College football’s January transfer portal window was fast and furious, with no shortage of drama. With the vast majority of player movement complete, The Athletic surveyed 14 people who work in front offices around the country to dive deeper into the storylines.

Which teams had the best classes? Which players did personnel staffers like the most? Did the new dates and length of the portal window work?

Here is part one of our transfer portal confidential. Part two will be published tomorrow.

Staffers were granted anonymity in exchange for their candor.

Which team had the best class (not including your own)?

ACC staffer 1: Texas. Obviously, they have a big bankroll, but they identified the best players at the positions they needed and went and got them. I was impressed.

Big 12 staffer 1: I hate to say it, but Texas Tech is doing what they should with their money. To go out and get (linebacker) Adam Trick and (edge rusher) Trey White, I’d love to sit here and say we did that.

Big Ten staffer 1: Two that really stood out to me were Indiana and Texas Tech. Definitely acquired multiple premium players at premium positions.

Group of 6 staffer 1: LSU clearly spent big. They went after some big hitters. Oklahoma State stood out to me because they had so many of those strong North Texas players. I think they’ll make an instant impact for them, and they have a lot of guys who know the system, have real snaps, and they’ll be an older team. They did a good job of not only bringing in their own guys but finding other quality guys as well. Texas Tech continues to plug along with the model they’ve built, bringing in impact guys at key positions and making investments there.

SEC staffer 1: I’d say it was Ole Miss, between retaining their roster and the guys they were able to get. Miami adding the quarterback (Darian Mensah from Duke) was huge. I think the big infatuation with LSU’s class is just them being able to grab (offensive tackle) Jordan Seaton. The jury is still out on (quarterback Sam) Leavitt. I wasn’t a big fan of his. Texas went out and got (wide receiver) Cam Coleman. That was the best job of having a need and filling a need.

ACC staffer 2: You see the results of Indiana winning it all with some of the big names they got. We can state the obvious with Miami and programs that spent an arm and a leg. But I thought Cal did a pretty good job. They took some guys I really liked, like the running back from Washington (Adam Mohammed), the edge rusher from A&M (Solomon Williams), the linebacker from A&M (Tristan Jernigan). Louisville did a great job as well. Some of the guys they signed, I don’t know how they had the money for it, but good for them.

Big 12 staffer 2: I thought Houston was impressive. Their ability to compete financially was surprising.

Big Ten staffer 2: LSU. They obviously went after a lot of top dudes. They had to bring in a lot. That roster has just been all over the place.

Group of 6 staffer 2: Texas Tech, obviously, did a great job. They always will. Notre Dame ended up rallying. Oklahoma State getting almost all their guys to transfer over with them (from North Texas), I thought they did a great job. Miami f—ing killed it. An underrated class, I thought Kentucky did a really good job. Texas freakin’ killed it.

SEC staffer 2: This cycle wasn’t like last year’s, when there were a lot of elite guys that jumped and moved. LSU did a helluva job, which was expected. Texas Tech did good because they got the quarterback (Brendan Sorsby). I thought Kentucky did well with some of the guys they got. Ole Miss did real good. Auburn did well, but took a lot of G6 guys. I’m a firm believer that a lot of G6 guys are G6 for a reason. Notre Dame did a good job getting those receivers from Ohio State. But if I had to pick one team? LSU.

ACC staffer 3: They overpaid for some kids, but from an evaluation standpoint, Texas Tech did a really excellent job. I thought their class was pretty exceptional. I thought Texas did a really good job with a handful of guys. I thought Tennessee did a pretty good job. They signed a couple kids that I liked. A large portion of Penn State’s class came from Iowa State, but I thought they did a good job given that. I thought Clemson did a really good job. Oklahoma State did an outstanding job.

Group of 6 staffer 3: The G6 blue bloods with deep pockets. Liberty and Western Kentucky are always going to be contenders for the best class in Conference USA. We played Liberty, and one of their coaches told me one of their defensive backs was making $250,000.

SEC staffer 3: Kentucky did a really nice job with the new staff. The big dogs, LSU, Ole Miss, Miami, Ohio State, those guys always get top-tier guys, but I thought Kentucky was really good, did a good job of getting some guys with star power but also getting guys from a volume perspective. The other one is Cal, which I thought did a phenomenal job. They’re able to get in on some guys who are not obvious. Anybody can check the tape on a Group of 6 All-American and say he’s good. But they do a good job of evaluating guys who may not have played a ton. I’ve always been impressed with how they operate.

Group of 6 staffer 4: LSU. They got a lot of high-profile players at key positions. Oklahoma State did a pretty good job just because of the sheer volume of what they had to get.

Which teams underwhelmed you?

Big 12 staffer 1: North Carolina. I never really saw them do too much. And to have a year like they had, I’m thinking maybe they’re going to completely revert and jump (hard) on the portal, but the best thing they did was retain their defensive line. (Quarterback) Billy Edwards has played one (full) season. He’s been hurt every season, and even the year he played the whole season he missed two games. So I don’t understand that.

Group of 6 staffer 1: Maybe Florida. With a new coach coming in, I thought they would bring in a larger talent influx with the resources they have. Vanderbilt lost quite a few guys that they hung their hat on. Are they going to be able to reload again and continue to do what they’ve done now that they don’t have the former New Mexico State guys (Diego Pavia and Eli Stowers)?

SEC staffer 1: Alabama. With everything they lost and knew they needed, it was very underwhelming. I don’t know what Florida did. Their biggest thing was trying to hold on to their guys, I guess. South Carolina, for a coach that’s kind of on the hot seat, you would expect them to spend what they needed to spend to fix things.

Big 12 staffer 2: Kansas State and Wisconsin. K-State overpaid for a lot of guys, in my opinion. I like a lot of the guys Wisconsin got, but I just thought they overpaid to get ’em. Some of Baylor’s takes were suspect.

SEC staffer 2: Florida, I don’t know what they’re doing. Florida State didn’t pop off like they needed to. Georgia does a helluva job recruiting high school guys, but I don’t think they attacked the portal the way they should. What hurt Georgia these last couple years is they don’t have a game-breaking receiver and didn’t have a home run running back. When they won the title, they had NFL receivers and running backs.

ACC staffer 3: Pitt got destroyed in the portal, and I didn’t think they did a sufficient job replacing the talent they lost. Georgia Tech got absolutely decimated in the portal, and I don’t think they did a particularly sufficient job replacing what they lost, either. North Carolina was odd this cycle. I thought they overpaid for a couple kids. I think they got some pieces that are really interesting, but I have no idea what they’re doing at quarterback. I don’t think they’ve fixed any of their offensive line issues. I don’t think they brought in any real wide receiver talent.

Group of 6 staffer 4: I thought for us there were a lot of guys we were recruiting against Iowa State and Baylor. So I thought those players were kind of more our level.

Which transfer did you like the most (not including one of your signees)?

ACC staffer 1: (Former Auburn receiver) Cam Coleman. He’s a freaking monster. I don’t know how much Texas paid him, but he’s worth it. I loved (safety) Koi Perich (Minnesota to Oregon). Highly productive, high-floor, high-ceiling player. Reed Harris, who went to Arizona State (from Boston College). He’s a big-bodied receiver, very skilled, really productive.

Big 12 staffer 1: (Former UTEP receiver) Wondame Davis, who went to Wake Forest. The corner that Houston signed from Stephen F. Austin (Jalen Mayo), I like him a lot. He should go in there and be a starter.

Big Ten staffer 1: (Linebacker) Adam Trick, who went to Texas Tech. I think he would’ve been an early Day 3 draft pick this year. I think in that league he’s going to do really well.

Group of 6 staffer 1: Caleb Hawkins (North Texas to Oklahoma State). I think he’s a flippin’ stud. He’s so talented. He’s going to come in and be one of the best running backs in the Big 12 on Day 1.

Caleb Hawkins rushed for 1,434 yards at North Texas last season. (Danny Wild / Imagn Images)

ACC staffer 2: Cam Coleman. Would have been nice to get him. Tobi Osunsanmi, the edge rusher from Kansas State who went to Indiana. The corner Wisconsin got from Arizona State (Javan Robinson). He was a pretty good player.

Big 12 staffer 2: I’m intrigued by (center) Demetrius Hunter (Houston to Colorado). He has started 24 Big 12 games. You can’t take that lightly. I thought he was a good take for Colorado.

Big Ten staffer 2: I love Cam Coleman. I like (running back) Hollywood Smothers (NC State to Texas).

Group of 6 staffer 2: I love (cornerback) Justin Eaglin (James Madison to Colorado). I really liked Kyri Shoels (San Jose State to Utah). Montae Pate (Weber State to Northwestern), I thought was one of the most twitchiest, dynamic, most lengthy corners in the FCS last year. I think they got a really, really good one there. There’s a young linebacker from Bowling Green who went to SMU, Caden Marshall. He’s a good, young, trending-up kid.

SEC staffer 2: Brendan Sorsby. He’s a difference maker. But he can also lose you some games, too. I’d rather have somebody like that who’s not scared, though.

SEC staffer 3: (Safety) Ty Benefield (Boise State to LSU). Really, really good player, I really liked him. Jay Crawford, the corner from Auburn (from Ole Miss). One that will be interesting is (running back) Raleek Brown (Arizona State to Texas). Highly rated guy, had really one year of high-level production before going back to the big time, if you will.

Group of 6 staffer 4: Jaquez White, the corner from Troy (now at Virginia Tech). I thought he was one of the better corners I saw throughout the process. I really liked (running back) Manny Covey from Cincinnati, who ended up at Memphis.

Which portal quarterback did you like the best?

ACC staffer 1: We were pretty high on Josh Hoover (TCU to Indiana). We liked Beau Pribula (Missouri to Virginia) a lot, too.

Big 12 staffer 1: We really liked Alonza Barnett (James Madison to UCF), Jaden Craig (Harvard to TCU) and Colton Joseph (Old Dominion to Wisconsin). Barnett and Joseph are difference makers with their legs.

Big Ten staffer 1: I really liked the (Drew) Mestemaker kid (from North Texas). I think he’s going to be really, really good. Perfect fit (at Oklahoma State).

Group of 6 staffer 1: Brendan Sorsby has really come into his own. I think he’s gonna make Texas Tech better than they were. If you put Sorsby on that team against Oregon, maybe they win that game.

SEC staffer 1: Darian Mensah. He won the ACC title last year — at Duke. Shannon Dawson’s offense is perfect for any quarterback. Every QB at Miami has had success.

ACC staffer 2: Hoover. He’s a good player. Drew Mestemaker had the best arm of the guys in the portal. There’s no reason that Oklahoma State can’t compete in the Big 12 as long as he stays healthy.

Big 12 staffer 2: The quarterback market was very inflated. Since when were quarterbacks worth $5 million? It’s ridiculous. I think DJ Lagway (Florida to Baylor) has all the upside in the world. Colton Joseph is pretty good. Also, I thought Miami’s backup (Emory Williams) was a steal for East Carolina. I’ll pick him as my sleeper. That kid’s a legitimate Power 4 quarterback.

Big Ten staffer 2: Hoover and Sorsby for me were really close. I think Leavitt has a ton of talent.

Group of 6 staffer 2: Sorsby at Texas Tech. I think he’s a kid who’s talented but also has proof of production. Mestemaker, going to Oklahoma State, I think he’s an elite processor.

SEC staffer 2: I thought Sorsby was the best overall quarterback in the portal, but I think Josh Hoover could end up being the best fit.

ACC staffer 3: Colton Joseph. Obviously, Mestemaker is awesome, and everybody knows that now, but he’s great. I think Lincoln Kienholz (from Ohio State) has a chance to be really good at Louisville.

Group of 6 staffer 3: The kid out of Pittsburgh, Eli Holstein. He ended up at Virginia. I thought he could’ve been a superstar (at the G6 level). I think he’ll do well at UVA.

SEC staffer 3: Probably Sam Leavitt. The interesting one to me is the (Kenny) Minchey kid, who left Notre Dame. Not a no-brainer name, and was playing behind a really good player, but it’ll be interesting to see what he does at Kentucky.

Group of 6 staffer 4: Jaden Craig, the Harvard kid who ended up at TCU. I liked him a lot. Colton Joseph. I liked him.

At what position(s) was competition for players the stiffest?

ACC staffer 1: Quarterback is a competition every year.

Big 12 staffer 1: It’s not easy to get a true starting quarterback. People want to shoot over the moon for those guys.

Big Ten staffer 1: Edge rusher. There was a supply-and-demand issue. The demand was through the roof, but the supply wasn’t there. Even if you were willing to spend the money, the supply just wasn’t there.

Group of 6 staffer 1: Defensive line, without a doubt. I ended up liking the guys we got, but for a minute there, it was like, “Are we going to get anybody?” Some of the numbers being thrown around for some of the guys out there were nuts.

SEC staffer 1: Linebacker. There were a couple kids early, but you have to do your due diligence and make sure you can fill an entire roster, not just one position.

ACC staffer 2: The big-time defensive ends got scooped up pretty quickly. The top-tier interior D-linemen got picked up pretty quickly, too.

Big 12 staffer 2: Defensive ends and offensive tackles. Receivers were weird this year, too. It was hard to find a $200,000 receiver this year. Everyone wanted more than $400,000.

Big Ten staffer 2: Linebacker was a tough one. And probably receiver or interior D-line. The interior D-line, that market over the past two or three cycles has really grown and changed the most with pay, how many people are involved.

Group of 6 staffer 2: Luckily, we didn’t have to deal with the quarterback position because that one I heard crazy numbers from kids who aren’t very talented. Next up is the offensive line.

SEC staffer 2: Same as always. Offensive and defensive lines.

ACC staffer 3: It was a really bad tight end cycle. There just weren’t enough tight ends in the portal. The stiffest competition was quarterback. It was just really, really challenging across the board. Competition was really stiff at inside linebacker.

Group of 6 staffer 3: Tackle bodies and rush ends are at a premium.

SEC staffer 3: Interior D-line. That was even more competitive this cycle than most.

Group of 6 staffer 4: Interior defensive line. Defensive tackle. There’s not a lot of big bodies out there, especially at our level.