on the first day of the spring window.
West Virginia Rips Off the Band-Aid
The first major storyline that we saw develop in the Big 12 on Wednesday was a literal exodus happening in Morgantown, West Virginia.
An early morning report from On3 showed that more than 25 players had entered the transfer portal in the opening hours of the window, and by noon, that number had risen to 30.
Now, there is a bit of a caveat to this report, as this was more about reaching new roster requirements than it was about guys deciding to leave the program. Unfortunately, teams will have significant roster trimming to do during this cycle, as the House v. NCAA settlement will limit roster sizes to just 105 players, meaning teams will only have the capacity for 20 walk-ons.
Considering that there have been no limits on walk-ons to this point, most rosters will have to do something similar in the coming days, it just appears that West Virginia was ready to rip the band-aid off.
A Potential Reunion in Lubbock? Don’t Count on It.
It wasn’t a surprise to anyone when Texas A&M wide receiver Micah Hudson entered the portal on Wednesday. In fact, he barely spent more than a couple of weeks in Aggieland before he was ready to hit the road.
However, now that he’s back in the portal, the noise of his potential return to Lubbock is growing again. For some, the expectation is that Hudson will be a Red Raider again before too long, but if you ask 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz and Chris Hummer, it would actually be a pretty surprising development.
“I think the most likely scenario is that [Micah Hudson] ends up in, essentially, a ‘prove-it’ situation,” Zenitz said. “I don’t know where that’s going to be yet, but Micah went to Texas A&M, and it became clear prety quickly that he most likely wasn’t going to be back with the team. Now, he’s officially in the portal and as of today, there is a slim chance that he could maybe reunite with Texas Tech, which he originally signed with as a top ten recruit.
“Right now, I view that as unlikely, which I think Chris [Hummer] would agree with me, he can correct me if I’m off-base on that, but either way, regardless of where it is, I do think that Micah ends up in a ‘prove-it’ type deal.”
Chris Hummer chimed in with similar feelings on the situation, saying that he’d be surprised if it’s in Lubbock.
“I think Micah’s still gonna be a guy that ends up on the Power Four level and will have his opportunities, but I would also be surprised, based on what I’ve heard, if he ends up back at Texas Tech, even though the possibility isn’t necessarily off the table,” Hummer added.
Utah’s 2025 Season Opener Just Got More Interesting…
On Saturday, August 30, the Utah Utes will travel to Pasadena, California, to take on the UCLA Bruins.
If there wasn’t already enough intrigue with the former Pac-12 showdown, there certainly is now with the Bruins adding Tennessee transfer quarterback Nico Iamaleava on Wednesday.
Iamaleava has been the biggest storyline in college football this week after he skipped practice amid NIL contract negotiations with Tennessee, but was then told to walk after demanding a reported $4 million from the Vols.
Iamaleava is a redshirt sophomore and spent last year as the starter in Knoxville in 2024. Over 13 games, Iamaleava threw for 2,616 yards and 19 touchdowns with five interceptions, adding 358 yards and three scores on the ground.
Additionally, Iamaleava was the No. 2 prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, raling only behind Texas quarterback Arch Manning.
Meanwhile, Utah is coming off a 5-7 season in 2024 and has a new quarterback of its own with New Mexico star Devon Dampier taking over in 2025.
At Least One Big 12 Quarterback is Out of Tennessee Sweepstakes
With Tennessee deciding to part ways with Nico Iamaleava last week amid NIL disputes, the Volunteers are now looking for new signal-caller for the 2025 season.
Several of the top quarterbacks in the country have been rumored to be targets for the Vols, including several Big 12 quarterbacks. One of those rumors was surrounding TCU quarterback Josh Hoover, who leads the Big 12 in passing yards over the past two seasons.
According to On3’s Pete Nakos, Hoover will not enter the transfer portal despite the rumors, crossing at least one Big 12 quarterback off the list of potential candidates.
Last season, Hoover ranked seventh nationally with 3,949 passing yards, plus 27 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. As a result, the Horned Frogs ranked 25th nationally and third in the Big 12 in scoring (33.5 ppg).
Now, there are still rumors that need to be addressed with several others—notably Avery Johnson, Rocco Becht, and Sawyer Robertson—but at least one school is safe from being poached for the time being.
Colorado Loses Fourth-Highest Ranked Recruit from 2025 Class
On Wednesday, Colorado saw one of it’s most promising 2025 signees walk out the door as four-star wide receiver Adrian Wilson entered the transfer portal.
Wilson was the fourth-highest rated player in the Buffs’ 2025 class and committed last fall and was a mid-year enrollee with the program.
However, he’s leaving before logging a snap for Deion Sanders.
Listed at 6-foot-2, 170 pounds, Wilson was a standout athlete at Weiss High School in Pflugerville, Texas, and a coveted member of the 2025 class. According to On3, Wilson ranked as the No. 35 wide receiver in the class and the No. 38 overall recruit in the state of Texas.
Before signing with the Buffs, Wilson was actually committed to Arizona State, and drawing interest from dozens of other programs, with teams like Auburn, Oklahoma, TCU, Texas A&M, Oregon, and Ole Miss all on his offer list.
