On Saturday: Transfer Portal QB Carousel 2026
While it’s technically the offseason for College Football, us real CFB sickos know that this sport doesn’t rest and things move fast. Programs barely have time to breathe after playing their last game before they have to get back to grinding away at recruiting and prepare themselves for the craziness that is the transfer portal. Every year, it becomes more evident that the portal has created the Wild West of player movement and is in desperate need of some regulation, along with a better governing body to stabilize things. That’s a conversation for another day, though—one that will most likely end up taking place in a courtroom, as everything else in collegiate sports seems to these days. In the meantime, no amount of discourse or debate stops the portal from moving at full speed. As has become the norm, the sheer number of player entries and subsequent commitments came at a dizzying pace. However, things have finally slowed down, so it’s a good time to take a breath and examine the moves that took place over the past couple of months. There is plenty to talk about regarding schools that brought in the most impressive portal hauls or the ones that got decimated by departures (R.I.P. the Iowa St. Cyclones), but before we get to that, it only seems right to take a more in-depth look at the highest-valued position and the one that gets the most headlines: Quarterback.
The Top-Ranked Vets
A side effect of the transfer floodgates opening is that teams are less patient and willing to commit to the development of younger QBs. Many programs with playoff and national title aspirations are quick to go to the portal for a hired gun, even if for just one season. Another factor is that NIL and now revenue share deals have led to more players staying in college for that extra year and the extra cash. Many of those players have one of the most coveted traits in all of college football: experience—something that’s even more valuable at the QB position. Senior Brendan Sorsby is one of those players.
Brendan Sorsby (Cincinnati → Texas Tech)
Once the news broke that Brendan Sorsby was headed to Lubbock for a visit with Texas Tech, it felt like a certainty that the former Cincinnati Bearcat would end up a Red Raider. Tech’s pockets are among the deepest in the country, thanks in large part to oilman Cody Campbell and his generous contribution to the school’s NIL coffers. It was those deep pockets that helped build a Red Raiders defense that was among the best in the nation in 2025. The unit was the main reason why Tech finished the regular season ranked 4th in the nation and received a first-round bye in the playoffs. Eventually, they fell victim to Oregon in the second round, 23-0, in a game where QB play was a clear detriment. In hindsight, many felt Tech should have spent some of that cash last year on a new passer in favor of returning senior Behren Morton. Morton is now out of eligibility and on to the NFL draft, so picking up a QB was the program’s top priority going into the offseason. Sorsby was an Indiana Hoosier his first two years in college, transferred to Cincinnati in 2024, and now has 31 starts under his belt. He’s a very efficient passer, averaging 13.5 yards per completion, and also takes advantage of his athleticism and size at 6’3″, 235 lbs to do damage in the run game. By the end of the year, the Texas native totaled nearly 3400 total yards and 27 touchdowns. He also showed big-play ability and good decision-making, throwing only five picks and having an impressive 23 big-time throws to only seven turnover-worthy plays. Sorsby will be playing in the same conference in 2025, and considering how he performed against Big 12 defenses last year, expectations are high.
Sam Leavitt (Arizona St. → LSU)
Lane Kiffin has officially got his starting QB for his debut season as head coach of the LSU Tigers. A lot of the top portal QBs either made commitments early on or were heavily connected to certain schools. This left Leavitt as the belle of the ball, and after an attempt to poach Demond Williams from Washington fell through, LSU was all in on getting Leavitt to Baton Rouge. As part of a 2024 Arizona St. Sun Devils squad that saw RB Cam Skattebo dominate the headlines, Leavitt was one of the better-known secrets in college football. After Skattebo and other skill position players left for the NFL, the spotlight was on Leavitt to lead the Sun Devils to a strong season after winning the Big 12 the previous year. Unfortunately, he would only play seven games before a foot injury ended his season. Leavitt has two years of starting experience on his resume, and assuming he comes into the year healthy, LSU is hoping he’ll be able to lead the program back into the playoffs, somewhere they haven’t been since 2019. While his 2025 season was shortened, it could be a cause for concern that Leavitt had a decrease in passer rating, ADOT, and completion percentage compared to 2024. Also, in those seven games, he had 12 turnover-worthy plays after only having five in the 14 games he played the previous year. The hope is that with him being healthy and having a strong group of pass-catchers surrounding him, he’ll get back to form and finally get LSU back over the playoff hump. It’s worth noting that LSU also got former five-star recruit and USC QB Husan Longstreet in the portal, meaning Kiffin potentially secured the player who will take Leavitt’s place under center come 2027.
QBs Who Followed Their Coach
As I previously mentioned, some portal QBs were highly expected to go to certain schools before any news of an official commitment broke. In the case of fifth-year senior QB Byrum Brown, he was a lock to follow head coach Alex Golesh from USF to Auburn.
Byrum Brown (USF → Auburn)
Tigers fans will be hoping that despite the step up in competition—going from the American Conference to the SEC—Brown will be the dawg he was last season. After an injury-shortened season in 2024, the Roseville, NC native came back with a vengeance in 2025, throwing for over 3100 yards and running for over 1100 with an eye-popping 42 total touchdowns. Brown has good size at 6’3″, 233 lbs, a strong arm, and was an explosive play machine at USF. He has a lot of tools that could help him have success this season. With that said, it’s unfortunate that the three best Auburn receivers from last season, including five-star stud Cam Coleman, left via the portal. On the flip side, first-year head coach Alex Golesh brought five WRs with him to Auburn along with Brown. Hopefully, the familiarity between Brown and this group of pass-catchers will help him cook against a tougher level of defense than he’s faced during his previous four years in college.
Rocco Becht (Iowa St. → Penn St.)
Rocco Becht is not only one of the coolest names in college football, he’s also one of the QBs who followed his head coach to a new school. Penn St. was one of the earliest schools to fire their head coach this season, bringing an end to James Franklin’s 12-year tenure with the Nittany Lions after a tumultuous 3-3 start to the season. Despite the head start, PSU’s head coaching search went on longer than most programs’ before they inked Iowa St. Cyclone coach Matt Campbell. Now a redshirt senior, Becht started the last three seasons at ISU. Last year was a mixed bag. While he saw a slight bump in his completion percentage and cut down on his mistakes, he also threw for nearly a thousand fewer yards, along with his passing touchdowns dropping from 25 to 16. In the spirit of fairness, Becht only dropped back to pass 386 times in 2025 after doing it 515 times in 2024—something that could’ve been heavily influenced by the Cyclones losing a combined 2200-plus yards from receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel to the NFL draft. There’s no debate that Rocco is a good college QB, but the concern is that he once again doesn’t have a notably talented group of weapons to throw to. While Iowa State’s top two receivers from last season, Brett Eskildsen and Chase Sowell, also transferred to Penn St., the fact that neither of them even hit 530 yards receiving last season leaves a lot of room for concern.
Drew Mestemaker (North Texas → Oklahoma St.)
Do you know who led the FBS in passing yards this past season? A big name like Arch Manning, a blue-chip player like Julian Sayin, maybe the Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza? Nope, it was redshirt freshman Drew Mestemaker of North Texas University. It’s no surprise Mestemaker followed coach Eric Morris from North Texas to Oklahoma St.—after all, it was Morris who took a chance on him. While the Texas native QB was considered a five-star prospect as a transfer, he was the polar opposite coming out of high school. Mestemaker was a ZERO-star recruit after not starting in his senior high school season and got ZERO attention from schools or scouts. That’s not hyperbole; his 247sports scouting profile is one sentence: “Drew Mestemaker is a quarterback from Austin, TX.” In hindsight, that may be the most accurate scouting report ever written. He ended up making the Mean Green roster as a walk-on, and once given the reins as starting QB, he took the American Conference by storm. Mestemaker was the driving force behind a North Texas offense that led the FBS in yards and points per game, with an EPA per pass of 0.25. The sophomore passer isn’t making the trip from Denton to Stillwater alone; his favorite target, WR Wyatt Young, and North Texas RB Caleb Hawkins also transferred to Ok St. While Morris getting the Cowboys back to competing for the Big 12 in year one as coach is unlikely, bringing the stars of his Mean Green squad with him should help jump-start an offense that was abysmal during the final years of former HC Mike Gundy’s tenure.
Fresh Starts for High Star Recruits
DJ Lagway (Florida → Baylor)
After a promising stretch of games in the latter half of his true freshman season, there was a lot of hype surrounding what DJ Lagway and the Florida Gators were going to do in 2025. Whether it was injuries, HC Billy Napier not turning over play-calling, or just plain old growing pains for a young QB, his sophomore year went nothing like many expected. Lagway finished the season with only 2265 yards passing, 16 touchdowns, and a brutal 14 interceptions. He also failed to make his legs a factor, totaling less than 300 yards and just a single TD. Napier was let go mid-season, and the program would eventually hire Tulane HC Jon Sumrall as its new leader. With a changing of the guard taking place, Lagway opted to hit the portal in search of a fresh start. He eventually decided to join his father Derek’s alma mater, Baylor. Bears HC Dave Aranda’s staff has put together some high-scoring offenses in recent years and should have no problem keeping up that pace this season when DJ takes over for departing senior QB Sawyer Robertson. While his tenure at Florida was somewhat tumultuous, Lagway still possesses the skill set that made him the top-ranked player in his recruiting class. With the drop-down in defensive competition he’ll face going from the SEC to Big 12, there’s no reason he can’t get his college career back on track.
Deuce Knight (Auburn → Ole Miss)
A big-bodied dual threat, Deuce Knight originally committed to Notre Dame coming out of high school before Auburn managed to flip him. His time as a Tiger only lasted one year, as Hugh Freeze was canned mid-season and USF’s Alex Golesh was hired as the program’s next head coach. Whether inspired by a solidified starting QB in Byrum Brown joining the team or the head coaching change, Knight entered the portal. In what could be considered an interesting choice, the 19-year-old committed to Ole Miss. At the time of his decision, it was known that 2025 breakout QB Trinidad Chambliss was seeking a waiver from the NCAA to get a sixth year of eligibility. After being initially denied, Chambliss took his case to court, where a Mississippi judge decided the QB deserved another season of eligibility. Shocker: a judge in the same state Ole Miss is located made a ruling that ensured the Rebels’ most important player would be returning in 2026. This paints the picture that Knight’s decision was less about immediate playing time and more about moving to a program that seems to be more stable, having just made it to the CFP semifinals. It also may be the best thing for the young QB. Knight has great size, a strong arm, and is a top-tier athlete. He’s also left-handed, which is neither a positive nor negative, but just always stands out as cool for some reason. Still, coming out of high school, it was known that he would need some refining as a passer at the collegiate level. Spending a year as the expected QB2 gives him more time to develop, with it being clear that next season there will be no one in his way of starting. He also only appeared in two games last season, meaning he was a redshirt and has four more years of eligibility.
Dylan Raiola (Nebraska → Oregon)
Dylan Raiola was the biggest recruit Nebraska landed in the modern era, if not of all time. Two seasons later, he’s gone. Starting as a true freshman in 2024, Raiola showed flashes of his potential but faced his fair share of struggles acclimating to the college game. Even so, he led the Cornhuskers to a winning record (9-6) for the first time since 2012. In year two, the Georgia native showed some improvement and appeared to have Nebraska on track for a better season. Unfortunately, Raiola’s season was cut short after an injury in week 10, and the team finished the season 1-4 without him. With two years of starting experience under his belt, his commitment to Oregon was intriguing. With QB Dante Moore opting to forgo the NFL draft and return to college, Raiola will be riding the bench in 2026. This outcome was a possibility he and his people had to have known was a possibility during the transfer process. Raiola’s decision may have centered around joining a national title-contending team with a better track record of success and a proven ability to develop talent. Dan Lanning and his staff turned Bo Nix into a first-round pick. Moore also had just made a similar decision, walking away from a starting spot at UCLA to go to Oregon, sit for a season behind Dillon Gabriel, and is now considered a lock to be a high draft pick in 2027. This move is as much of a reset as possible for Raiola, with him opting to take a step back onto the sidelines for a year to learn.
Kenny Minchey (Notre Dame → Kentucky)
Former Notre Dame QB Kenny Minchey came up short in a heated QB battle with eventual starter CJ Carr last summer. Carr’s excellent redshirt season made it clear he’s the guy going forward for the Irish, hence Minchey’s decision to transfer. Once the portal officially opened, he quickly committed to Nebraska…for roughly 24 hours, before flipping to Kentucky. The allure of Kentucky is clearly apparent: he’ll be playing for new head coach Will Stein, who was considered to be one of the best offensive coordinators in the nation during his time at Oregon. The second-ranked prospect out of the state of Tennessee in the 2023 class, Minchey has a high level of athleticism that gives way to escapability and playmaking whether inside or outside the pocket. A big part of the Wildcats hiring Stein as HC was to change direction from previous leadership, which saw the defensive-minded Mark Stoops field some bowling shoe-ugly offenses. Assuming Minchey is the starter, what Stein and his staff can cook up with him under center will be one of the most intriguing SEC storylines heading into the 2026 season.
A Late Window Steal
Darian Mensah (Duke → Miami
Miami went the transfer route the prior two seasons, getting a monster 2024 from Cam Ward and then making the national title game with a more limited, yet steady-handed, Carson Beck. With no great options already on the roster and the QB transfer pool drying up, everybody wondered just what “The U” planned to do. Like Daniel Plainview drinking a priest’s milkshake, they looked at Duke and said, “I…take…your…Quarterback!” The move reeked of tampering, as it came weeks into the portal being open, and immediately after Darian Mensah announced his intent to enter the portal, it was reported he would be joining Miami. In response, Duke told their starting QB to lawyer up. The two sides eventually settled, Duke received the monetary compensation they wanted from Mensah for breaking his contract, and he officially joined the Hurricanes. While the situation was another aggravating example of how the sport needs to get some concrete rules around NIL and the portal—ones that can’t so easily be stricken down by any random judge—it was a big get for Miami. After breaking out at Tulane in 2024, Mensah transferred to Duke and completed 66.6% percent of his passes, threw for nearly 4000 yards, and tossed 34 touchdowns to only six picks in his lone season as a Blue Devil. The redshirt junior taking over behind center for HC Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes maintains the team’s status as the favorite to win the ACC, along with securing another playoff berth. Mensah is accurate with quick processing skills to find matchup advantages and open receivers. He’s a strong pocket passer that keeps his eyes downfield, while also possessing the mobility to extend plays or scramble for yards. Mark my words: Mensah Mania will take over Miami this season.
The Best of the Rest
Josh Hoover (TCU → Indiana)
As new national champion head coach Curt Cignetti has said, “Production over potential.” That’s clearly been his mindset at QB in his first two years at Indiana. In 2024 he recruited Ohio QB Kurtis Rourke out of the portal, who went on to be one of the most productive QBs in the Big Ten, and most recently, Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman in his lone season with the Hoosiers after transferring from California. Josh Hoover is an experienced QB with that track record of production, throwing for 9600 yards and 70 touchdowns in 33 games with TCU, 31 of which were starts. While Hoover is more turnover-prone, and it’s highly unlikely he’ll have a Heisman season like Mendoza, he fits the bill of the kind of QB that can step in and help continue Indiana’s new track record of success. Cignetti has proved we shouldn’t doubt him or his decisions. Like he said when he took the IU job, he wins.
We're 9 days away from Indiana Football and back with the Curt Cignetti countdown
— Hoosier Review (@Hoosier_Review) August 21, 2025
Given all the attention to IU's schedule and the 'fluke season' and 'back to reality' comments going around, it's time for the most famous Cignetti quote:
"It's pretty simple, I win...Google me" pic.twitter.com/GL2puvfm6o
Ethan Grunkemeyer (Penn St. → VA Tech)
In the midst of Penn State’s season going from national title hopeful to disaster, starting QB Drew Allar suffered a season-ending injury in week 7, leading to freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer entering the fray. It’s fair to say he struggled out of the gate, losing his first three games as a starter and throwing four picks. However, Grunkemeyer came to life down the stretch, leading Penn St. on a four-game win streak to finish the year as he flipped the script and threw eight touchdowns with zero picks. Despite having a very gross-sounding last name, his strong finish to the season created some optimism for a potential year two as starter…Until Matt Campbell was hired as head coach and brought Rocco Becht with him. In response, Grunkemeyer hit the portal and committed to VA Tech, reuniting him with the man who recruited him to Penn St., new Hokies HC James Franklin.
Austin Simmons (Ole Miss → Mizzou)
Austin Simmons began last season as starter for The Rebels, before an injury in week two opened the door for Trinidad Chambliss, and well,we all know what happened after that. Simmons’ two starts were a mixed bag. He threw for 576 yds and 3 TDs, but he also had four picks, two of which came against Georgia St in his first game. The following week against Kentucky, his first time starting against an SEC defense, he threw the other two picks, no touchdowns, and finished with 54% completion. He’s not running from that south eastern smoke though, as he decided to transfer to Mizzou and stay in the same conference, where he appears to have a clear path to start. There’s still a lot to like about Simmons’ game. He’s big bodied at 6’4” 215lbs and has high enough of a level of mobility that defenses have to account for it. He also has a strong arm that can be well utilized in an Eli Drinkowitz offense that likes to lean on the run and utilize play action to open up those shots down field. Go ahead and circle October 17th on the calendar, when Simmons will look for revenge in a showdown against Chambliss and The Rebels on the road.
Aiden Chiles (Michigan St. → Northwestern)
2023: “Aidan Chiles is a great get for Oregon St. really like his skill set. He’s gonna be a dude.”
2024: “Pac 12 died and Chiles transferred to Michigan St. That Spartans roster is pretty bad, but still, it’s time for year one of Chiles as a starter. Let go!” (‘24 Stats: 12 gms, 2415 yd, 13 tds, 11 ints, 54.5% completion)
2025: “All right, last year wasn’t great, but he had some good games and nice throws sprinkled in there. Year 2 as a starter, this is where he puts it together and shines.” (‘25 Stats: 8 gms, 1391 yds, 10 tds, 3 ints, 62.3% )
2026: “Hey, transferring to Northwestern is not a bad choice. They’re on the upswing, went 7-6 last season, David Braun’s a good coach, and they also brought in Chip Kelly as OC. Chiles could cook, this could be his breakout year …
Seriously Chip, please be in your playing calling bag this season. I’m ten toes down on this kid and it’s too late to sell my stock.”
