The spring transfer portal window can help programs build on their offseason momentum. This is particularly true in Norman and Chapel Hill.
Oklahoma and North Carolina both hit the portal hard this spring, and they're hoping the benefits show on the field this fall.
Let's take a look at the college football transfer portal and how these two programs won the spring transfer portal window below.
Oklahoma Sooners
Win Total: 6.5 · To Win SEC: +4000
The Sooners won 10 games in 2023, returned exciting offensive weapons and appeared primed for a competitive season in the SEC.
They capped the nonconference portion of their September schedule with a convincing 34-19 victory over Tulane after the Green Wave had won 23 games in the previous two seasons and had just taken Kansas State to the brink in Manhattan.
But then the conference slate began for OU, and the wheels fell off.
The offensive line couldn’t protect former blue-chip recruit Jackson Arnold, and the offense cratered. The Sooners would allow a whopping 100 tackles for loss. On a per-game basis (7.69 TFLs allowed), that was the fifth-worst performance by an SEC offensive line in the past eight seasons.
Head coach Brent Venables addressed this offensive regression in two ways this offseason. First, he headed to the Pacific Northwest for an offensive refresh. He hired Ben Arbuckle away from Washington State.
The 29-yard-old offensive coordinator signed on the dotted line on Dec. 2. And 16 days later, Arbuckle’s former quarterback, John Mateer, followed suit.
Arbuckle and Mateer were nothing short of magic last year on the Palouse. The crafty quarterback from Little Elm, Texas, accounted for 44 total touchdowns (29 passing, 15 rushing) and had the Cougars in the College Football Playoff discussion before their defense fell apart in mid-November.
Mateer grew accustomed to performing under pressure because his offensive line dealt with injuries last fall.
When he was on the run, he was as reliable as any quarterback in the country. Despite 120 dropbacks in which he encountered pressure, he produced just four “turnover-worthy” plays, per Pro Football Focus. Among quarterbacks who faced at least 100 pressures, that was the 13th-lowest mark in terms of turnover frequency.
But Vernables and his staff weren’t simply looking for a passer who could excel behind a leaky offensive line; they intended on improving their talent upfront while balancing the offense with an elite running back. They checked both boxes this offseason.
In December, the Sooners added Western Carolina's Derek Simmons, an experienced, big-bodied tackle (6-foot-6, 325 pounds) who surrendered zero quarterback sacks in 417 pass-blocking snaps last season.
In the spring portal window, they also landed Stanford's Jake Maikkula, a versatile lineman who can play anywhere along the interior. He’s one of the highest-rated pass-blockers from this cycle’s portal and will vie for a starting role at either guard or center.
Toss in running back Jaydn Ott, just one season removed from a monster year at Cal, and it’s easy to fall in love with the Sooners’ offensive potential in 2025.
North Carolina Tar Heels
Win Total: 7.5 · To Win ACC: +1800
The Bill Belichick era will be fascinating to watch unfold, no matter what happens.
If his legendary attention to detail translates to the college game and UNC exceeds expectations, it'll be one of the sport’s biggest stories.
If he fails to connect with his players and his team folds under the weight of expectations, we could have people calling for UNC to can Bill and his 24-year-old girlfriend turned pseudo-manager by the end of September.
What we know is that UNC made a savvy move in the spring portal window by sidestepping the Nico Iamaleava circus in favor of South Alabama passer Gio Lopez.
The breakout Sun Belt star is a dynamic runner who does something Belichick values above all else: protects the football. In 16 career games, he has just one multi-interception performance.
And as for upside, he was one of two FBS quarterbacks to throw for over 400 yards in a game and rush for 100 yards in a separate contest last season.
