Texas Tech's transfer portal haul ranks No. 1 in On3 rankings

Coming off an 8-5 season and a third straight bowl appearance under Joey McGuire, there’s no shortage of buzz around Texas Tech‘s football program.

The Red Raiders will return two-year starting quarterback Behren Morton in 2025, as well as their No. 2 leading receiver Caleb Douglas, a former Florida transfer. But they will have to replace leading rusher Tahj Brooks and 1,000-yard receiver Josh Kelly, who both used up their final year of eligibility in 2024.

McGuire and Co. have been busy in the NCAA Transfer Portal reloading their roster since the portal opened on December 9. Texas Tech currently holds the No. 1 class in On3’s Team Transfer Portal Index. Unlike other rankings, On3’s utilize the On3 (P)erformance score to measure a team’s production during the transfer process, compared relative against its roster and not a comparison against other schools. This proprietary algorithm determines if a school has improved its overall team talent, stayed the same, or declined in talent during the transfer window.

The Red Raiders have seen 15 players from last year’s roster enter the portal, but have added 17 new ones — including nine who are ranked as four-star transfer prospects. Their On3(P) score of 74 sits atop the list of schools by a wide margin, with Missouri (57), Ole Miss (56), Miami (50), and LSU (47) rounding out the top five.

Notable transfers in for the Red Raiders

Top additions: DL Lee Hunter (UCF); RB Quinten Joyner (USC); CB Brice Pollock (Mississippi State); TE Terrance Carter (Louisiana-Lafayette); OT Hunter Zambrano (Illinois State); OT Howard Sampson (North Carolina)

While Tech did lose former Five-Star Plus+ WR signee Micah Hudson, who opted to transfer to Texas A&M, they found a replacement for him quickly with Miami (Ohio) transfer Reginald Virgil. The MAC leader in yards per reception last season, Virgil hauled in 41 passes for 816 yards and nine touchdowns in a breakout junior campaign. He’ll flank the aforementioned Douglas, who is expected to be one of the Big 12’s top wideouts next season.

Joyner, a USC transfer, was the No. 6 in the On3 Industry Transfer Portal Rankings. He is coming off a productive sophomore season where he totaled 567 scrimmage yards on just 75 touches, which included a 7.6 yards per carry average.

The offensive and defensive lines were a key priority as well, as Tech snagged the No. 3 (Zambrano) and No. 10 (Sampson) available offensive tackles to bookend their group up front. On the defensive side, Hunter was the No. 1 DL in the portal after racking up 45 tackles and 10 TFLs for UCF this past season.