The 2025 NFL Draft is in the books. 257 selections found new home in the National Football League, ranging from Cam Ward at pick No. 1 to Kobee Minor as Mr. Irrelevant.
86 different colleges were represented at the draft, including some below the Division I FBS level. In the FBS, all 10 conferences were represented but some were not represented to their usual extent.
The Sun Belt Conference and Conference USA only saw one selection each. Marshall defensive end Mike Green went to the Baltimore Ravens at pick No. 59 in the second round to fulfill the Sun Belt quota. Western Kentucky cornerback Upton Stout landed at pick No. 100 to the San Francisco 49ers in the third round as the only CUSA selection. That’s it.
However, in the modern age of the transfer portal, not every player can be defined by one school, so looking beneath the surface of the iceberg, there are going to be more CUSA and Sun Belt selections. However, it goes both ways. Mike Green originated his college career at Virginia from 2021-22 before ending up at Marshall for 2023-24. Upton Stout’s path slightly differs as he never deviated from the CUSA, starting at North Texas from 2020-21 (prior to the Mean Green’s 2023 move to the AAC) before winding up at WKU in 2022-24.
But seeing one CUSA and one Sun Belt pick is concerning. So who do we blame for this occurrence? Let’s dive into the recent history before examining how NIL, the transfer portal, and realignment impacted these conferences.
Recent draft trends
Let’s take a look at the past 11 years, which encapsulates the College Football Playoff era. Key dates to internalize include the launch of the transfer portal on October 15, 2018 — prior to the 2019 NFL Draft — as well as the advent of NIL legislation on July 1, 2021 — prior to the 2022 NFL Draft.
For Conference USA, the league underwent several realignment phases, notably losing six programs to the AAC between the 2023 and 2024 NFL Drafts. The general trend of drafted CUSA players is downward in the CFP era, as the league regularly saw 9 or 10 draft picks per year from 2014 through 2020, with a minimum of six over that 7-year timeframe.
The Sun Belt hasn’t lost any teams in the CFP, except for New Mexico State which dropped to independent in 2018 and Idaho which dropped to FCS in 2018. It even poached several CUSA programs in 2022 including Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss. Prior to the 2025 NFL Draft, the general trajectory of the Sun Belt was upward when it came to draft selections. The league set a new record just two seasons ago with nine picks in 2023. Perhaps one selection 2025 is an outlier, but it could also be a sign of things to come.
Transfer portal?
Obviously, the hot topics of the transfer portal and NIL have a symbiotic relationship in modern college football. Many players transfer for monetary benefit, and you can never fault a college student for maximizing their value — with many eager to help their family. However, a repercussion of the NIL and transfer portal relationship is the reality that CUSA and Sun Belt programs don’t have the same funding in their NIL collectives as the Alabamas and Ohio States of the world. That essentially turns the All-CUSA and All-Sun Belt teams into transfer portal wishlists for programs that can afford to distribute higher NIL payments.
Sun Belt transfers to other conferences in the 2025 NFL Draft:
Trey Amos, CB, Louisiana (2020-22), Alabama (2023), Ole Miss (2024)
Caleb Ransaw, CB, Troy (2021-23), Tulane (2024)
Josaiah Stewart, DE, Coastal Carolina (2021-22), Michigan (2023-24)
Jalen McLeod, OLB, Applachian State (2020-22), Auburn (2023-24)
Tez Johnson, WR, Troy (2020-22), Oregon (2023-24)
CUSA transfers to other conferences in the 2025 NFL Draft:
Tre Harris, WR, Louisiana Tech (2020-22), Ole Miss (2023-24)
Jaylin Lane, WR, Middle Tennessee (2020-22), Virginia Tech (2023-24)
Quincy Riley, CB, Middle Tennessee (2019-21), Louisville (2022-24)
Miles Frazier, G, FIU (2020-21), LSU (2022-24)
Thus, there are five players who originated in the Sun Belt (excluding Marshall defensive end Mike Green, who began his college career at Virginia) and five players who originated in the CUSA (including WKU cornerback Upton Stout, who began at North Texas). Those numbers align more with what we’d expect, based on recent history.
Realignment?
This one is more geared toward Conference USA, as the Sun Belt hasn’t seen a team depart from its conference since 2018, when New Mexico State became independent and Idaho moved down to the FCS. The CUSA is college football’s most transient conference, housing 33 of the 136 FBS programs (24.3%) at one time. In 2022, the league lost Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss to the Sun Belt. In 2023, it saw Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB, and UTSA flee to the AAC.
Thus, the league lost nine programs in a two-year span and restocked with a pair of independents (Liberty and New Mexico State), as well as three FCS call-ups through the 2025 NFL Draft (Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Sam Houston). Although the designation belonged to the Sun Belt in the early to mid 2010s, the CUSA is essentially the modern starting place for FCS teams making the transition to football’s highest division. When other you lose teams in realignment, it’s typical to lose your top programs, and CUSA has fallen victim to that. Florida Atlantic, UAB, and UTSA combined for all six league titles from 2017-22, and all three jumped to the AAC following the 2022 campaign. Fittingly, it was those three programs that had a 2025 NFL Draft pick on their roster during their CUSA days.
Here is the full list of players selected in the 2025 NFL Draft who played in the CUSA, but lost CUSA status due to realignment:
Mac McWilliams, CB, UAB, UCF — CUSA (2020-22), AAC (2023), Big 12 (2024)
Zah Frazier, CB, UTSA — CUSA (2022), AAC (2023-24)
LaJohntay Wester, WR, Florida Atlantic, Colorado — CUSA (2020-22), AAC (2023), Big 12 (2024)
Even though those six aforementioned schools that moved from the CUSA to AAC have been in their new home for two years, the impact is still felt. This adds three more players who initiated their college careers in the CUSA, bringing the total to seven in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Thus, in conclusion, there were five players originating from the Sun Belt and eight originating from the CUSA, but realignment and the transfer portal evidently reduced those numbers. We don’t know what the future holds in realignment, but as long as the transfer portal continues in its current capacity, we could continue to see more former CUSA players picked than players selected directly out of the conference.