Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
By Chris Marler
The transfer portal continues to monopolize the headlines as we inch closer to the offseason of college football. The two week window is open until January 16, and since it opened on January 2 nearly 3,000 players have entered their name with just over half finding a new home.
Winning the transfer portal is huge. It’s one of the reasons Texas Tech has become a juggernaut, and one of the many reasons hiring Lane Kiffin was so alluring. Getting elite talent out of the portal and being able to evaluate the overlooked players that can become key contributors and diamonds in the rough for your program are incredibly important for success at any big time program. That’s especially the case for programs in need of a quick turnaround.
Lane Kiffin last 24 hrs:
• Stole the #1 portal QB (Sam Leavitt) from Tennessee & Miami after literally airport-stalking him in Knoxville like a boss
• Yanked RB Caden Durham BACK from the portal like ‘nah fam, you’re staying dawg’
• Already at 25+ portal adds, including OL… pic.twitter.com/QAHIgifkfk— LSU Football Report (@LSUReport) January 13, 2026
The SEC has once again made its mark on the rankings for this cycle. Of the players currently committed or signed from the portal, four of the top five players landed at four different SEC schools. The team rankings at 247Sports show 12 of the top 21 teams coming from the SEC meaning 75 percent of the league rank in the top 25.
Acquiring talent is a massive piece of the puzzle, but how about retaining talent? There’s an argument to be made that keeping elite players out of the portal is even more important for some programs than any amount of talent they could bring in. That’s especially the case for South Carolina and LSU this year. Both currently have top 20 ranked classes, but the players they were able to keep out of the portal will tell a much bigger part of their success story in 2026.
Seeing all these crazy transfer portal stories makes me only appreciate the @GamecockFB trio of LaNorris Sellers, Dylan Stewart and Nyck Harbor even more.
LOVE that mindset from those guys.
Needs to be celebrated more in the sport. pic.twitter.com/5gJcxBqOeq
— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) January 7, 2026
I reached out to On3’s Clark Brooks who is in charge of transfer portal player evaluations and rankings. My question was simple – where would some of the big name players that resigned with these two schools rank nationally if they had entered their name in the transfer portal? His response was pretty illuminating on where these five players would rank in the current market. Three of them would rank in the top ten nationally which makes their retention even more impressive.
Here’s what he had to say.
Trey’Dez Green is presently ranked tight end No. 1 in impacts. Not a five star bc he went Casper for a few games but a clear matchup nightmare. He would be a top ten ranked portal player (ahead/behind Jordan Seaton).
*Seaton is currently ranked as the No. 4 player in the portal
Berry wasn’t incredibly sexy and a decent amount of RBs would be over him in the portal. I’d probably have a high 88 or low 89 grade – so over CJ Baxter who’s a former 5 star. But he’d probably wind up in the top 150 in the Bryson Washington range.
South Carolina Quarterback LaNorris Sellers
Sellers is an impact five star for 2026. He’d be QB two or three for next season (drops a spot if Ty Simpson changes his mind). The debate over him and Sam Leavitt would be interesting; but despite upside and tools, I’d have Leavitt over him. Still, he’d be a top three portal player.
South Carolina EDGE Dylan Stewart
Stewart is also an impact five star (like he was all of 2025). Even though he wasn’t as good this year, he’s 6-foot-6 and built differently. He’s a top10 player in impacts — he’d be player 1 at his position if portaling.
South Carolina Wide Receiver Nyck Harbor
Harbor has potential but the only substance has been winning deep off play action. Fine but we want our best receivers to win consistently without help. He’d be a low range 91 grade player so top 30-40 in portal. Maybe even high 90 bc wide receivers that transfer are boom or bust in their new stops. He’s wide receiver No. 29 in my early impact draft.
Looking at all of this from a different lens you could make the argument that no one in the SEC had a better offseason building their roster for 2026 than Shane Beamer and Lane Kiffin. Each coach landed at least one top ten player from the portal at a massive position of need. On top of that, each coach also found a way to keep a top five level player out of the portal and in their same uniform for next year. In an era of players chasing paper, and agents promising seven figure deals and greener pastures, that’s more difficult and more impressive than signing the biggest check during an NIL bidding war.
That is enough to win over a fanbase. Is it enough to win a title? Only time will tell.
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