ESPN - College football’s transfer portal officially opens at midnight ET on Jan. 2. However, players have been announcing their intentions to transfer since the regular season ended.

Once the portal opens, players have until Jan. 16 to enter their name to transfer. It doesn’t mean they have to find their new schools by then -- or that they can’t return to their previous schools.

We are tracking the notable players entering the portal as well as those players who will re-sign with their current schools. Here’s the latest news and updates on how the 2026 season could be transformed.

Texas WR DeAndre Moore to portal Texas wide receiver DeAndre Moore is entering the NCAA transfer portal. He has 77 catches for 988 yards and 11 touchdowns in his Texas career.

USF QB Byrum Brown to enter portal USF quarterback Byrum Brown intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal, he tells ESPN. Brown finished the 2025 season with 1,008 yards rushing and 3,158 passing yards, one of 12 players in NCAA history to have more than 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 rushing in a season.

Iowa State QB Rocco Becht leaving Quarterback Rocco Becht is entering the NCAA transfer portal, posting on social media Saturday that he will leave Iowa State to “pursue new opportunities for my senior season.”

Becht’s addition to the portal means the quarterback with the most wins of any projected returning starter in college football will be available. Becht has led Iowa State to 26 wins over the past three years.

Darian Mensah to return to Duke Duke quarterback Darian Mensah announced he would return to the Blue Devils next season.

Mensah, who led Duke to the ACC championship earlier this month, had explored entering the NFL draft. But in a video message he posted to his Instagram account entitled, “The Decision,” he announced, “Let’s run this back.”

Mensah transferred to Duke from Tulane this past offseason, signing a deal worth a reported $8 million over two years. He immediately elevated the Blue Devils offense and posted career highs with 3,646 yards passing, 30 touchdown passes and a 68% completion percentage. His total passing yards ranked No. 3 in the nation, and his passing touchdowns ranked fifth.

SMU QB Kevin Jennings to stay with Mustangs

SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings said he plans to return to the Mustangs for his senior year.

The move is not a big surprise, considering how well he has played over the past two years and how much SMU has invested in him. SMU coach Rhett Lashlee gave Jennings his first major offer out of high school in Dallas in 2021.

Since then, Jennings has become one of the best quarterbacks in the country. He emerged as the SMU starter last year, leading the Mustangs to the ACC championship game and the College Football Playoff. This year, playing through an ankle injury for most of the season, he ranked No. 9 in the nation in passing yards with 3,363, throwing 26 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.

Four starters returning to Ole Miss Ole Miss linebacker Suntarine Perkins, defensive tackle Will Echoles, center Brycen Sanders and defensive back Antonio Kite have committed to returning in 2026, the school announced.

All four starters have signed deals with the school to return under new coach Pete Golding next year, a source told ESPN, ahead of the Rebels’ first-ever College Football Playoff game.

The Rebels are working to retain their key returning players amid former coach Lane Kiffin’s move to LSU.

TCU QB Josh Hoover TCU quarterback Josh Hoover intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal, he announced on social media.

Hoover will be one of the most productive and coveted players available, as he projects to have the most passing yards (9,629) and touchdown passes (71) of any player returning to college football next season.

Missouri QB Beau Pribula

Quarterback Beau Pribula is on the move again.

Pribula, who spent this season at Missouri after transferring from Penn State, has informed the Tigers’ coaching staff that he plans to enter the transfer portal, sources confirmed to ESPN on Thursday.

A senior from York, Pennsylvania, Pribula helped the Tigers to a 6-1 start this season, with the only loss coming against then-No. 8 Alabama. But he was hurt early in the third quarter of a 17-10 loss at Vanderbilt on Oct. 25. His left ankle was placed in an air cast, and trainers carted him off the field.

In 10 games, Pribula completed 67.4% of his passes for 1,941 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also ran for 297 yards with six scores.

Colorado WR Omarion Miller Colorado WR Omarion Miller plans to enter the transfer portal, his agent @ jacob_branch2 of @offscriptagency tells ESPN.

The second-team All-Big 12 performer led the Buffaloes with 808 receiving yards and 8 TDs on 45 catches this season. Miller has 1 more year of eligibility.

Georgia Tech QB Aaron Philo Georgia Tech backup quarterback Aaron Philo announced Wednesday he plans to enter the transfer portal.

The move comes a week after Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner left for the offensive coordinator job at Florida. Philo spent the past two seasons as the backup to Haynes King but was projected as the starter headed into 2026.

Philo made one start this year in place of an injured King but saw more extensive action in 2024 while King battled a shoulder injury late in the season. In six career games, Philo has thrown for 938 yards and scored three total touchdowns.

OKLAHOMA SOONERS Outgoing: Isaiah Dent, OL

Offensive lineman Isaiah Dent is expected to enter the transfer portal when it opens on January 2nd. Dent Portal Transfer Damjust finished his redshirt-freshman season in Norman, after arriving in Oklahoma as a part of the 2024 recruiting class. He played in just one game as a Sooner, and it came against Maine in 2024. Dent was a consensus three-star recruit out of high school and is the cousin of former OU running back Marcus Dupree.

Outgoing: Kobie McKinzie, LB

Linebacker Kobie McKinzie is expected to enter the transfer portal when it opens on January 2nd. He spent four seasons in Norman and was a starter at inside linebacker for the first two months of the 2025 season. However, his production and playing time waned down the stretch, and the redshirt junior became a backup for the majority of OU’s “Red November”. He’ll have one season of eligibility remaining at his new school.

Outgoing: Kendel Dolby, DB Defensive back Kendel Dolby is set to hit the portal when it officially opens on January 2nd. He was a breakout player at the Cheetah position for OU’s defense in 2023 and was a starter in 2024. Unfortunately, he suffered a season- ending injury in the 2024 Tennessee game that ultimately sent his Oklahoma career in a different direction. Dolby returned in 2025, but took snaps at a few different positions, including cornerback. He didn’t see the field after the Texas game and ultimately chose to preserve his redshirt.

Outgoing: Jayden Gibson, WR Wide receiver Jayden Gibson will enter the transfer portal when it opens on January 2nd. Gibson hasn’t been with the program since mid-October, and he hasn’t been on the field since 2023. After a really nice stretch of games that year, he suffered a season-ending injury ahead of what was supposed to be a breakout 2024 campaign. Though he was expected to be back in 2025, Gibson suffered an injury setback ahead of spring ball that ultimately derailed his time in Norman. He was the first departure from OU’s 2025 roster, and the only one to happen during the regular season.

OKLAHOMA STATE

Oklahoma State players entering the portal LS Shea Freibaum S Dylan Smith S DeAndre Boykins S David Kabongo DT De’Marion Thomas (redshirt)* DT Michael Riles TE Josh Ford (Alabama) S Cameron Epps K Gabe Panikowski OL Noah McKinney (TCU) CB Carrington Pierce (USC) WR Jaylen Lloyd S Landyn Cleveland WR Talyn Shettron OL Jarrett Henry WR Tre’ Griffiths TE Grayson Brousseau LB Chandavian Bradley QB Mason Schubert OL Tyler Brumfield WR Shamar Rigby OL Gage Stanaland QB Zane Flores WR Cameron Abshire RB Sesi Vailahi OL Nuku Mafi LB Poasa Utu EDGE Wendell Gregory CB Eric Fletcher RB Jaden Allen-Hendrix QB Banks Bowen

Portal Transfer Damages

Former Georgia pass rusher Damon Wilson II says the school’s athletic department is attempting to illegally punish him for entering the transfer portal in a lawsuit filed Tuesday, part of an ongoing dispute that could have far-reaching implications on how player contracts work in college sports.

Wilson transferred last January to Missouri, where he was the team’s leader in sacks during the 2025 season, weeks after signing a term sheet for a 14-month name, image and likeness contract with Georgia’s booster collective. He collected $30,000 in an initial payment for what was a $500,000 deal before leaving the Bulldogs. Georgia filed a lawsuit last month claiming that Wilson owed the athletic department $390,000 in liquidated damages for leaving the team.

Many schools have inserted liquidated damages clauses in their contracts with athletes since starting to pay players directly earlier this year. Several legal experts who reviewed player contracts for ESPN in the past say schools are inappropriately attempting to use liquidated damages as a de facto “buy out fee” for players who break a contract to transfer. Experts say liquidated damage fee must be tied to actual damages suffered by the party and can’t be used as punishment for breaking a contract. Wilson’s case is one of the first major tests of whether schools can effectively enforce these clauses to try to dissuade players from transferring.