As the college football offseason has churned through the spring months, the transfer portal and its seemingly constant activity has provided fans plenty of discussion fodder.
This most recent portal window may have been less active than its end-of-season counterpart, but it still brought plenty of storylines and hijinks to pore over.
Forget the best player or the best overall hauls. Here are some superlatives that can be handed out for other, more uncommon spring portal moments:
Most NFL trade deadline-esque move
Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee to UCLA; Joey Aguilar, UCLA to Tennessee
The story of the spring portal was Nico Iamaleava’s departure from the Tennessee Volunteers. The starting quarterback from the Vols’ 10-3 College Football Playoff campaign decamped in mid-April, setting off a saga that would come to a bizarre conclusion. Iamaleava, a Southern California native, landed with the UCLA Bruins.
In turn, Tennessee also hit the portal to find its replacement for Iamaleava. Its solution? None other than Joey Aguilar, a former Appalachian State transfer who was UCLA’s projected starter before Iamaleava arrived. Suddenly, two Power 4 programs had effectively pulled off a concept alien to college sports: a trade.
Best homecoming
Micah Hudson, Texas A&M to Texas Tech
On Dec. 15, Micah Hudson announced he’d be transferring from the Texas Tech Red Raiders to the Texas A&M Aggies. He’d later step away from the program in January.
On April 27, Hudson announced his next destination — back to Lubbock, Texas, to rejoin the Red Raiders. Hudson, a former five-star recruit, was the highest-ranked recruit in Texas Tech program history when he first committed in high school.
“Lubbock has always been home, and I’m forever grateful to the coaching staff, teammates and fans who make that possible,” Hudson said in a statement.
Most frequent-flier mile friendly move
Caleb Brown, Hawaii to Virginia Tech
Some transfer journeys are shorter than others. A quick move-in to a new school wasn’t to be for Caleb Brown, who transferred from the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors to the Virginia Tech Hokies.
Over 7,000 miles separate Hawaii’s Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex and Virginia Tech’s Lane Stadium. According to Google Flights, the quickest possible travel time between Honolulu and Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport exceeds 11 hours and includes at least one stop.
From Go Army to Go Dawgs
Elo Modozie, Army to Georgia
A day in the life of a football player for the Army Black Knights can include main inspection, classes like Platoon Operations or Survival Swim and, of course, practice. Elo Modozie, who transferred to the Georgia Bulldogs, will now have only one of those experiences on his daily calendar.
Modozie, an outside linebacker, tallied 6.5 sacks in 2024 as Army won the American Athletic Conference.
Most likely to leave the team group chat
The Cal running backs
In the 2024 season, the California Golden Bears’ top three leading rushers were as follows: Jaivian Thomas, Jaydn Ott and Kadarius Calloway. By April 16, in a span of 72 hours, all three had entered the transfer portal. Fellow running backs Byron Cardwell Jr. (24 carries in 2024) and Justin Williams-Thomas (three appearances in 2024) also hit the portal in that stretch as the Cal roster recoiled.
All told, the Golden Bears currently have three running backs currently listed on the team’s roster, with just six career carries between them (all by redshirt freshman Jamaal Wiley).
Busiest class schedule
Breylan Thompson, Yale to Stanford
In most cases, transferring out of a school like Yale means a decline in academic rigor by default. Breylan Thompson was not one such case — the freshman defensive back transferred across the country to one of America’s other elite universities, joining the Stanford Cardinal in Palo Alto, California.
Thompson tallied 31 total tackles, three tackles for loss and six passes defended in his lone season with the Bulldogs.
Most likely to spice up a rivalry
Kennedy Urlacher, Notre Dame to USC
Urlacher, son of NFL Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher, will indeed play at Notre Dame Stadium next season — but for just one game, on the other side of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish-USC Trojans rivalry. Urlacher committed to the Trojans on April 19, as he’ll look next season to bring the Jeweled Shillelagh trophy to Los Angeles.
The rising sophomore safety isn’t the only player to switch sides in the historic rivalry — former USC defensive lineman Elijah Hughes transferred to Notre Dame during the winter portal window.
Best two-for-one deal
Brent Helton and Wade Helton, Iowa State to Arizona State
How can you not love a package deal? That’s what the Arizona State Sun Devils got in offensive linemen Brent and Wade Helton, twins who transferred together from the Iowa State Cyclones to the Grand Canyon State.
The Helton brothers both redshirted in their freshman year in 2024 with the Cyclones.
