Who's winning the transfer portal in the Big Ten 'post-spring'

Updating our tally of imports and exports in the conference after the spring portal.

Courtesy Nebraska Athletics

Early in spring practice, Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule said he didn’t anticipate the Huskers trying to add a running back during the spring transfer window. There’s depth at the position in Lincoln—four scholarship backs—but little proven production¹ outside Emmett Johnson, so it seemed a natural place to look. Rhule’s comment to the contrary mildly surprised me at the time, but it now reads like a realistic representation of the selectiveness Nebraska’s trying to practice during an uncertain time when teams still don’t know how many players they can have on their rosters.

All that said, Nebraska did pursue a running back in the spring window. North Dakota State transfer and former Creighton Prep star CharMar Brown appeared to check a lot of boxes. Proven production? Brown rushed for 1,851 yards with 15 touchdowns in 2024, earning the Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman in FCS. Not only could he potentially help NU now, but for multiple seasons. As a Nebraska native, the hope was the Huskers might have a head start in what was sure to be a competitive race.

Nebraska took its swing, earning a visit from Brown last week, and landed on the green alongside Miami and Cal, but Brown chose the Hurricanes Wednesday. Plenty can still happen over the weeks and months ahead, but with Brown off the board, the Huskers’ biggest summer addition might be whoever they chose to handle rugby punting duties.

The portal window closed last Friday, but there are still plenty of players available, and teams can continue to add from that group. We can’t quite close the book on this portal cycle, but we’re down to the last few pages, so let’s see what impact the spring window had on the Big Ten.