While chaos has blanketed college football in the state and more than 30% of college players are in the transfer portal, BYU coach Kalani Sitake’s regime has, well, kind of escaped.

As of Friday afternoon, not one starter from the 2025 team has left for the transfer portal.

Sitake lost his defensive coordinator, Jay Hill, who took his cornerback coach, Jernaro Gilford, with him. But nobody followed them. Not one player.

Knock on wood.

That’s the roster heading into this weekend.

Why?

Well, one could preach culture or momentum, all that stuff. But it boils down to one single huge factor that clearly stands out since the Cougars defeated Georgia Tech in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando.

BYU has become a player-driven team.

Like 100%.

And that is a huge factor heading into winter workouts, spring practice, acceptance of returning players from church missions, and a sprinkling of transfer portal players expected to be announced in the coming days.

Hill’s replacement, Kelly Poppinga, told a BYUtv audience Friday that the retention effort began the day after the bowl game. He described coaches taking to the phones for 12 hours a day to re-recruit their stars.

But that was matched or even surpassed by player-driven emotions wanting to keep it rolling, to come back.

Now, nobody’s naive enough to think this wasn’t done without BYU’s collectives and revenue-sharing program having a lot to do with shoring up NIL contracts.

That’s reality today.

But it was done, starting with some of the most prized players, like honorable mention All-America safety Faletau Satuala, whom many believed would be targeted by Hill and Michigan.

But, somewhat surprisingly, Satuala announced his return quickly. So did tackle Keanu Tanuvasa, Isaiah Glasker, Siale Esera and other defenders.

The offense followed, capped by Big 12 offensive player of the year running back LJ Martin.

Poppinga said he expects the late news on corner Evan Johnson, BYU’s best cover athlete, is soon to come out in BYU’s favor.

That is quite remarkable.

On Friday, USC tight end Walker Lyons, older brother of QB commit Ryder Lyons, announced he was transferring to BYU to compete for departing Ryan Carsen’s job.

On the day Hill announced he would follow his friend Kyle Whittingham to Michigan, it became a full three days of working the phones, said Poppinga.

“Ultimately, I just think the players love Kalani. And a lot of those guys, all of them, came to play for him. Hill would say the same thing. Jay is a humble guy, and he sees things, he knows that no one person or player is bigger than them.”

Poppinga said BYU players ran this team with a feeling of retention and continuity.

“Obviously, us coaches, you’ve got to put them in the right positions and make sure that we’re making the right adjustments and doing the right things. But when you have great players and great leadership, I think everything else takes care of itself.”

Corner Tre Alexander began his own campaign to maintain the roster on TV right after Jay Hill announced he was going to Michigan. He then texted Poppinga, saying, “Coach, just so you know. I ain’t going anywhere.”

“And he’s like, ‘And I’m going to call everybody right now. I’m going to help you out to keep everybody here.’

“He’s the best,” said Poppinga.

“He’s like, ‘Coach, I’m rallying the troops.’

“And then a couple of hours later, he’s like, ‘Coach, nobody’s leaving.’”

Poppinga: “There are so many pieces to this thing. And it’s just not one player, one coach. I think it’s just the collective unit that we have. It’s been special. And it all starts with Kalani and his leadership and just this culture he has here.”

Sitake, said Poppinga, was the biggest portal guy when Penn State came calling.

“He went in the portal and stayed.”

Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss saw his season end on Thursday night, and on Friday, potentially his college career. The NCAA formally rejected a request for a sixth year of eligibility, with which he would have been able to return to the Rebels as their starting QB once more.

Instead, Chambliss has two options in front of him. Ole Miss can still appeal the NCAA’s ruling in an attempt to retain Chambliss and have him play out the deal he had agreed to for 2026 that was pending NCAA granting additional eligibility, or Chambliss can enter the NFL Draft to continue his football career in the pros, instead. Given the NCAA’s reasoning for their refusal to grant the additional year of eligibility, an appeal doesn’t guarantee any kind of success. 

Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter said his school will appeal the ruling.

“We are disappointed with today’s announcement by the NCAA and plan to appeal the decision to the Committee level,” Carter said in a social media post, in which he included the flag of Trinidad and Tobago. “Additionally, we will continue to work in conjunction with Trinidad’s representatives in other avenues of support.”

Tom Mars, who is an attorney for Chambliss, said he was disappointed but not surprised by the NCAA’s decision. “The last time I checked, however, the only score that matters is the one at the end of the fourth quarter,” Mars said.

“I understand that Ole Miss will file an appeal with the NCAA. However, there’s now an opportunity to move this case to a level playing field where Trinidad’s rights will be determined by the Mississippi judiciary instead of some bureaucrats in Indianapolis who couldn’t care less about the law or doing the right thing,” Mars said. “Whether to pursue that course of action is a decision only Trinidad and his parents can make.”

[Beck? Kiffin? 4 Takeaways From Miami’s CFP Semifinal Win Over Ole Miss]

In its own statement, the NCAA explained the reason for the rejection by giving background to how the process works in general, how it worked for Chambliss and what was lacking for the decision to go in his and Ole Miss’ favor.

“In November, Ole Miss filed a waiver request for football student-athlete Trinidad Chambliss, seeking to extend his five-year Division I eligibility clock, citing an incapacitating illness or injury. Approval requires schools to submit medical documentation provided by a treating physician at the time of a student’s incapacitating injury or illness, which was not provided. The documents provided by Ole Miss and the student’s prior school include a physician’s note from a December 2022 visit, which stated the student-athlete was “doing very well” since he was seen in August 2022. Additionally, the student-athlete’s prior school indicated it had no documentation on medical treatment, injury reports or medical conditions involving the student-athlete during that time frame and cited “developmental needs and our team’s competitive circumstances” as its reason the student-athlete did not play in the 2022-23 season. The waiver request was denied.”

The “prior school” mentioned by the NCAA is Division II Ferris State, at which Chambliss was a redshirt freshman in 2021 before moving into a backup role and then becoming a national champion as its starter in 2024. 

The NCAA elaborated that, “To receive a clock extension, a student-athlete must have been denied two seasons of competition for reasons beyond the student’s or school’s control, and a “redshirt” year can be used only once. One of the rules being cited publicly (Bylaw 12.6.4.2.2) is not the correct rule for the type of waiver requested by the school. Ole Miss applied for the waiver in November, and the NCAA first provided a verbal denial Dec. 8.”

Chambliss led the SEC in passing yards in 2025 with 3,937 while throwing 22 touchdowns against just 3 interceptions. He finished eighth in the Heisman voting overall and fifth among quarterbacks, behind Georgia’s Gunner Stockton, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia and the winner of the 2025 Heisman, Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. Chambliss led Ole Miss to the College Football Player for the first time, and the Rebels’ 13 wins are a school record.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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A
transfer portal
spiraling out of control prompted the new regulatory body for college sports to issue a memo to athletic directors Friday night saying it has “serious concerns” about some of the multimillion-dollar contracts being offered to players.

The “reminder” from the College Sports Commission came out about an hour before kickoff of the semifinal between
Indiana and Oregon in a College Football Playoff
that has shared headlines with news of players signing seven-figure deals to move or, in some cases, stay where they are.

The CSC reminded the ADs that, according to the rules, third-party deals to use players’ name, image and likeness “are evaluated at the time of entry in NIL Go, not before, and each deal is evaluated on its own merits.”

“Without prejudging any particular deal, the CSC has serious concerns about some of the deal terms being contemplated and the consequences of those deals for the parties involved,” the memo said.

Under terms of the House settlement that dictated the rules for NIL payments, schools can share revenue with their players directly from a pool of $20.5 million. Third-party deals, often arranged by businesses created to back the schools, are being used as workarounds this so-called salary cap.

The CSC, through its NIL Go portal, is supposed to evaluate those deals to make sure they are for a valid business purpose and fall within a fair range of compensation for the services being provided.

The CSC did not list examples of unapproved contracts, but college football has seen its share of seven-figure deals luring players to new schools since the transfer portal opened on Jan. 2.

One high-profile case involved
Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr.,
who initially sought to enter the transfer portal and turn his back on a reported deal worth $4 million with the Huskies. Legal threats ensued and Williams changed course and stayed at Washington.

“Making promises of third-party NIL money now and figuring out how to honor those promises later leaves student-athletes vulnerable to deals not being cleared, promises not being able to be kept, and eligibility being placed at risk,” the CSC letter said.

The commission listed two rules about contracts it evaluates, some of which have been termed “agency agreement” or “services agreement” in what look like attempts to bypass the rules.

—”The label on the contract does not change the analysis; if an entity is agreeing to pay a student-athlete for their NIL, the agreement must be reported to NIL Go within the reporting deadline.”

—”An NIL agreement or payment with an associated entity or individual … must include direct activation of the student-athlete’s NIL rights.” This is a reference to the practice of “warehousing” NIL rights by paying first, then deciding how to use them later.

___

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Brendan Sorsby, ranked No. 1 in The Athletic’s transfer quarterback rankings, transferred to Texas Tech earlier this week with one season remaining on a multi-year revenue sharing agreement with Cincinnati that includes a $1 million buyout clause, multiple people briefed on the deal told The Athletic. They were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the terms of the deal.

The buyout payment is due to Cincinnati within 30 days of Sorsby’s transfer. It is not immediately clear how Sorsby’s buyout will be resolved.

Texas Tech was aware of Sorsby’s buyout, according to sources briefed on the transfer process, and factored it into his recruitment, as well as Tech’s own revenue sharing budget.

Ron Slavin, Sorsby’s agent with Lift Sports Management, declined comment.

Spokespersons for both Texas Tech and Cincinnati declined comment.

There have been questions about how revenue sharing contract terms might hold up under legal scrutiny, in part because college athletes are not employees and their rev share contracts are not typical employment agreements.

The full details of Sorsby’s agreement with the Red Raiders are not public, but the one-year deal is expected to pay him more than $4 million, according to people briefed on the terms. His signing was officially announced Tuesday by Texas Tech.

A redshirt junior with one year of eligibility remaining, Sorsby elected to enter the transfer portal and ultimately sign with Texas Tech rather than declare for the 2026 NFL Draft, where he is projected as a potential Day 2 pick.

Brendan Sorsby is officially a Red Raider.#WreckEm pic.twitter.com/EGE4Xn1OIL

— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) January 6, 2026

Sorsby’s buyout is indicative of the new era of direct revenue sharing between schools and athletes under the House v. NCAA settlement, which was instituted last summer. Many schools have included buyout clauses in their rev share agreements that obligate athletes to redeem money to their previous school if they leave before the end of the agreement.

According to enforcement guidelines from the College Sports Commission, the organization that oversees revenue sharing, Sorsby’s $1 million buyout must be accounted for by Texas Tech within the school’s $20.5 million revenue sharing cap for fiscal year 2025-26. Texas Tech is not required to directly pay Cincinnati to cover the buyout costs.

Multiple power conference general managers told The Athletic they have either signed players who had buyouts with their previous schools or lost players with buyouts to other teams. The player or their representative will often handle paying the buyout to the previous institution, whether in full or at a negotiated rate.

“(Player buyouts are) happening this year. It’s not prevalent, but it’s happening,” said Darren Heitner, who specializes in sports law. “Typically there is a negotiation where a school starts at a specific number and then negotiates down, if the player has good counsel.”

Sorsby initially transferred from Indiana to Cincinnati as a redshirt sophomore, ahead of the 2024 season, signing an NIL agreement before revenue sharing began in July 2025. Last offseason, Sorsby signed a new two-year deal with Cincinnati’s NIL collective, a third-party group affiliated with the school, that later transitioned to a rev share contract with the university. The $1 million buyout was agreed to in both the multi-year collective deal and revenue sharing agreements. Sorsby earned roughly $1.5 million in 2025 from Cincinnati, according to people briefed on the previous terms.

There have been relatively few public disputes of NIL or rev share contracts between players, schools or third parties since college athletes could begin earning NIL compensation in 2021.

Earlier this week, Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. announced intentions to enter the transfer portal just days after signing a new contract with the Huskies that’s expected to pay him more than $4 million. The buyout would have likely factored into any protracted legal battle between player and school, but Williams never actually entered the portal and announced on Thursday that he will remain with Washington.

Late last year, the University of Georgia took former defensive end Damon Wilson II to court, with Georgia seeking arbitration and $390,000 in damages after the university claimed Wilson broke an agreement with Georgia’s NIL collective by entering the transfer portal in January 2025, prior to the onset of revenue sharing. Wilson, who transferred to Missouri for the 2025 season, later sued Georgia’s athletic association seeking his own damages for what the suit described as a “civil conspiracy” to interfere with Wilson’s business endeavors. It’s believed to be the first time a player and school have taken each other to court over an NIL dispute. Both proceedings are still ongoing. Wilson recently re-entered the portal.

Last summer, the University of Wisconsin and its NIL collective filed a lawsuit against the University of Miami for tampering with defensive back Xavier Lucas, who Wisconsin claimed had an agreement with their NIL collective and another “binding agreement” with the university that was contingent on revenue sharing being approved. The next hearing in this case is scheduled for March 2026.

In April 2025, a contract holdout by former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava ended with Iamaleava transferring to UCLA, but no legal action was taken.

Former Florida signee Jaden Rashada has a pending lawsuit filed against various parties, including former Gators coach Billy Napier, that stems from a 2022 NIL deal.

One Power 4 coach who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that in some instances, unfulfilled buyout terms or the player attached might not be worth the time and effort to spark a legal battle, and some universities might be hesitant to pursue litigation against a college athlete.

“It’s less of a legal challenge and more of an optics challenge for institutions at this point,” said lawyer Paia LaPalombara, a former college athletics administrator who advises colleges, conferences and athletes on revenue sharing.

A 6-foot-3, 235-pound dual-threat quarterback, Sorsby averaged better than 2,800 yards passing and 500 rushing yards in his two seasons with the Bearcats, including 36 combined touchdowns passing and rushing in 2025, third-most in the FBS, with only five interceptions. He led Cincinnati to a 7-5 regular season record in 2025 and a spot in the Liberty Bowl, the program’s first bowl bid since 2022.

Sorsby opted out of the bowl game, announcing on Dec. 15 that he planned to enter the transfer portal. The native of Denton, Texas, was quickly linked to Texas Tech as a potential destination. He made recruiting visits to Tech and LSU.

The Red Raiders recently completed a 12-2 season in 2025, winning the Big 12 championship and earning a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff, where they lost to Oregon 23-0 in the quarterfinals on New Year’s Day. Starting quarterback Behren Morton has exhausted his college eligibility, and sophomore backup Will Hammond suffered an ACL injury in October. After making headlines for its portal additions last offseason, Tech has again been active early in this year’s transfer window.

A transfer climate spiraling out of control prompted the new regulatory body for college sports to issue a memo to athletic directors Friday night saying it has “serious concerns” about some of the multimillion-dollar contracts being offered to players.

The “reminder” from the College Sports Commission came out about an hour before kickoff of the Peach Bowl semifinal between Indiana and Oregon in a College Football Playoff that has shared headlines with news of players signing seven-figure deals to move or, in some cases, stay where they are.

The CSC reminded the athletic directors that, according to the rules, third-party deals to use players’ name, image and likeness “are evaluated at the time of entry in NIL Go, not before, and each deal is evaluated on its own merits.”

“Without prejudging any particular deal, the CSC has serious concerns about some of the deal terms being contemplated and the consequences of those deals for the parties involved,” the memo read.

Under terms of the House v. NCAA antitrust lawsuit settlement that dictated the rules for NIL payments, schools can share revenue with their players directly from a pool of $20.5 million. Third-party deals, often arranged by businesses created to back the schools, are being used as workarounds to this de facto salary cap.

The CSC, through its NIL Go portal, is supposed to evaluate those deals to make sure they are for a valid business purpose and fall within a fair range of compensation for the services being provided.

The CSC did not list examples of unapproved contracts, but college football has experienced its share of seven-figure deals luring players to new schools since the NCAA transfer portal opened on Jan. 2.

One high-profile case involved Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who initially sought to enter the portal and turn his back on a reported deal worth $4 million with the Huskies. Legal threats ensued, and Williams changed course and stayed at Washington, a decision the quarterback announced Thursday night.

“Making promises of third-party NIL money now and figuring out how to honor those promises later leaves student-athletes vulnerable to deals not being cleared, promises not being able to be kept, and eligibility being placed at risk,” the CSC letter read.

The commission listed two rules about contracts it evaluates, some of which have been termed “agency agreement” or “services agreement” in what look like attempts to bypass the rules.

First, “The label on the contract does not change the analysis; if an entity is agreeing to pay a student-athlete for their NIL, the agreement must be reported to NIL Go within the reporting deadline.”

Second, “An NIL agreement or payment with an associated entity or individual … must include direct activation of the student-athlete’s NIL rights.” This is a reference to the practice of “warehousing” NIL rights by paying first, then deciding how to use them later.