North Texas capped a program-best 12–2 season with a New Mexico Bowl win, but quickly faced major roster turnover as quarterback Drew Mestemaker, running back Caleb Hawkins, and wide receiver Wyatt Young all entered the NCAA transfer portal.
Mestemaker broke out as a redshirt freshman in 2025, leading the FBS with 4,379 passing yards and 34 touchdowns following Saturday’s 49–47 victory over San Diego State.
He began his North Texas career as a walk-on and earned conference offensive honors and national attention before deciding to test the portal.
Hawkins, the Mean Green’s freshman back, finished 2025 as one of the nation’s most productive rushers, totaling 1,434 rushing yards and leading the FBS with 25 rushing touchdowns, highlighted by a 198-yard, three-touchdown bowl performance to cap the year.
Young, meanwhile, paced UNT’s receiving corps with 1,264 yards and 10 touchdowns (ranking among the top three nationally) and earned first-team All-American and All-Conference honors.
Losing the nation’s top passer, the FBS’s most productive freshman runner, and a top-three WR in one offseason represents an immediate top-to-bottom offensive reset for North Texas.
For the transfer market, all three are premium, high-demand assets — Mestemaker as a starting QB target for Power-Five teams, Hawkins as a feature back with breakout tape, and Young as a proven perimeter threat.
Mestemaker has already been linked to Oklahoma State (connection via coach Eric Morris), Indiana, Texas Tech, and Oregon, while Hawkins and Young are expected to draw attention from both Group-of-Five and Power-Five programs.
Hawkins, a three-star recruit from North Rock Creek High School (Shawnee, Oklahoma) in the 2025 class, also held offers from Emporia State and Central Oklahoma before committing to North Texas in September 2024.
Young, a three-star prospect from Katy Tompkins High School (Katy, Texas) in the 2024 class, signed with the Mean Green over offers from Rice, Arizona, Memphis, Air Force, and others.
Three top underclass producers hitting the transfer portal at once underscores how quickly the transfer era can reshape a program, leaving Group of Five teams that develop stars grappling with retention issues and the financial pressures of NIL.
