How 3 Key Transfers Highlight the Big 12's Growing Talent Pool
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
The three worst teams in the Big 12 last season landed the national leaders at their respective positions in the transfer portal, raising the talent level at the bottom of the conference.
Oklahoma State acquired North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who led the FBS in passing yards in 2025. Former Jacksonville State running back Cam Cook went to West Virginia after he won the rushing title. Colorado acquired San Jose State wide receiver Danny Scudero, who led the country in receiving yards.
Many of the best transfers across college football landed in the SEC and Big Ten this past cycle. And most of the Big 12’s top transfers have gone to Texas Tech as of late. But Oklahoma State, West Virginia and Colorado snagged the statistical leaders at quarterback, running back and wide receiver, a rarely seen feat.
The last time that the leaders in passing, rushing and receiving did not all depart for the NFL was in 2019. And it’s been more than a decade since even two of them returned to college.
- Related: Big 12 Football 2026 Predictions
That the Big 12 landed all three in the transfer portal was a boon for the conference. And the fact that Mestemaker, Cook and Scudero wound up with the Cowboys (1-11, 0-9), Mountaineers (4-8, 2-7) and Buffaloes (3-9, 1-8), respectively, is a much-needed talent infusion for three programs that struggled to score in 2025.
Let’s take a closer look at these three transfers and break down what their arrivals mean for their new teams.
QB Drew Mestemaker
Oklahoma State finished last in the Big 12 in passing yards in 2025. Its solution to that shortcoming was to add the nation’s leading passer in the transfer portal.
Mestemaker’s 4,379 passing yards were the most in the FBS last season. That was just one of several school records he set in a breakout campaign. Mestemaker rewrote the Mean Green record books for most touchdowns in a season (34, which was tied for second nationally) and passing yards in a game (608, the most by any player since 2020). North Texas also led the country in points (45.1) and yards (512.4) per game.
Originally a walk-on for the Mean Green, Mestemaker climbed up the depth chart and won the starting job. He made his first start in the First Responder Bowl at the end of the 2024 season. That performance — 393 yards and two touchdowns — was a sign of what was to come in his first year as the starter.
- 2026 College Football Passing Yards Leader: Top Quarterbacks to Watch
Mestemaker immediately exhibited command of coach Eric Morris’ up-tempo offense. He led all passers in yards per attempt, while completing just under 69% of his throws. Mestemaker quickly established a rapport with wide receivers Wyatt Young and Cameron Dorner as well as running back Caleb Hawkins. And when Morris took the Oklahoma State job, they all followed him to Stillwater in the transfer portal.
“Drew Mestemaker is special,” an anonymous Big 12 assistant said in Athlon Sports’ College Football Preview magazine. “He’s got great vision, and he’s a quick processor. They’ll have a chance because he’s playing quarterback. Now I know that they brought a lot of players in. I get that, but having that elite quarterback, they’ll have a chance.”
As we saw with Curt Cignetti’s jump from James Madison to Indiana, this blueprint can work. The Cowboys won one game last season with the lowest-scoring offense in the conference. Mestemaker’s addition immediately vaults Oklahoma State into the upper half of the Big 12 on offense. If the Cowboys’ league-worst defense holds up its end of the bargain, this could be the most-improved team in college football.
RB Cam Cook
Rich Rodriguez-coached teams are at their best when they can run the ball at will. That was not the case last season in his return to his alma mater, West Virginia.
The Mountaineers finished in the bottom half of the FBS at 160.5 rushing yards per game. Their average attempt was even worse, ranking outside the top 100 at just 3.7 yards per rush. Enter: Cook, the reigning rushing champion who racked up 1,659 yards at Jacksonville State. Ironically, that’s where Rodriguez was coaching before he took some country roads back to Morgantown.
Cook and Rodriguez never overlapped, but their pairing makes perfect sense on paper. And in practice, it should be a productive partnership. Cook comes over from a Gamecocks offense that ran the ball on two out of every three plays. He handled more than 22 carries per game — second only to Army quarterback Cale Hellums — and maintained impressive efficiency at 5.6 yards per rush. Considering none of the other five running backs on WVU’s roster have logged a carry in the FBS, he can expect to see a similar workload this season.
- 2026 College Football Rushing Yards Leader: Who Can Catch Cam Cook?
The Mountaineers’ moribund offense especially struggled to produce explosive plays. They managed just 60 runs of 10-plus yards as a team in 2025, tied for 67th nationally. Cook, on the other hand, led all players with 54 such plays. Pairing him with dual-threat transfer quarterback Michael Hawkins (Oklahoma) provides West Virginia the explosiveness and unpredictability it was missing in the backfield.
“(Coach) Rich Rodriguez wants to get the speed,” an anonymous Big 12 assistant said. “Those offenses excel when he’s got legit speed at quarterback, at running back and at receiver. I think he’s solving that problem through the portal, with junior-college recruiting and with high school recruiting down in Florida.”
WR Danny Scudero
Colorado’s offense hit a new low in the Deion Sanders era last season. The Buffaloes had never been able to run the ball particularly well. But their passing efficiency took a major hit after quarterback Shedeur Sanders and wide receiver Travis Hunter left for the NFL. Colorado fell from first to 13th in the Big 12 in passing yards per game.
Landing Scudero, the leading receiver in the FBS, in the transfer portal was a step in the right direction for this group. He’s a slight target at 5-foot-9, 174 pounds, but he makes up for his size with position-best production. Scudero amassed 1,297 yards and 10 touchdowns on 88 catches at San Jose State in 2025.
- 2026 College Football Receiving Yards Leader: Is This Jeremiah Smith’s Year?
Last season was Scudero’s first at the FBS level. He started his college career at Sacramento State, and now he’s made another jump from the Group of 6 to the Power 4. Scudero also has something in common with his new offensive coordinator. Though they didn’t overlap in Sacramento, Brennan Marion was most recently the head coach of the Hornets, who are in the midst of an FBS transition.
Hiring Marion and securing Scudero in the portal were among the wholesale changes Colorado made to improve its lagging passing attack. With wide receivers Omarion Miller (Arizona State) and Dre’lon Miller (Baylor) moving on to other Big 12 programs, the Buffs snagged DeAndre Moore Jr. (Texas) and Ernest Campbell (Sacramento State) in the portal to round out Julian Lewis’ wide receiver room.
“I really like some of their skill players that they have,” an anonymous Big 12 assistant said. “They’re always gonna have receivers and DBs. That’s just Deion’s deal.”
Lewis, a former five-star prospect, struggled in four games as a true freshman. He completed just 55.3% of his passes. Sacks were also an issue behind a worrisome offensive line. But Lewis did show promise. Offseason additions, such as Scudero, could foster further improvement in his sophomore season.
Related: College Football Top 138 Team Rankings for 2026
Related: EA Sports Revealed College Football’s Toughest Places to Play. What Do the Records Say?
Related: NFL Slams Door on Brendan Sorsby by Canceling 2026 Supplemental Draft
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Jun 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos