By Alex Blackburn
The Big 12 Conference is set to be one of the most competitive leagues in the FBS once again. Teams are constantly trying to find the assets that will give them the edge in an airtight dogfight to the conference title. The transfer portal is one of the most useful weapons in that fight, and with an excellent crop of transfers coming into the conference this season, here are the players that will make the most immediate impact.
No. 5: Bangally Kamara, LB, Kansas
Linebacker Bangally Kamara transferred from South Carolina to Kansas on Nov. 4, 2024. Kamara, a four-star in the 247Sports.com rankings, brings experience, production and leadership to a defense in major need of everything listed.
— ⛹🏾♂️ (@BangallyKamara) October 9, 2024
Top defensive leaders in 2024 like Cobee Bryant, Marvin Grant and JB Brown have all departed and Kansas has made every effort to replace that experience and production, headlined by Kamara.
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Kamara has recorded 129 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, five sacks, one interception, eight pass deflections and a forced fumble and recovery throughout his five-year career. He’ll provide an immediate boost to a position that has long needed it for the Jayhawks and will add some major experience to a young defense looking to make a name for themselves in 2025.
No. 4: Conner Weigman, QB, Houston
New Houston quarterback Conner Weigman transferred from Texas A&M on Dec. 11, 2024. Weigman, a four-star transfer in the 247Sports.com database, was a five-star high school prospect that has had an up and down career to this point. Weigman has recorded 219 completions on 365 attempts (a 60% completion rate), 2,694 passing yards, 21 total touchdowns, seven interceptions and 267 yards rushing throughout his three-year career.
A good build and decent arm with some health and accuracy issues, Weigman has caught a bad rap for being somewhat of an unpredictable prospect and not living up to his lofty expectations.
A sleeper team to look out for in 2025 is Willie Fritz's Houston Cougars. With new additions to the offense like Connor Weigman, Dean Connors, and Tanner Koziol, Coach Fritz will look to make a push for the BIG 12 Title.
Also, @KeiHenderson1 is a 2026 5 ⭐️ Dual-Threat QB and is… pic.twitter.com/WAfyeHj7wa
— Sean Bradley (@CoachBradley34) June 6, 2025
The combination, however, of Weigman’s experience, supporting cast, explosive playbook and quarterback-friendly coaching has some considering Weigman and the Cougars to be a dark horse contender in the Big 12. Weigman has the potential to be a top signal-caller in a star quarterback-heavy conference with everything going for him. Should he remain healthy, expect him to live up to that promise and finally prove himself as a great quarterback.
No. 3: Romello Height, EDGE, Texas Tech
Next, Texas Tech EDGE Romello Height transferred from Georgia Tech on Dec. 19, 2024. Height was ranked as a four-star transfer in the 247Sports.com 2025 transfer class and a four-star Class of 2020 high school recruit. The sixth-year player has recorded 73 total tackles, 16 tackles for loss, six and a half sacks, one interception, two forced fumbles and one recovery.
GAME BREAKER 🤯 @height_romello
📺 @espn pic.twitter.com/U3yhRLIdRh
— Georgia Tech Football (@GeorgiaTechFB) November 9, 2024
Height headlines a massive Texas Tech class that ranks No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 2 in the nation. The strength in this class lies in the defensive line pickups, with Height being the most experienced and productive of the group that includes Stanford transfer David Bailey, UCF transfer Lee Hunter and NIU transfer Skyler Gill-Howard, among others.
Texas Tech is expected to pay its athletes a staggering $55 million this year across all sports (NIL + revenue sharing), potentially making it the highest-paying college athletics program in the country. 💰🏈
📰 Source: https://t.co/B4sq9pft3Z@CBSSports @bmarcello #RedRaiders… pic.twitter.com/nS8Md4B2pm
— 365 Sports (@365sportsYT) June 10, 2025
Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire and the Matador Club NIL Collective have been hard at work with the football program since the end of last season, with Height being a shining example of their efforts. The Texas Tech defensive line should be one of the best in the country, with Height leading the charge.
No. 2: Kaidon Salter, QB, Colorado
Colorado needed to find a quarterback to replace the vaunted Shedeur Sanders, and they could have potentially found the player for the job in Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter. Salter, a four-star 2025 transfer prospect and four-star high school prospect in the Class of 2021 for 247Sports.com, impressed by bringing Liberty to back-to-back bowl games as a full-time starter, including a Fiesta Bowl appearance in 2023. Salter transferred to Colorado on Dec. 18, 2024.
© Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Salter has 412 completions on 702 attempts (a 58.7% completion rate), 5,889 passing yards, 56 passing touchdowns, 17 interceptions, 2,006 yards rushing and 21 rushing touchdowns. He has a 21-5 record as a starter, however, has recorded just one bowl win in 2021, when he was a backup.
Kaidon Salter will be a problem in the Big12. pic.twitter.com/F6T6YJNE0e
— Saturday's Tailgators (@TraxinPower5) May 30, 2025
Salter brings more dual-threat capabilities to this Colorado offense as well as ample experience and leadership. The offense will not be the same as it was with multiple departures, however, Salter is the man for the job to keep it as explosive as it was in 2024. With Julian Lewis in waiting as well, Salter will mentor his replacement in hopes for continuity in the Colorado program, something the program hasn’t seen in ages. Should Salter’s skills translate to a Power Four institution, Colorado could see major dividends.
No. 1: Devon Dampier, QB, Utah
Topping off the list is Utah quarterback Devon Dampier. Dampier transferred from New Mexico on Dec. 11, 2024. Dampier was ranked as a three-star transfer according to 247sports.com, however, it’s a matter of how important he is to the success of Utah football that brings him to the top of this list.
We're not talking about Devon Dampier enough heading into the 2025 season.
Here's 2 reasons why his arrival at Utah marks a pivotal shift for the Utes' offense: pic.twitter.com/MOKcr4qv9u
— WINK CFB (@WINKCFB) June 6, 2025
Dampier recorded 266 completions on 454 attempts (a 58.6% completion rate), 3,293 yards passing, 18 passing touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 1,494 yards rushing off of 155 attempts (a whopping 7.0 yards per attempt) and 23 rushing touchdowns. Dampier adds a dimension to their offense that hemorrhaged production and health in 2024, averaging just 199.4 yards per game in passing and starting a new quarterback basically every game.
Not only does he add to the passing game, but his run game capabilities add a whole new world of possibilities for an offense that struggled mightily this past season in all facets. He has rushing capabilities that could open up brand new pages for Utah’s staff. Utah’s coaching is there, however, it struggled to keep healthy and have dimensions to its offense due to the revolving door of cast members at key positions.
Devon Dampier vs Isaac Wilson in 2024. pic.twitter.com/Qnen2PfJ9E
— CFBudge (@CF_Budge) March 24, 2025
Having stability and depth will be massive, with Dampier leading the charge of a brand new quarterback room. A coaching staff that specializes in developing quarterbacks will have a field day with his ceiling and remaining years as well, being only an incoming third-year player.
Dampier has the potential to be one of the better quarterbacks in the nation with his skills. He has the arm talent there to be unleashed and his running talent has already been proven. If he can clean up the accuracy issues and his skills can translate to the Power Four level, there’s a strong chance Utah will be back to their winning ways.
New Scenes, New Faces
The 2025 season hasn’t even started yet, but there’s already talks of players on this list being program changers. Players that bring experience and leadership to programs needing it, players that bring production at positions of need, players that offer ample promise and players that exhibit all three have made themselves known already, with this group being the cream of the crop.
However, time can only tell what this list will look like in the postseason. As was seen last year, the Big 12 is completely unpredictable, and with this many new faces coming in and the everchanging landscape of college athletics, there’s no telling what will happen. These players will define their own legacy this season. Can they live up to the hype and help their respective programs to the finish line?
