Oregon Football: Makhi Hughes Article

In the relatively short history of the transfer portal—dating back to the 2022 cycle, when it truly began to pick up steam—there have been eight running backs who transferred from a Group of Five (G5) or Group of Six school to a Power Four/Five (P4/P5) program and received a four-star transfer rating or better from 247Sports.

It’s worth noting that even 247Sports has acknowledged that their transfer portal rating process is still a work in progress. With limited long-term data on transfer players, Makhi Hughes’ 2025 season might be a prime example of why refinement is still needed.

Today, I wanted to take a closer look at those eight previous G5-to-P5 running backs and how they fared after making the jump.

To simplify performance comparison, I converted each of their seasons at their new Power conference school into a single number using traditional fantasy football scoring:

• 0.1 points per scrimmage yard gained
• 6 points per touchdown scored

Here’s how those eight players performed:

As you can see, there’s a clear boom-or-bust trend. A majority of these transfers struggled to make a significant impact at the Power conference level.

Based on counting stats alone, the odds appear stacked against Makhi Hughes having a standout season at Oregon in 2025. However, I’d caution you not to jump to conclusions just yet—a sample size of eight is extremely small. This is a perfect case study in how portal ratings are still being calibrated, despite the transfer portal being a prominent part of college football for the past four years.

Why I’m Bullish on Makhi Hughes in 2025

Personally, I’m optimistic about Hughes’ upcoming season in Eugene—and much of that belief stems from the work of resident film analyst Hythloday, who has broken down both the tape and data from Hughes’ time at Tulane. According to the analysis, Makhi wasn’t just productive—he was excellent.

One key reason for confidence in Hughes’ transition is the quality of competition he’s already faced. Tulane consistently schedules multiple Power conference teams in non-conference play and often faces another in bowl games. As a result, a substantial portion of Makhi’s production has already come against Power opponents—something that can’t be said for most of the other backs in this study.

In fact, Makhi leads all running backs in this sample in total production against Power-level opponents, and far exceeds all but one: Brian Battie.

Final Thoughts

While raw stats might suggest Makhi Hughes could struggle at the next level, this is a good example of why you can’t always rely on spreadsheets and stat pages. Sometimes, you’ve got to put on the tape.

Hughes might not follow the path of previous G5 transfers—but with his Power-level production already on record he may well be the exception to the trend.