Edge rusher Damon Wilson II is third and quarterback Darian Mensah is ninth in the "Top 10 most impactful moves in this year's College Football Transfer Portal" posted by Ari Wasserman of On3 on Thursday. Wilson is the top-ranked edge rusher on Wasserman's list and Mensah is the fifth-ranked QB.
Miami has the 14th-ranked 2026 Transfer Portal class by On3. Separate from Wasserman ranking the most impactful 2026 transfers, Wilson is the sixth-ranked player in the portal overall by On3 and Mensah is 10th.
Wilson is the second-ranked transfer edge rusher by On3 behind Princewill Umanmielen, who followed his head coach, Lane Kiffin, from Mississippi to LSU. Mensah is the fourth-ranked transfer QB by On3. On3 and Wasserman only have two of the same QBs ahead of Mensah.
Sam Leavitt, who transferred from Arizona State to LSU, is the top-ranked transfer by On3, the second most impactful player in the portal and top signal caller on Wasserman's list. Wasserman also has Byrum Brown, from South Florida to Auburn, Josh Hoover from TCU to Indiana and Brendan Sorsby from Cincinnati to Texas Tech ahead of Mensah.
NEW: Top 10 most impactful moves in this year's College Football Transfer Portal via @AriWasserman👀
— On3 (@On3) February 5, 2026
Do you agree? 🤔https://t.co/eVFZTVGh6x pic.twitter.com/tK9WJITfhN
Quarterbacks ahead of Mensah in On3 transfer rankings
Leavitt, Drew Mestemaker, who transferred from North Texas to Oklahoma State, moving with his coach Eric Morris, is seventh in the On3 transfer rankings and Sorsby are the QBs ahead of Mensah in the On3 transfer rankings. Hoover is the 19th-ranked transfer.
Mestermaker and Morris have one of the biggest jobs ahead of them in college football in 2026 after Oklahoma State finished 1-11 overall and 0-9 in the Big XII in 2026. Impact is subjective. They could lead one of the biggest improvements in 2026 after North Texas was first nationally averaging 45.1 points and 512.4 yards per game in 2025.
Hoover, Leavitt, Mensah and Sorsby were brought in with the expectation that they will lead their teams to College Football Playoff berths. Hoover, Mensah and Sorsby join programs with coaching staffs in place. Brown transferred from South Florida to Auburn with his head coach, with the Bulls Alex Golesh.
Mensah has arguably a better receiving corps to throw to in 2026 than Carson Beck did in 2025. The addition of Mensah's top receiver Cooper Barkate at Duke to team with Malachi Toney should provide Miami with one of the best receiving tandems in the ACC and maybe nationally.
After advancing to the National Championship Game after the 2025 season, Miami will be expected to win the ACC in 2026 and at the very least, appear in the College Football Playoff (which they would earn with an ACC title). Mensah could be a Heisman Trophy candidate in 2026.