Big 12 Media Days are set to open Tuesday, and the transfer portal is already shaping plenty of the conversation around the league’s offensive newcomers. That includes both quarterbacks on the Big 12 list, plus Oklahoma State running back Caleb Hawkins, a reminder of how quickly college football has changed heading into 2026.
Oklahoma State stands out in this group for a simple reason: it landed more than one of the conference’s top offensive transfers. Only Texas Tech matched that with two, while Colorado brought in five, though most of those additions came at tackle, where the Buffaloes were trying to patch a clear need.
At quarterback, Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker comes in ranked second among transfers at the position. The number that keeps following him around is 1,067 career snaps, and that’s still the best shorthand for why he’s such a notable piece of this portal cycle. For comparison, former Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby entered last season with 1,377 snaps.
Baylor’s DJ Lagway sits sixth nationally at quarterback. The former Florida passer put up 9.8 yards per attempt in 2024, then dipped to 6.7 last season.
Mestemaker, meanwhile, led the nation in yards per attempt among passers with at least 200 attempts, finishing at 9.4. Lagway’s interception issues also remain part of the story: he threw nine picks in 2024 and a power-conference-high 14 last season.
The quarterback board also reflects the turnover around the league. Sorsby is gone, and so are three other quarterbacks ranked in the top 10 at the position from Arizona State, TCU and Iowa State.
The Cowboys are equally well represented at running back. Hawkins checks in as the second-ranked transfer at the position nationally, and while plenty has been said about his production, one stat that doesn’t get as much attention is that the freshman averaged 6.2 yards per carry. That number finished 15th nationally, and it would have ranked third in the Big 12.
Kansas State’s Jay Harris also made the list, coming in 16th nationally. He ran 42 times for 151 yards and two touchdowns last season at Oregon.
With top-10 backs leaving Arizona State, Baylor and Iowa State, Hawkins has a chance to separate himself as one of the best backs in the conference, if not the best.
Receiver is a little different. No top 10 wideouts left the Big 12 this offseason, though Utah did lose a player ranked 11th to Michigan. Still, the league added plenty of proven production.
Arizona State landed Reed Harris, ranked second at the position, after he averaged 17.3 yards per catch on 39 receptions for Boston College in 2025. The Sun Devils also picked up Omarion Miller, who arrives via Colorado and is ranked fourth after finishing one spot behind Wyatt Young at 18th nationally with an 18-yard average per catch.
Colorado added DeAndre Moore, ranked sixth, after he caught 77 passes for 988 yards and 11 touchdowns over the last two seasons at Texas. Oklahoma State’s Wyatt Young comes in at 22nd after finishing third overall with 1,264 receiving yards on 70 catches. Utah’s Braden Pegan is 27th after posting 926 yards on 60 receptions at Utah State, and Texas Tech’s Malcolm Simmons ranks 35th after averaging 18.3 yards per catch on 25 receptions at Auburn, a mark that ranked 15th nationally.
Tight end brings a smaller group, but there are still two names to know. BYU’s Roger Saleapaga is ranked eighth at the position after playing 165 snaps for Oregon last season, mostly as a run-blocker.
Arizona’s Cole Rusk is 11th after averaging 11.4 yards per catch on 19 receptions at Illinois and grading out as the 34th-best receiving tight end nationally, according to Pro Football Focus. The conference also lost one top-10 tight end to the portal from Iowa State.
Colorado’s portal haul was the biggest story at offensive tackle. Leon Bell is ranked 14th after starting at right tackle for Cal last season.
Taj White is 17th, though he graded out 119th among tackles in 2025 with a 70.6 run-blocking grade. Bo Hughley sits 19th after spending most of last season in reserve roles at both tackle spots for Georgia.
Jayven Richardson is 29th after grading out 174th among tackles in 2025 with a 68 run-blocking grade.
Even with that depth, Colorado also lost the No. 1 overall transfer at tackle.
Inside, former Oklahoma State guard Noah McKinney is now at TCU and ranks ninth at the position. He graded out 31st among guards last season with an 84 in pass-blocking.
Texas Tech’s Jordan Church is 10th after grading out 103rd at the position with a 69.1 run-blocking grade at Louisville. Kansas added Connor Stroh, who played six games for Texas last season at left guard, while Houston’s Anthony Boswell is 16th after grading out as the 13th-best center in the country with strong marks in both run-blocking and pass-blocking.
Oklahoma State was not the only Big 12 team to lose a top-10 interior offensive lineman to the portal, as Baylor also lost one.
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