The 2025 spring transfer portal window opened on Wednesday, April 16, and saw over 700 college football players enter within 24 hours.
Now, just shy of a week into the cycle, there are still well over 1,000 FBS players searching for a home, and several programs are still hopeful that they can find a few missing pieces to supplement their rosters ahead of summer workouts.
Through the first half of this 10-day window, we’ve seen a few Big 12 teams take charge and impact their rosters in a positive manner. Meanwhile, there have also been teams that have had to ward off teams hoping to poach their best players and the like.
Here are the biggest developments that we’ve seen through the first half of the spring portal window.
Micah Hudson Saga Ending Right Where It Started
When Micah Hudson got back in the transfer portal last week, it seemed to most that Texas Tech would end up regaining his services. That, however, wasn’t the likeliest outcome according to 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz and Chris Hummer, who both suggested that it would be surprising if things were to end up playing out that way.
Now, fast forward to Monday, and On3’s Steve Wiltfong has entered a prediction for Hudson to end up back in Lubbock, where his collegiate journey started.
Despite finishing with just eight catches for 123 yards in his freshman season, the 6-foot-0, 190-pound wideout has an incredibly bright future.
Drawing comparisons to Garrett Wilson out of high school, Hudson has all-world talent at his position and comes back to a team that is loaded with way more talent than the one he left back in December.
TCU Spurns Tennessee’s Tampering Attempt
Undoubtedly, the biggest story of this transfer portal cycle was the drama surrounding Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava. The former five-star quarterback started all 13 games for the Volunteers last season, but failed to live up to the ridiculous hype that he entered with.
Still, Iamaleava demanded more NIL money on his current contract and even sat out of practice. That, of course, backfired when the Vols told him to take a hike. The move frees up NIL money for Tennessee, but it also leaves them without a starting-caliber quarterback for the upcoming season. That led to Tennessee looking outside of the program for new talent, and apparently, getting in touch with one of the Big 12’s top returning signal-callers.
According to The Athletic, the Vols contacted TCU quarterback Josh Hoover to gauge his interest in transferring to Knoxville for the upcoming season. Additionally, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says that this offer was incentivized with a $1 million raise over what he is making with the Horned Frogs.
Luckily for Sonny Dykes and Co., Hoover is “locked in” with TCU for the upcoming season after ranking among the best quarterbacks in the country last season in passing yards, yards per attempt, completion percentage, and touchdowns passes.
Deion Calls Out ACC Program for Tampering
While we’re on the topic of tampering, we’ve got to discuss what happened between Colorado and Virginia over the weekend. In case you didn’t hear about it, Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders recently addressed his team at spring practice and took a jab at the Cavaliers, saying that he’d already let them have one player thanks to tampering.
“Carter got offered a bag,” Sanders said. “What’s the school? Virginia?”
Then, he found the camera to address UVA directly.
“Virginia, you’ve gotta stop. I let you have one and I ain’t say nothing about it. C’mon now. C’mon. We let you have one. I ain’t say nothing about it.”
Sanders is likely referring to Isaiah Augustave, a sophomore running back who saw plenty of work in Boulder but entered the portal last week. He has since committed to the Cavaliers, adding even more intrigue to Deion’s comments.
Unfortunately, it’s just part of college football now, as teams have to work as hard at keeping their players on the roster as they do at bringing new players in every year.
Oklahoma State Making Moves
Oklahoma State is coming off its worst season under Mike Gundy, and it appears that the program realizes that significant changes would be needed if they’re going to avoid another disaster in 2025.
So, after sending several players out the door this winter and making changes at both coordinator positions, as well as a restructured contract for Gundy, the Pokes are starting to make some significant moves in the portal.
Gundy and company have found all kinds of success on the recruiting trail and transfer portal this month, with seven portal additions in the last 13 days. Three of those commitments have come since the spring window opened, and all three of them were contributors for Power Four programs last season.
South Carolina EDGE Wendell Gregory chose the Cowboys over several other offers, as did Colorado EDGE Taje McCoy. Both players have incredible upside and should fit nicely into the Pokes’ new defensive scheme.
Then, perhaps the biggest addition, was Vanderbilt defensive tackle De’Marion Thomas, who started all 13 games for the Commodores last season. A Tulsa native, Thomas will come back home and play a major role in the Cowboys’ defense next season, choosing the Pokes over offers several other potential suitors.
Houston Set to Lose Multiple All-Big 12 DBs
One of the strongest position groups for the Houston Cougars this past season was the secondary, with players like A.J. Haulcy and Jeremiah Wilson standing out in a better-than-expected unit.
Unfortunately for Willie Fritz, both Haulcy and Wilson announced after the UH spring game that they’ll be entering the transfer portal and looking to take their talents elsewhere.
Haulcy, a native of Houston, Texas, was named to the All-Big 12 First-Team in 2024 and has started every game for the past two seasons. Wilson, meanwhile, led all Big 12 cornerbacks with an 86.9 defensive grade on PFF (4th nationally) and was one of the best cover corners in football, logging 24 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, four interceptions, and eight passes defended.
Houston’s defense was one of the best units in the Big 12 last season, and with Fritz’s staff focusing heavily on the offensive side of the ball in this portal cycle, it felt like they might have a little more balance heading into 2025.
Now, it appears they’ll have to go back to the drawing board with two of their best players headed out of the program.
