The NCAA transfer portal will open for all college football players looking for a new school to play for in the 2026 season.

The transfer portal can be an exciting prospect for successful programs looking to reload their talent pool ahead of the following season. For struggling programs, the idea of roster retention can feel like an uphill battle against potential suitors in the transfer portal.

One program that is fighting the aforementioned uphill battle with roster retention is West Virginia. A multitude of players on the 2025 roster for the Mountaineers have already decided to look for greener grass in the transfer portal.

Among the more notable departures for the Mountaineers in the 2026 offseason will be quarterback Khalil Wilkins and running backs Jahiem White and Diore Hubbard.

Wilkins was given snaps as a backup in games against Robert Morris, Kansas, Utah, BYU, UCF and Texas Tech. He tallied 185 passing yards, a touchdown pass and two interceptions while rushing for another 243 yards and two interceptions.

While his 2025 season was far less productive due to injury, White had been given a lot of run with the Mountaineers in his prior two seasons in the program. He accumulated 1,820 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground while catching 27 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns in three seasons.

Hubbard finished 2025 as West Virginia’s most productive running back. He ran for 335 yards and four touchdowns and caught 16 passes for 156 yards.

So far, 247Sports has reported 19 other players will transfer out of West Virginia.

Offensively, running backs Tyler Jacklich, Kannon Katzer and Clay Ash, wide receivers Tyshawn Dues and Oran Singleton Jr, and offensive linemen Robby Martin, Cooper Young, Jude Edwards and Ethan Chill are heading for the portal.

On defense, linemen Adam Tomczyk and Jackson Biser, linebacker Mike Hastie, and defensive backs Zae Jennings, William Davis, Dawayne Galloway Jr., Devonte Golden-Nelson, Kaleb Gray, and Matthias Squire are all exiting. Punter Aidan Stire is also entering the transfer portal.

The Mountaineers rehired Rich Rodriguez to be their head coach after parting with Neal Brown at the conclusion of the 2024 season. Rodriguez coached at West Virginia from 2001-2007 and had held head coaching jobs at Michigan, Arizona and Jacksonville State after leaving.

West Virginia finished 14th in the Big 12 standings with its 4-8 overall record. The Mountaineers’ 2025 wins were against Robert Morris (45-3), Pittsburgh (31-24), Houston (45-35) and Colorado (29-22).

The landscape is evolving fast, and more teams saw the success of Miami, Texas Tech, Oregon, and Indiana in the portal, and will become more
competitive. Texas Tech is doubling down, and we can expect more competition even inside the ACC with Clemson and VaTech. Point here, is what was good and competitive in 2025, wont be enough in 2026. Solid HS recruiting helps, but just look at the impact of our portal class this season. January 2nd through the 10th is going to be crucial, and hope we have our ducks in a row right now. The financial commitment needs to grow to be on par with Texas Tech and Oregon.

PHOENIX — Four important Gopher football players were part of a unique media campaign on Tuesday.

Offensive linemen Greg Johnson and Nathan Roy, and defensive backs John Nestor and Kerry Brown allowed the Gophers’ NIL collective, Dinkytown Athletes, to share news they will play in the Rate Bowl against New Mexico on Friday, and will return to Minnesota for the 2026 season.

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The social media posts were “presented by Cub Foods,” and those players will be recipients of the grocer’s NIL contribution next year. Dinkytown Athletes serves as a subcontractor.

Athletics Director Mark Coyle called Cub Foods a “foundational partner” of Gopher sports.

“That is how we take the next step, with that type of involvement with NIL side of it,” Coyle told the Pioneer Press. “We are so grateful for their support.”

A few more current Gopher players are expected to join the Cub Foods campaign after the bowl game. But if players on the current roster aren’t included in this specific rollout, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are leaving the U to go into the transfer portal.

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For instance, quarterback Drake Lindsey said, independently, two weeks ago that he would return to Minnesota for his redshirt sophomore season in 2026. Other current players have shared they will be back with the Gophers next year.

Meanwhile, the futures of defensive end Anthony Smith, safety Koi Perich and running back Darius Taylor have yet to be shared. Smith and Taylor said Wednesday they have not yet made decisions on their plans for 2026; both are in line to play in the bowl game at Chase Field.

“I really haven’t thought about that stuff,” Taylor said. “I’m just worried about the game. I will figure all that out after the game.”

Smith said he hasn’t ruled out entering the transfer portal. “I don’t know,” he said.

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Johnson, who started all 12 regular-season games at guard, will return for his senior season next fall. The Prior Lake native played nearly 700 snaps and was Minnesota’s highest-graded starting offensive lineman in 2025 (75.3 overall mark, per Pro Football Focus).

“Being from Minnesota, I personally didn’t have any thoughts of going elsewhere,” Johnson said. “I think Drake really set the tone for the team. This is Drake’s team. He’s our leader and it’s easy to come back and want to play for a guy like that.”

Roy stepped in as the U’s left tackle during his redshirt freshman year with aplomb, playing a team-high 702 snaps with a 69.0 grade from PFF. The Mukwanago, Wis., native will be back for his redshirt sophomore year.

Nestor transferred in from the Iowa Hawkeyes last year, and the Chicago native started 10 of 12 games as Minnesota’s most-reliable corner. He had a team-high five interceptions, adding 47 tackles in 538 total snaps. He will be a senior in 2026.

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Brown continued as a linchpin in Minnesota’s defense for second straight season. The safety and nickel back from Naples, Fla., was fourth on team with 55 tackles and added two interceptions in 579 snaps. He will return for his redshirt junior year.

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When Kirby Moore got the Washington State head coaching job, Eli Drinkwitz knew a few members of his staff would likely be headed to Pullman soon.

“Moving forward, could lose a couple more people off our staff from analyst roles, as coach Moore finalizes and puts his staff together,” Drinkwitz said on December 16. “It shouldn’t change the dynamic of what we do at all.”

Three of those moves were reported on Wednesday morning by Chris Hummer and Matt Zenitz of CBS and 247Sports.

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The first is Tiger tight ends coach Derham Cato. Cato has coached Mizzou’s tight ends for the last three seasons. He spent six years at Washington, including an overlap with Moore when Moore was a graduate assistant for the Huskies. PowerMizzou.com had alerted subscribers to this move being likely a week ago.

The second coach is assistant offensive line coach Jack Abercrombie. Hummer and Zenitz report that Abercrombie will be the full-time offensive line coach for Moore with Washington State. Prior to his time at Mizzou, Abercrombie was on staff at VMI.

The final Mizzou to Washington State move is a front office move. Brad Larrondo, who has served as the CEO of Every True Tiger Brands, which is Missouri’s third-part partner for name, image and likeness deals. In his role, Larrondo helps Mizzou athletes line up NIL deals and also negotiates NIL and revenue sharing contracts for Mizzou football and men’s basketball players. Larrondo came to Missouri as Drinkwitz’s Director of Football External Relations and Recruiting in March of 2023. Prior to that, he had been the Chief of Staff at Auburn. 

Larrondo had spent the previous 28 years in the athletic administration at Boise State, which is just 300 miles from Pullman. He still has family in Boise and sources told PowerMizzou.com the move to Washington State is heavily based in family reasons. 

Larrondo’s position is technically not a University or a football program hire. However, the position works very closely with both and whoever replaces him will do so with influence and blessing from both of those entities. Missouri plays Virginia in the Taxslayer Gator Bowl on Saturday night. Any personnel moves or replacements will almost certainly not come until after that game.