ESPN reveals final transfer portal ranking for new Texas WR Cam Coleman
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ESPN is closing the book on the busy, chaotic winter transfer portal in college football.
Or, sort of.
With no spring transfer period this year, what happened during the portal onslaught that opened on Jan. 2 and closed on Jan. 16 is what happened. And a lot happened, which is why ESPN on Friday morning took the time to review it all for fans who can’t get enough while the countdown continues toward spring football.
ESPN ranked which players it believes were the most coveted and which players it believes will make a huge impact during the 2026 season. It revealed its top players from this portal period, complete with scouting reports by Steve Muench and Tom Luginbill.
And while ESPN will update these portal rankings as those final players make commitments to their new programs, these rankings give a pretty good idea of the elite portal prizes that it thinks will make a major, immediate impact. The ESPN rankings “are based on production, experience, potential, demand and feedback from coaches and general managers throughout the sport.”
Not surprisingly, it didn’t take long for the SEC to make an imprint on Friday’s rankings. Right below the No. 1 spot, which was quarterback Brendan Sorsby heading from Cincinnati to Texas Tech, was wideout prize Cam Coleman, who ESPN rated at No. 2 after his transfer from Auburn to Texas.
The 6-foot-3, 201-pound Coleman will have 2 years of eligibility remaining, so his value to the Longhorns could potentially stretch beyond this fall. But Steve Sarkisian‘s got Coleman for at least 1 year, and that will be good enough to pair him with star quarterback Arch Manning. The new Manning-to-Coleman connection in Austin is destined to take flight after Coleman caught 56 passes for 708 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2025 despite being part of a struggling Auburn offense.
In the category of “What he brings to Texas,” ESPN wrote: “Arch Manning gets to play with two All-America-caliber wideouts in 2026 in Coleman and Ryan Wingo in an offense that has added some serious firepower during this portal season.”
Now, we’ll see what Coleman can provide Texas during the season that really counts.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
