The 2024-25 college football season is tragically over, as the Ohio State Buckeyes were crowned national champions Monday night.

Every year, it seems as though the season goes by even quicker than the last, right?

Although there aren't actual games being played, there is still plenty of action happening during the offseason, between transfer portal additions, players declaring for the NFL draft, national signing day and more.

Let's run through what to expect during the major news of the offseason in chronological order.

Transfer Portal, Part 1

The transfer portal has become a vital way for coaches to build their rosters every year.

Although the official transfer portal window was Dec. 9-28, players who have graduated and have a fifth season of eligibility can enter the portal whenever they wish. Players can also mull decisions about where they will play next season after the window closes.

Most recently, we saw Georgia quarterback Carson Beck enter the portal earlier this month and end up at Miami. We have also seen a few Notre Dame players enter the portal since the national title game.

Other big names to commit to new schools include quarterback John Mateer to Oklahoma, receiver Eric Singleton Jr. to Auburn, receiver Zachariah Branch to Georgia and edge-rusher Patrick Payton to LSU. We'll likely see other guys get added to schools in the coming days.

NFL Draft Declaration Deadline

Players are also preparing for the 2025 NFL draft, which will be hosted this year in Green Bay, Wisconsin. There are a few key dates to know.

Monday, Jan. 6, was the soft deadline for special eligibility, and Wednesday, Jan. 15, was the traditional hard deadline set that the league announced a few months ago.

But of course, due to the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, we also have a date for players from Ohio State and Notre Dame to declare for the NFL draft. That will come later this week, on Friday.

Some big names to keep an eye on from the Irish include cornerback Benjamin Morrison and safety Xavier Watts. From Ohio State, expect running back Quinshon Judkins, receiver Emeka Egbuka and defensive tackle Tyleik Williams to make announcements regarding the draft soon.

The date for players to opt out of the draft and return to college is a couple of weeks after that, on Friday, Feb. 7.

We've already seen a number of big names declare for the NFL draft, with more expected to come. Among the biggest are Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, Penn State edge-rusher Abdul Carter and Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers.

National Signing Day

Although a number of top-rated prospects signed with their respective schools last month, the first Wednesday of February remains the NCAA's National Signing Day. This year, NSD falls on February 5.

There are still a number of big-name prospects who still need to make decisions before that Wednesday. The biggest is 4-star offensive tackle Ty Haywood out of Denton, Texas. He is the No. 4 offensive tackle, per 247Sports' composite list. He has offers from a number of schools, including Michigan, Oklahoma, FSU, Texas A&M and Alabama.

Four-star edge-rusher Zahir Mathis also remains unsigned, but he is 100 percent predicted to end up at Ohio State. There are a number of guys verbally committed to schools that could flip on NSD, as well.

As the 2025 247Sports composite class rankings stand, Texas has the No. 1 overall class, featuring three 5-stars and 16 4-stars. The top five classes are rounded out by Georgia at No. 2, Alabama at No. 3, Texas A&M at No. 4 and Ohio State at No. 5.

Spring Practice

In late February and early March, teams get to start their spring practices across the country. While these practices certainly aren't as intensive or in-depth as fall camp, it's a good time for new head coaches to build their culture, coaches to implement new assistants to their staffs, as well as starting the team chemistry for the upcoming season.

It's also the period for head coaches to get their first look at some of the top-rated recruits and transfer players they brought in this offseason.

These spring practices are usually capped off by either a spring scrimmage or a spring open practice which take place in April or early May. for fans to get a glimpse of what their teams will look like during the 2025 season.

While coaches don't reveal too much of their playbook during these scrimmages or practices, it's a fun way for fans to get a taste of what the team may look like in the season ahead.

Transfer Portal, Part 2

There is also a spring transfer portal window, which allows players to make moves after teams have assembled their rosters post-NSD. In 2025, the window includes a 10-day window from April 15 through April 25.

In addition, graduate transfers will have through the end of the spring portal window to enter their names into the portal. Although it's not as busy as the winter windows, there are still plenty of big names that make moves in this period.

During this time last year, we saw the likes of cornerback Cormani McClain go from Colorado to Florida, Buffs running back Dylan Edwards go to Kansas State, Miami running back Henry Parrish go to Ole Miss and Oregon State running back Damien Martinez go to Miami.

It's essentially one of the final opportunities for potential player movement, as actual commitments looming over the following days and weeks. Usually a few months before schools open fall camp, coaches are able to make crucial moves to add to their rosters before the season kicks off.

Conference Realignment

Although last offseason brought a ton of chances in conference realignment, including the expanded SEC, ACC and Big Ten, we will see some smaller changes on that front heading into 2025.

C-USA will add two former FCS schools in Delaware and Missouri State effective July 1, 2025. With the additions, the conference now has 12 full members in football.

As you can see, the 2025 wave of conference realignment is far less than what we saw last offseason. This past season we saw some newcomers make it to both the playoff and conference title games, including Arizona State, SMU, Oregon and Texas.

There are other changes set to take place in 2026, as well. Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, Utah State and San Diego State will join Oregon State and Washington State. Northern Illinois is leaving the MAC in 2026, and Gonzaga will join the Pac-12 as a non football member that year, as well.

Fall Camp and Hype Season

When we get to August—which is less than six months away by the way—college football is officially back.

Teams across the country are deep within fall camp by this time, depth charts are being filled out, and position battles are being sorted out on the practice fields.

There are plenty of teams looking to have big seasons in 2025. Ohio State will be looking to defend its national title despite having to rebuild its roster. Texas, Alabama, Penn State and Georgia look like other big-name contenders. Teams that lost in the first round like Oregon, Arizona State, Tennessee, SMU and Indiana will look to go even further in 2025.

There is also plenty of preseason Heisman hype during this month. Some early Heisman odds already released include LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier at +900, Texas QB Arch Manning at +950, and a few quarterbacks at +1100, including Penn State's Drew Allar, Clemson's Cade Klubnik and Tennessee's Nico Iamaleava.

The 2025 college football season kicks off on Saturday, Aug. 23, with Iowa State vs. Kansas State in Dublin, Ireland, during Week Zero. I for one, can't wait.