With just over a month until the college football season begins, the Big Ten is hoping to produce a national champion for a fourth season in a row.
The most recent of those champions, the Indiana Hoosiers, were built heavily through the transfer portal, a poster child for the new way of the world in college sports.
So, it’s worth actually taking a look at who is going to be making their mark as a transfer. That includes looking at the five most interesting transfers to the Big Ten.
A couple of ground rules. Only one player per Big Ten team, and because only five players are being highlighted, not every Big Ten team is going to be represented. On top of that, the effort isn’t to strictly include quarterbacks, though it’s very possible to become focused on them.
It’s also worth pointing out that this isn’t a list of the best transfers, though arguably a few of them are. These are the most interesting transfers, with players to keep an eye on for the 2026 season.
For the third season in a row, the Indiana Hoosiers dipped into the transfer portal for a veteran quarterback. A season ago, that landed them a Heisman winner and No. 1 overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza. This season, it landed them Josh Hoover.
Hoover comes over from TCU, where he was the starter and flashed talent, but lacked consistency due to turnovers. He threw for 3,472 yards and 29 touchdowns a season ago, but he also led the Big 12 with 13 interceptions. Now, he’ll hope to clean that up and take the Hoosiers back to the CFP.
Now on his third school, Tyson Ford is one of the biggest names joining new head coach Bob Chesney at UCLA this season. That’s part of a massive transfer portal haul, which includes 42 new players, per On3.
Ford is mostly interesting because he represents massive potential for UCLA. At one point the No. 105 overall prospect, he’s spent time at Notre Dame and Cal. However, his playing time has been limited. Still, with two seasons of eligibility remaining, he makes for an interesting study in how Chesney evaluates and develops.
The Oregon Ducks expect to be one of those teams competing to win the Big Ten and possibly even a national championship. That’s in part because the offense gets a lot of glory and the Ducks are elite there, but it’s also because of how loaded they are on defense.
Koi Perich appears to be a key piece of that defense now. Just two seasons ago while with Minnesota, he led the Big Ten in interceptions. Those coverage numbers dipped a bit in 2025, but he made a jump to 82 tackles. A safety who can do it in every phase of the game, the Ducks are very excited about Perich.
It’s a new era for Michigan, with Kyle Whittingham taking over following the Sherrone Moore scandal. Maybe the most important player Whittingham ended up taking with him from Utah was John Henry Daley, who now looks to dominate in the Big Ten.
A season ago, Daley had 17.5 tackles for a loss and 11.5 sacks. It was a massive breakout season that earned him All-American honors. Now at Michigan, he hopes to create chaos and restore the Wolverines to the top of the conference.
It was a house-clearing for Penn State amid a coaching change that saw James Franklin fired and Matt Campbell brought in to replace him. Among the changes are several incoming Iowa State players with Campbell. By far the most notable of that group is quarterback Rocco Becht, now expected to start.
Becht threw for 2,584 yards and 16 touchdowns a season ago. He also rushed for another eight touchdowns. The talent and experience are there, but now he’ll have to do it in the Big Ten.
