The college football transfer portal has officially gone off the rails-and Oregon, like everyone else, is trying to navigate the madness.
Edge rusher Blake Purchase is headed to Oxford to join Pete Golding’s defense at Ole Miss, while freshman quarterback Bryson Beaver, who barely unpacked in Eugene, is trending toward Georgia. In a sport where change has become the norm, these moves are just the latest examples of how fast the landscape is shifting.
We’re watching an unprecedented wave of player movement. Over 6,700 Division I athletes have entered the portal, with the total across all levels of college football surpassing 8,000.
That’s not a ripple-it’s a tidal wave. And Oregon’s former players are catching rides to some serious destinations.
Here’s a look at where some ex-Ducks have landed:
- Tionne Gray - Notre Dame
- Dakoda Fields - Oklahoma
- Jahlil Florence - Missouri
- Sione Laulea - Missouri
- Daylen Austin - Arizona
- Jayden Limar - Washington
- Jay Harris - Kansas State
- Ashton Porter - Houston
- Kingston Lopa - Cal
- Cooper Perry - Cal
- Kamar Mothudi - taking visits to NC State and Cal
- Jurrion Dickey - Memphis
- Kade Caton - USF
- Justius Lowe - San Diego State
- Kyler Kasper - BYU
- Makhi Hughes - Houston
Add Purchase to Ole Miss and Beaver to Georgia, and you start to see the kind of talent being redistributed across the country.
What’s wild is that many of these players weren’t even cracking Oregon’s two-deep. Yet now they’re commanding significant NIL deals-some reportedly worth six figures-at SEC powerhouses and playoff hopefuls. That’s the new reality: a college football version of free agency, with bidding wars and brand-building baked into the equation.
It’s musical chairs with a Death Metal soundtrack.
January 16 marks the final day most players can enter the portal, although schools like Indiana and Miami have a little more time due to coaching changes. Once a player enters, he can stay in the portal until he finds a new home.
But the hard truth? Roughly 40% of those players won’t land a spot at the same level.
Some will have to drop down a division. Others might be done with football altogether.
And in the background, a growing crowd of lawyers and so-called agents are promising the moon-often without the means to deliver.
Meanwhile, Oregon isn’t just watching the exodus-they’re very much in the mix on the other side. Dan Lanning and his staff have been aggressive, pulling in some headline names through the portal:
- Dylan Raiola, a five-star quarterback and one of the top overall recruits in the country
- Koi Perich, the No. 1 safety
- Iverson Hooks, a dynamic wide receiver
- Michael Bennett IV, a 6-foot-5, 310-pound offensive tackle
- A kicker, a punter, and a long snapper to round out special teams
- Carl Williams IV, a versatile safety from Baylor
And they’re not done. Oregon is still in pursuit of Jordan Seaton, the former Colorado offensive tackle and the No. 1 left tackle in the portal.
Seaton’s value is soaring-some believe he could command over $3 million in NIL. Also on campus is Aaron Scott, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound cornerback from Ohio State.
A former four-star and the No. 5 corner in the 2024 class, Scott would be a huge addition to a secondary looking to reload.
In a portal flooded with nearly 7,000 names, there’s only one Jordan Seaton. And that’s what makes this new era so chaotic-and so compelling.
The transfer portal is shaking the foundation of college football. Coaches and GMs are having to rethink everything-from roster management to talent evaluation.
Indiana’s Curt Cignetti proved you don’t need a roster full of five-stars to make a national title run. He built a contender with experienced transfers, many of whom were overlooked out of high school.
That model is suddenly looking pretty attractive.
Experience is the new currency. Star ratings?
They still matter, but they’re no longer the end-all. In this new world, coaches are prioritizing proven production over raw potential.
And NIL? It’s the wildest free market in sports history-part gold rush, part poker game, with $50 shovels and million-dollar hands.
High school recruiting has taken a back seat. Developmental prospects are harder to justify when you can grab a ready-made contributor from the portal.
The result? Roster depth is thinning out across the board.
Teams are top-heavy, and the margin for error is shrinking.
Dan Lanning has talked all year about “strength in numbers.” But in this environment, numbers are fleeting.
Thirty players gone in one week? That’s not a stat-it’s a warning sign.
Building a roster now takes patience, precision, and relentless culture work. It’s not just about talent-it’s about finding the right fits, creating buy-in, and keeping your locker room intact.
There’s only one transfer window now, and that’s added even more urgency to the process. Injury luck will play a bigger role than ever in the playoff race.
Parity is rising. Volatility is the new normal.
Welcome to the future of college football. It’s fast, it’s furious, and it’s just getting started.