Mario Cristobal learned to build teams in an era when all that mattered was who a program signed out of high school on National Signing Day. That haul — for better or worse — determined the course of the next three or four seasons. As a first-time head coach at Florida International, Cristobal had to […]
Mario Cristobal learned to build teams in an era when all that mattered was who a program signed out of high school on National Signing Day. That haul — for better or worse — determined the course of the next three or four seasons.
As a first-time head coach at Florida International, Cristobal had to mine for hidden gems. Then, as Nick Saban’s offensive line coach at Alabama, Cristobal learned how to stack blue-chippers to create a prohibitive depth advantage. He took that model to Oregon, where he tried to build the Ducks as Saban built the Crimson Tide.
But when Cristobal left Oregon in December 2021 to return to his alma mater, Miami, the rules by which rosters were constructed had been completely upended. Gone was the idea of sitting out a year after a transfer, which had acted as a major deterrent to player movement. Plus, as of July 2021, players were allowed to make NIL deals and get paid.
No one knew at the time how the new ecosystem would play out, but Cristobal developed a strategy that he believed would work in the new world. There were now three types of players to target, and the Hurricanes needed to excel at evaluating and recruiting all three types.
“We have a really good blend of portal players that are older who have a year left and portal players that have multiple years,” said Cristobal. “And then you have high school signees. You have experience and high-level young talent. As long as the attitudes are right and the level of talent and caliber of work ethic are right, that’s a powerful blend.”
That is Cristobal’s recipe, and it has expressed itself on the field. Starting quarterback Carson Beck is in his only year at Miami after four seasons at Georgia. Senior defensive lineman Akeem Mesidor feels as if he’s spent his entire career at Miami, but he actually started at West Virginia. Sophomore safety Zechariah Poyser earned All-Conference USA honors as a freshman at Jacksonville State in 2024 and slotted directly into the Hurricanes’ starting lineup in 2025.
The three players an NFL scout would probably consider Miami’s best — junior edge rusher Reuben Bain, junior offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa and freshman receiver Malachi Toney — all signed with Miami out of high school.
It’s a powerful blend indeed, but it isn’t the only way to build a CFP team. Ohio State had a few key transfers — notably safety Caleb Downs and tight end Max Klare — but the Buckeyes’ 2025 lineup was dominated by high school signees.
But no matter how a coach chooses to construct a roster, one thing has become apparent. Staffs must win recruiting battles in the transfer portal, no matter how much or how little they decide to use it.
The games of Thursday and Friday will help determine who wins the 2025 national title, but the race to make the CFP in 2026 will depend largely on what happens in the next few weeks. The transfer portal opened Friday. Unlike previous years, coaches can’t re-evaluate after spring practice and grab more transfers in the second window. January is now the only time to participate in college football’s version of free agency. And a look at the teams that made up the quarterfinals of the CFP explains how important this period will be for everyone who hopes to win big next year.
Those eight teams in the quarterfinals of the 2025 CFP proved that there is no “correct” way to handle roster construction. According to data from SportSource Analytics published earlier this month by The Athletic, Georgia used the portal the least. Only 9.6 percent of the Bulldogs’ regular-season starts came from transfers. (Even with that low percentage, the Bulldogs have needed their transfers. USC transfer Zachariah Branch and Miami transfer Colbie Young rank No. 1 and No. 2 in receiving yards for Georgia.) There’s a huge gap between the Bulldogs and Ohio State, which ranks No. 2 in starts by high school signees. Transfers made up 27.7 percent of the Buckeyes’ starts. The numbers get bigger from there. For Alabama, 38.1 percent of starts were made by transfers. Oregon (42.6 percent) and Miami (53.6 percent) hover near the halfway mark. Texas Tech (63.3 percent), Indiana (65.9 percent) and Ole Miss (66.3 percent) all nearly touch the two-thirds mark.
And every number has its own story.
At Ole Miss, former coach Lane Kiffin believed he could build a better roster faster using the portal than he could by trying to compete with traditional recruiting heavyweights such as Alabama and LSU for high school players. (This also helps explain Kiffin’s decision to take the LSU job; he now has easier access to blue-chip high school talent to blend with the transfers he takes.)
At Texas Tech, billionaire donor (and former Red Raiders offensive lineman) Cody Campbell promised in 2024 he would use his considerable resources to help the Red Raiders build a roster that could win the Big 12. Instead of competing against its usual peers, Texas Tech took on schools such as Ohio State and Texas in transfer portal recruiting battles. The result is a team that mixed transfers, such as former Stanford edge David Bailey, with homegrown talent like linebacker Ben Roberts and transfers who feel homegrown, like linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, who came to Texas Tech in 2022 after initially playing quarterback at Virginia. The investment instantly upgraded the Red Raiders’ talent level, and they looked considerably faster and more athletic than their Big 12 rivals.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning learned roster-building from Kirby Smart at Georgia and has done an excellent job signing blue-chippers such as edge Matayo Uiagalelei and receiver Dakorien Moore out of high school. But the Ducks had holes after losing some stars from the 2024 team, and Lanning needed plug-and-play athletes to keep Oregon at a similar level. So Lanning went into the portal and grabbed former USC guard Emmanuel Pregnon, former Nevada offensive tackle Isaiah World and former Purdue safety Dillon Thieneman. All have been integral to Oregon’s success this year.
Meanwhile, Indiana is largely built on players who followed coach Curt Cignetti from James Madison following the 2023 season. Receiver Elijah Surratt, cornerback D’Angelo Ponds, linebacker Aiden Fisher and edge Mikail Kamara are all future NFL players whom Cignetti initially recruited for the Dukes.
And after making the CFP in year one, Cignetti didn’t want to slow the momentum by trying to develop a QB to succeed Ohio transfer Kurtis Rourke. So the Hoosiers signed Cal transfer Fernando Mendoza, who just won the school’s first Heisman Trophy.
If you think losing the initial wave of James Madison transfers might force the Hoosiers to fade back from the ranks of the title contenders, think again. With Mendoza headed to the NFL, Indiana landed TCU quarterback transfer Josh Hoover and Michigan State wide receiver transfer Nick Marsh, both top-25 prospects in the transfer portal, to lead the Hoosiers in 2026.
Meanwhile, Cristobal and company likely will be in the mix for another portal QB to follow Cam Ward and Beck. Cristobal hopes he can recruit that QB while the 2025 edition of the Hurricanes keeps playing in the CFP.
Cristobal knows there are dozens of teams that were in Miami’s position last year — close, but needing that extra nudge of talent to make the CFP — that want to be where the Hurricanes are now.
The quickest way to get there? Win in the portal.
Category: General Sports
