The 9 Most Impactful College Football Transfers Of All Time

College football is in a new era, and guys are moving schools more than ever. Not every transfer works out, but the ones that do make you forget where they started, which is certainly the case with these guys who leveled up in a big way after getting a change of scenery.

These Are 9 Of The Most Impactful Transfers In CFB History

Many college football transfers carry a chip on their shoulder because they couldn’t earn a starting role at the school they committed to out of high school.

Some transfers started at a small school, shined, and wanted to take their talents to a higher level of college football. Others were forced to transfer because they stole a laptop.

Whatever the reason, these guys all moved schools and made an immediate impact.

 Joe Burrow

Joe Burrow played two seasons at Ohio State as a backup. He appeared in just 11 games and was relatively solid, but he didn’t get enough reps to make a real name for himself.

Burrow’s coaches told him Dwayne Haskins would start, so he transferred to LSU ahead of the 2018 season. The Tigers went 10-3 and capped the season with a Fiesta Bowl win in Burrow’s first year, but Joe’s stats were nothing to write home about.

The following year, Burrow turned in the greatest season in CFB history. He was a 15-0 national champion with the highest Heisman ballot percentage of all time (95.47%), and he also set the NCAA record for most passing touchdowns (60) and total yards (6,039).

Fernando Mendoza

Fernando Mendoza redshirted as a freshman at Cal in 2022, but the following year he appeared in nine games. His stats were average, but he improved greatly the next year.

He played well enough to be the top candidate to take over the ascending Indiana Hoosiers. Indiana was coming off of a playoff appearance in Curt Cignetti’s first season as head coach. Mendoza would have been the starter again at Cal, but he wanted a new challenge.

Mendoza’s final year in college had many similarities to Joe Burrow’s. He won the 2025 National Championship, the Heisman, and became the number one overall pick. He took the losingest program in college history to the height of the sport in his only season, in one of the greatest sports stories of all time.

Cam Newton

Cam Newton was coming off a national championship at Florida as a backup. He was occasionally used as a runner that season but was primed to be the next starting quarterback.

Cam didn’t transfer because he couldn’t get on the field or because he wanted a new challenge. Cam transferred because he was arrested and suspended from the team for stealing a laptop.

But the Auburn Tigers decided to look the other way and welcome Cam to their program, and it might be the best decision in their history.  Like the two previous transfers, Newton never lost a game in 2010, won the Heisman, and got drafted first overall the following year.

Michael Penix Jr.

Michael Penix played four seasons at Indiana before transferring to Washington. Penix was solid as a member of the Hoosiers from 2018-2021 but transferred to join Kalen DeBoer and continue what he was building at Washington.

Penix lit it up from the get-go as a Husky. His first season, he went 11-2 with a bowl win vs. Texas. The year after, he went 13-0 (again with a bowl win vs. Texas) before ultimately losing to Michigan in the national championship.

Penix was a Heisman runner-up that year and led the Huskies to their only national championship game.

Baker Mayfield

Baker Mayfield walked on to Texas Tech in 2013 and earned a spot on the team. After redshirting, he took over as starter and had a decent season for the Red Raiders.

After shaky communication about the starting role for the next year, Mayfield decided to walk on again. But this time, he did so for his childhood favorite: the Oklahoma Sooners.

Mayfield finished three straight seasons in the Heisman top five and led Oklahoma to three straight Big 12 championships. Mayfield ended his career at OU with a 34-6 record and is arguably the greatest Sooners QB ever.

Kenneth Walker

Kenneth Walker was a Wake Forest Demon Deacon for two seasons and totaled exactly 579 yards in both. He then took a leap to become the bell cow running back at Michigan State in 2021.

Walker doubled his career rushing yards in one season at MSU, finishing with 1,636 yards and 18 touchdowns. Five of the touchdowns came in a 37-33 win against rival Michigan.

Sparty finished 11-2 with a Peach Bowl win, and K9 ended up 6th in Heisman voting but won the Doak Walker Award for the nation’s best running back.

Justin Fields

Justin Fields played one season as a backup at Georgia, but he did come in for one iconic play in the SEC Championship.

That play may have helped explain why he ultimately left UGA for Ohio State and took over as the full-time starter in 2019. In his first season, Fields ran the table in the regular season before ultimately losing to Clemson in the semifinals.

In 2020, Fields posted another undefeated regular season and avenged his loss to Clemson in the semifinals. He ultimately fell short of a national championship, losing to Alabama the following game.

Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders

Breaking the rules a bit by going with two players, but this duo completely transformed the Colorado Buffaloes.

The two started at HBCU Jackson State, where Deion Sanders was coach, before following him to Boulder, where the Buffs were coming off a 1-11 season.

In 2023, I had a front-row seat to their first game, where Travis Hunter had an interception and 119 receiving yards, and Shedeur Sanders threw for over 500 yards.

In 2024, they went 9-3, and Travis Hunter won the Heisman as a two-way player. They never had any playoff success, but they successfully turned around a terrible program.

A Bunch Of Guys On Ohio State In 2024

Now I am really cheating, but I didn’t want to flood the list with Buckeyes, and it didn’t feel right to choose one from this team. In my opinion, the big three were quarterback Will Howard, running back Quinshon Judkins, and safety Caleb Downs.

All three found success early in their college careers, but felt they could win a championship at Ohio State. Howard left Kansas State, Judkins left Ole Miss, and Downs ditched Alabama.

The three came together to win the first college football national championship of the 12-team playoff era. They went an impressive 14-2 in their only season together; the only problem was one loss to the team up north.