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ESPN staff
College football‘s new transfer portal window officially opens Monday, but that hasn’t stopped players from announcing their plans to leave their schools ahead of the first day they can enter the portal.
Last year, more than 3,000 FBS players entered the portal, which was open year-round. Quarterbacks Caleb Williams (USC), Bo Nix (Oregon) and Spencer Rattler (South Carolina) were among the prominent transfers who made an immediate impact at their new schools.
This time around, the NCAA adopted dates for when players can enter the portal and not lose a year of eligibility, though they can sign with their new school at any time. The first window is open for 45 days from Dec. 5 until Jan. 18, and the second runs in the spring from May 1-15. There are exceptions for graduate transfers and for players going through head-coaching changes.
After an extremely busy college football transfer cycle a year ago, what will the next two months bring? We’re tracking notable players entering (and exiting) the portal, with the latest news and updates on how the 2023 season could be transformed. The most recent moves are at the top.
More coverage:
What the transfer windows mean for CFB
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 30
Alabama wide receivers decide to enter portal
Alabama wide receivers Traeshon Holden and Christian Leary are going to enter the portal when it opens next week. Holden was second on the team in touchdowns receptions (6) and fourth in receiving yards (331) this season as the Crimson Tide went 10-2.
Leary, who was No. 77 in the 2021 ESPN 300, was used on special teams for the most part during his two years in Tuscaloosa.
Second Tulsa quarterback to enter the portal
Braylon Braxton became the second Tulsa quarterback in three days to enter the portal, joining Davis Brin.
Braxton, a second-year player, started three of Tulsa’s final four games this season, throwing for 1,133 yards, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions.
The news comes in light of the Golden Hurricane dismissing coach Phillip Montgomery after a 5-7 season.
Oklahoma wide receiver entering portal
Theo Wease has entered the portal as a grad transfer and will have two years of eligibility remaining. He caught 19 passes for 378 yards and four touchdowns in seven games for the Sooners (6-6) this season. He established a new career high in receiving yards (123) during the final game of the season, a 51-48 overtime loss at Texas Tech.
Wease had 64 receptions for 1,044 yards and 10 touchdowns in his career. He was ranked as the No. 33 overall recruit in the 2019 ESPN 300.
Florida State freshman defensive back enters portal
Sam McCall announced his plans to enter the transfer portal. In his first season with the Seminoles, he recorded five total tackles, three solo tackles and one forced fumble.
McCall was ranked No. 55 overall in the 2022 ESPN 300.
Sean Tyler, who rushed for 1,027 yards this season and 1,150 yards in 2021, is in the portal. Tyler had 2,830 rushing yards, 338 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns in four seasons for the Broncos.
Western Michigan went 5-7 this season and fired coach Tim Lester earlier this week.
Colorado safety enters portal
Isaiah Lewis is a two-time Pac-12 honorable mention who played in only four games this season because of injury. In 42 career games since 2018, he has broken up five passes and recorded 128 total tackles and three interceptions.
Lewis, a 6-foot, 205-pound defensive back from Granite Bay, California, was originally a three-star prospect in the 2017 recruiting cycle.
TUESDAY, NOV. 29
Northwestern wide receiver to go into portal
Malik Washington will enter the portal as a graduate transfer. Washington led Northwestern, which went 1-11 in 2022, with 65 catches for 694 receiving yards. He hit his career high in receiving yards (97) twice this season — against Nebraska in Dublin on Aug. 27 and against Minnesota on Nov. 12.
He had 120 receptions for 1,348 yards and three touchdowns during his four seasons in Evanston.
Texas backup quarterback to enter portal
Hudson Card, who lost the Longhorns’ quarterback competition to Quinn Ewers but filled in when Ewers was hurt, is going to enter the portal. Card threw for 928 yards with six touchdowns this season for Texas, which went 8-4.
Card, who was ranked No. 40 overall and was the second-best dual-threat quarterback in the 2020 ESPN 300, has 1,523 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and two interceptions during his career.
Three Syracuse WRs to enter portal
Courtney Jackson, who led the Orange in receiving yards in 2021 and has totaled 662 yards and four touchdowns in four seasons, entered the portal as a grad transfer with two years of eligibility remaining.
Anthony Queeley, who had 52 catches for 600 yards and four touchdowns over his first two seasons but totaled just one catch for 12 yards in 2022, announced his intentions to enter the portal, as did Dom Foster, a freshman who was recruited as an athlete but converted to receiver.
FIU‘s top TE to enter portal
FIU tight end Rivaldo Fairweather has 54 catches for 838 yards and five touchdown in his three-year career with the Panthers thus far.
A 6-foot-5, 245-pound target, Fairweather ranked 18th among all FBS tight ends in receiving yards (426) and third in yards per reception (15.21) in 2022.
Three Duke players enter portal
Linebacker Rocky Shelton II, defensive back Tony Davis and wide receiver Darrell Harding Jr. all entered the portal as grad transfers. Shelton started eight games in 2020 and totaled 1.5 sacks and 35 total tackles, however he didn’t play in 2021 and recorded 10 total tackles in 12 games in 2022.
Harding caught 35 passes for 452 yards in 24 games over the past four years. Davis, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound cornerback, recorded 13 total tackles and one pass breakup in four seasons.
Indiana loses second quarterback to portal
Indiana starting quarterback Connor Bazelak announced he plans to enter the portal as a grad transfer. Bazelak transferred to Indiana from Missouri before the 2022 season. He threw for 2,312 yards and 13 touchdowns this season as Indiana went 4-8.
Bazelak, who has thrown for 7,370 yards, 36 touchdowns and 27 interceptions in his career, is the second Hoosiers quarterback to enter the portal. Fourth-year signal-caller Jack Tuttle announced in October he planned to enter the portal when it opened, but ultimately started Indiana’s 45-14 loss to Penn State in November amid injury woes.
Iowa backup quarterback to enter portal
Alex Padilla served as a backup to Spencer Petras, a three-year starter. He saw action in two games this season for the Hawkeyes — losses to Ohio State and Nebraska — and played in eight games in 2021, starting two.
Padilla threw for 821 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions during his three seasons at Iowa.
MONDAY, NOV. 28
McNamara led Michigan to the Big Ten title and a College Football Playoff appearance in 2021, throwing for 2,576 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions in 14 games.
He started the 2022 season with a 136-yard, one-touchdown performance against Colorado State in the opener but ultimately lost the Wolverines’ quarterback competition to second-year QB J.J. McCarthy.
McNamara suffered a leg injury in the second half against UConn on Sept. 17 that required surgery, and he didn’t appear in a game the rest of the season.
As a sophomore, Thornton caught 17 passes for 366 yards and a touchdown. He had a career-high 151 receiving yards in a 20-17 victory over Utah on Nov. 19.
He was the fourth-leading receiver for the Ducks, who went 9-3 in the regular season. Thornton has 26 catches for 541 yards and three touchdowns in his career.
Stanford safety to portal after coach David Shaw’s resignation
In response to Shaw’s resignation at Stanford, safety Jonathan McGill will enter the portal as a grad transfer.
McGill was second on the team in total tackles (51), had 5.5 tackles-for-loss, seven PBUs and an interception for the Cardinal this season. Stanford went 3-9 for a second consecutive year.
Tulsa quarterback to enter the portal
Tulsa quarterback Davis Brin, who started nine games this year, decided to transfer in light of coach Philip Montgomery’s firing.
Brin had 2,138 passing yards with 17 touchdowns with eight interceptions, but he didn’t start three of the Golden Hurricane’s last four games of the season.
In his career, he has 5,660 passing yards with 37 touchdowns and 24 interceptions.
LJ Johnson Jr. was the No. 86 overall recruit (No. 5 running back) in the 2021 ESPN 300 and chose Texas A&M over Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Texas and Oklahoma, among others.
In six games for the Aggies this season, he had 10 carries for 39 yards and two touchdowns but didn’t receive any carries after Oct. 22.
Texas A&M defensive linemen Elijah Jeudy and Donell Harris Jr. also plan to enter the portal.
SUNDAY, NOV. 27
Sophomore wide receiver Dominic Lovett ranked sixth in the SEC in receptions (56) and third in the conference in receiving yards (846).
Of the 12 passing touchdowns quarterback Brady Cook threw this year, three went to Lovett.
Jeff Sims was a three-year starter for the Yellow Jackets, who fired coach Geoff Collins in September.
Sims, a former ESPN 300 recruit ranked No. 88 in the 2020 class, started the first seven games of the 2022 season before hurting his foot during a loss to Virginia on Oct. 20.
In his career, Sims has 4,464 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and 23 interceptions.
PREVIOUSLY
Alabama DB and former top juco prospect enters portal
Khyree Jackson, who was the top recruit in ESPN’s 2021 junior college rankings, entered the portal Nov. 23.
Jackson saw action in nine games, starting one, for the Crimson Tide in 2022 and recorded seven tackles. He chose Alabama over offers from Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Oklahoma and Oregon, among others.
Several FCS prospects enter portal
With the conclusion of some FCS seasons across the country, several players hit the portal the week of Nov. 21. Notables include:
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Quarterbacks Tyler Vander Waal (Idaho State), Seth Morgan (VMI), Carson Camp (South Dakota), Jimmy Weirick (Wofford) and Derek Green (Long Island University)
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From Harvard: defensive lineman Truman Jones, safety James Herring, offensive tackle Alec Bank, center Scott Elliott and cornerback Victor Tademy
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From VMI: cornerback Aljareek Malry, linebacker Stone Snyder, wide receiver Leroy Thomas and defensive tackle Charles Dixon
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From Bucknell: cornerback Gavin Pringle, safety Brent Jackson, linebacker Ben Allen and safety Jonathan Searcy
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A few more notables: Duquesne wide receiver Abdul Janneh, Missouri State offensive tackle Ian Fitzgerald, Merrimack wide receiver Jacari Carter, Eastern Kentucky linebacker Eli Hairston, Penn offensive lineman Trevor Radosevich, Brown wide receiver Hayes Sutton, Presbyterian running back Delvecchio Powell II, Columbia tight end Luke Painton and Stephen F. Austin linebacker Brevin Randle
Wisconsin‘s former top-15 recruit enters after dismissal
Wisconsin offensive tackle Logan Brown was dismissed from the team because of an “internal incident” on Oct. 13, interim coach Jim Leonhard said.
Upon his dismissal, Brown, the No. 15 recruit and No. 7 offensive tackle in the 2019 recruiting class, tweeted he would enter the portal.
Boise State starting QB enters portal
Boise State quarterback Hank Bachmeier entered the portal on Sept. 27. Bachmeier, a four-year starter, had totaled 6,605 passing yards, 41 touchdowns and 19 interceptions.
Bachmeier had thrown for 497 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions in four games this season. By leaving prior to playing in his fifth game of the season, he will have two years of eligibility remaining, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.