College football transfer portal: Assessing Northwestern football in the open portal window
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The transfer portal has become one of the biggest stories in college football.
Here’s a look at how the Northwestern Wildcats fared in the open transfer portal window at the start of January.
Northwestern Football in the transfer portal
Incoming Players: 16 transfers
Outgoing Players: 8 transfers
The portal took from Northwestern this offseason. Tight end Hunter Welcing and edge rusher Anto Saka entered the portal, committing to Ohio State and Texas A&M, respectively.
But, head coach David Braun and his staff still went to work. The 'Cats pulled an impact player, got their quarterback, refurbished the offensive line, got bigger on the defensive front and got deeper at skill positions.
First and foremost, the 'Cats pulled Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles to be their starter next season. He has Big Ten experience, and will be the unquestioned starter for first-year offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.
Most importantly, they gave Chiles players on the line in front of him. Braun added Oklahoma State's Grant Seagren, Alabama sophomore Arkel Anugwom and Saginaw Valley State's David Anchondo.
On defense, the 'Cats got a massive impact player in linebacker Kobie McKinzie, who transferred from Oklahoma. He was stuck behind four other Sooner linebackers on what was one of the best defenses in America last season.
In front of McKinzie, Northwestern eased the loss of Saka's departure with incoming pass rushers Jamaal Johnson, from UCF, and Dominic Kirks, from Ohio State.
The skill positions got much deeper, too. Northwestern got commitments from running back Gavin Sawchuk, from Florida State, and Mar'Kel Porter, from Bowling Green. They also added Weber State cornerback Montae Pate and Central Michigan cornerback Brenden Deasfernandes.
Big picture view:
Northwestern swung big in the portal, and made a splash. The 'Cats set themselves up for success in 2026.
More importantly, they've set themselves up for success in 2027.
Getting Chiles, a dual-threat type of quarterback, will be a weapon for Kelly and the offense at Northwestern. He brings experience, but his presence also allows incoming freshman quarterback Johnny O'Brien to get acclimated to the college game with what's most likely going to be a redshirt year before he takes over in 2027.
Having a bridge quarterback in college is important to stay competitive. Having a bridge quarterback to allow the future starter to be as prepared as possible is more important here.
What also helps Chiles and the offense is how Northwestern is pulling linemen from the portal.
The ‘Cats’ left tackle Caleb Tiernan and right tackle Martes Lewis, both starters in 2026, are out of eligibility. They needed starters. They got starters, which is becoming a theme.
Anchondo is 6-foot-8 and 310 pounds, having played at Division II Saginaw State. Anugwom was a reserve at Alabama after starting at Ball State. Seagren did allow a sack in 713 snaps in 2025.
The biggest development is adding Kirks and Johnson to the defensive line. Losing Saka stings, but adding Kirks, who weighs in at 267 pounds, and Johnson, who weighs in at 255, means NU understands the need to get bigger up front defensively.
Giving the defensive keys to McKinzie at linebacker can pay dividends, too.
It can't be understated how Northwestern added a coaching staff and key players that played plenty of meaningful football before coming to Evanston.
What they're saying:
"This time last year, we still had a lot of work to do in terms of filling out our structure and and how we needed to operate in the new landscape of college football," NU head coach David Braun said on Dec. 4, 2025. "Having Christian Sarkisian on board and him feeling like he’s got a full staff operating in this space."
"We definitely have fine-tuned a lot of things."