BYU Football: The Best Transfers for the Cougars of All Time

January and February mark the hottest times of the year for college football recruiting. With national signing day around the corner, high school stars are starting to commit, decommit and sign with schools from all over the nation.

The same goes for transfers. BYU landed three high-profile FBS players last week, and although it's been a quiet offseason for recruiting, getting those transfers was huge.

This isn't anything new for the Cougs, either. BYU has landed big-time transfers for years. Here are five of the most well-known transfers that have come to BYU.

A native of Albany, Georgia, Brad Oates started his college football career at Duke University. He later transferred to BYU and became a captain for the Cougars.

The 6'7", 250-pound lineman earned second-team all-America honors his senior season, which was the highest individual award for any Cougar at that time.

Oates played professional football for five different teams and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988. 

Jason Buck started his college career at Ricks College (ID), where he set the JUCO record for sacks in a season and was named the junior college defensive POY. He played under LaVell Edwards at BYU and had an impressive FBS career.

Buck finished his senior season with 59 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks, and he was only the third player in the West to win the Outland Trophy.

He later had a successful NFL career and started in two Super Bowls. He ran for Congress last year. 

Despite not playing football until after high school, Mohammed Elewonibi got his start in the game at Snow College (Ephraim, UT). He later transferred to BYU and was a star offensive lineman.

He was BYU's second winner of the Outland Trophy, and he had a lengthy career in the NFL and CFL. 

As arguably the most decorated Cougar transfer, Steve Sarkisian started out at El Camino College in California. Upon transferring to BYU, he completed 549 of 824 passes for 7,755 yards and 55 touchdowns in two seasons.

During his senior year, Sark earned second-team all-America honors and was named the WAC Offensive Player of the Year. He led the Cougars to a conference championship and a win over Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl. 

He had a three-year stint as a player in the CFL, and he is currently the head coach at USC. 

Despite being one of the most scrutinized Cougars of all time, Max Hall was an incredible and noteworthy player. Following an LDS mission, Hall transferred from Arizona State and started in 2007 for the Cougs.

In his three years as a starter at BYU, Hall completed 903 of 1,382 passes for 11,365 yards and 94 touchdowns. With 32 career victories, he holds the BYU record for wins as a starting quarterback.

Hall had a brief stint in the NFL and CFL with the Arizona Cardinals and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He was a graduate assistant at BYU in 2012 and later coached high school football in Arizona.