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Why Duke went all in on football: Blue Devils invest heavily for program to compete at highest level

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DURHAM, N.C. — On a beautiful North Carolina campus, an ACC school is heavily investing in trying to elevate its football program.

No, we aren’t talking about UNC’s grand Bill Belichick experiment. Go 10 miles down Tobacco Road and you’ll find a Duke football program coming off a surprising 9-4 record a year ago and dreaming of something more in the future. 

A program that didn’t even have a 100-yard practice field when David Cutcliffe took over in 2008, Duke is now all-in on football in a way it never has before. 

The flashpoint this offseason was landing Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah on a record-setting deal believed to be worth $8 million over two years. A big swing for basketball wouldn’t have raised an eyebrow, but Duke football paying top-of-the-market value shocked the college football world. To put it in context: That number would put a college QB above or equal to the compensation nine Power Four head coaches made in 2024. That Duke nudged out starting quarterback Maalik Murphy — who ended up at Oregon State — to bring in Mensah only added to the intrigue.

Coming off a strong 2024 season, this offseason was the Blue Devils showing the world they were “going for it,” says Duke athletic director Nina King. 

Highest-paid player in college football history? Transfer QB Darian Mensah’s Duke deal is sign of times

John Talty

Highest-paid player in college football history? Transfer QB Darian Mensah's Duke deal is sign of times

“We’ve got this men’s basketball program that is absolutely elite, top of the top in the brand,” King told CBS Sports. “But why can’t football be right there with men’s basketball? We’re here, we want to compete.”

King says Duke wants to be a College Football Playoff-caliber team and believes it can be. “It’s not title-or-bust, but can we play at that level?” King asks. “Absolutely, I think we can get there.” 

Duke can go a long way in proving it belongs with a win Saturday over No. 11 Illinois inside Wallace Wade Stadium. With a lighter ACC schedule that sees Duke avoid Miami, SMU and Louisville, Illinois represents one of its biggest — and only — chances to prove it belongs on the national stage. 

Sitting across from Manny Diaz inside his office, it is easy to see why he’s a dynamic recruiter and leader. There’s the natural charisma, of course, but also an optimism that many of his peers seem to be missing in this current transformational period of college athletics. On this day there’s no complaining about NIL, transfer portal or any other litany of things that frustrate college coaches. 

Perhaps it is because Diaz believes Duke can be a big winner when all is said and done. 

Diaz has been everywhere in college football, from previous stops in the ACC (Miami, Florida State and NC State) to the Big Ten (Penn State) to the then-Big 12 (Texas) to the SEC (Mississippi State) and even the Group of Six level (Middle Tennessee). He knows what worked in the pre-NIL world and sees how the game is moving with revenue sharing beginning this summer. 

There’s a shift afoot, Diaz believes, and Duke will benefit. 

It already has. 

Duke signed four four-stars in its most recent recruiting class, led by the school’s highest-ranked signee ever, Bryce Davis. The 6-foot-3, 260-pound edge rusher probably wouldn’t have gone to Duke in the past — he was even committed to Clemson at one point — but Duke thinks it is selling something very few, if any other program, can offer with a top-ranked academic university that also (now) cares about football. U.S. News ranked Duke as the No. 6 university in the country in its 2025 rankings. 

“We’re in a different era now, and kids are making choices that they just didn’t make 10 years ago,” Diaz told CBS Sports. “And that’s going to disrupt this game, and I think in a good way, by the way. I think it’s going to be super exciting. I think it already is and way less predictable than it’s been.”

There are inherent challenges that come with recruiting to a school that cares as much about academics as Duke does. The pool of players to recruit from is significantly smaller than what some of its competitors have access to. “It begins and ends with the transcript,” said Duke general manager John Garrett.

The silver lining is it brings clarity. There shouldn’t be analysis paralysis with a limited pool of options. When Stanford had things humming under Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw, it capitalized on a similar challenge. Stanford’s run was in the pre-playoff era, but the Cardinal would have made multiple trips in the 2010-16 run that included five top 10 finishes. It’s a blueprint, of sorts, on what’s capable when everything is aligned and the program starts attracting a specific type of player capable of flourishing in that environment. 

Duke partnered with Big League Advantage (BLA), an analytics firm, to help identify players that fit its preferred player makeup. Garrett and his team met once a week with BLA in the fall to compare how Duke’s scouting ratings compared with the analytics on the players. Collaboratively, they came up with a list of targets. 

“There’s an exact type of kid that we’re looking for,” said Duke offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer. “We don’t have to recruit everybody. We’re looking for people that are achieving excellence in academics and want excellence in football. We don’t have to sacrifice for anything — our guys want to do both.” 

Duke coach Manny Diaz believes the big bet on his football program will pay off in the end. 
Imagn Images

Rick Lyster had finally hit the big time.

After playing football at Lafayette, Lyster slowly worked his way up the ranks, from FCS Monmouth as a volunteer defensive assistant to stops at graduate assistant and quality control gigs at Army and Georgia Tech to his first on-field coaching job at Fordham during the pandemic-impacted 2020 season. 

Manny Diaz wanted him to come down to Miami, and Lyster was on his way from the Bronx to Coral Gables as the Hurricanes’ defensive quality control analyst. He fell in love with Diaz’s preferred aggressive defensive style, believing this is what football was supposed to be. The jump from school to school had been worth it; he had found the defensive mind from which he was meant to learn.

And then it all went off the rails as Miami administrators and boosters worked behind the scenes to bring Mario Cristobal back to Miami despite Diaz still holding the job. It was awkward and messy as Miami left Diaz, a native son, twisting in the wind before finally firing him when Cristobal agreed to take the job. 

It would be easy for Diaz to be bitter about the experience. Perhaps he hadn’t succeeded in the way he or others hoped, but he still had a winning record and would have benefited from Miami’s aggressive NIL spending spree. 

He landed at Penn State as defensive coordinator and brought Lyster with him as a defensive analyst. The pair spent a lot of time together in meeting rooms going over defensive game planning, and one day Diaz told him, “You can learn a lot from being fired if you just listen.”

“That firing changed him,” said Lyster, now Duke’s safeties coach. “It changed who he was as a man, as a coach. He realized don’t be upset about the situation, learn from it.”

Diaz has taken those lessons to Durham where he is trying to build a sustainable program that can compete in the ACC. Duke had a fork-in-the-road moment, he says, when Mike Elko left for Texas A&M. Elko went 16-9 over two seasons and made two bowl appearances, Duke’s first since 2018. Duke had been here before with the height of the Cutcliffe era delivering three consecutive eight or more win seasons — the Blue Devils even won 10 games in 2013 — but didn’t add enough coal to keep the train moving at full speed. 

King, who took over as AD in 2021, didn’t want to let this moment pass Duke by again.

“I think we got a little comfortable,” King said. “I think we saw success, but we didn’t continue investing in success. I want to give credit where credit is due — what David did here was absolutely incredible.”

Duke has to be creative in how it does so. It doesn’t have a 100,000-seat football stadium delivering tens of millions in ticket sales revenue. Wallace Wade Stadium can fit 40,004 with the largest crowd last season coming against North Carolina (35,018). Duke football made about as much in total in 2023 — $39.7 million according to its EADA report — as Alabama did off football ticket revenue ($37.9 million). 

Duke has great brand and marketing partnerships which help, but it has also pushed a donor base that has traditionally focused more on basketball spending to recognize the moment football has in front of it. King said that message has resonated with Duke boosters and that the support has been “incredible” from an investment and even fan attendance standpoint. Duke fans, King says, realize what football can do not only for the athletic department, but the university as a whole. 

Diaz agrees. 

“Everyone understands that it’s a good time to be good at football with what’s going on with all the uncertainty in college sports,” the Duke head coach said. 

That is a key point to where college athletics stands right now. It’s a similar situation at schools like Indiana, Kansas and, yes, in-state rival UNC — traditional basketball blue bloods who have realized they have to spend bigger in football. With an estimated 75 to 80 % of TV rights deals coming from college football, if you want to secure a spot in the big leagues of college football, especially if there is a long-discussed consolidation into a breakaway league, one must be competent in football. 

Duke has long had its doubters. 

In a previous interview with SMU AD Damon Evans, then with Maryland, for “The Price: What It Takes to Win in College Football’s Era of Chaos,” the AD explained why the Terrapins, another basketball-first school, needed to make football the priority. 

“What drives conference realignment? TV partners, football and marketplace,” Evans said. “You might not like it. No disrespect to Duke, ain’t nobody talking about adding Duke. It’s about football.”

Diaz and his staff are working to change that. Last season’s 9-4 record announced that there wouldn’t be a drop off after Elko left and that Duke was trending upward. The hardest part is what Duke is trying to do next. Diaz told his team that going from nine to 10 wins is more challenging than it would be to go from two to 10. Every win number Duke tries to go up, he told them, “the climb gets steeper and steeper.” 

It’s ultimately the reason why Duke made such a big bet on Mensah, who threw for 2,723 yards and 22 touchdowns last season for Tulane. A Duke brain trust of Diaz, Brewer and Garrett realized that the Devils had to improve on those fine margins, and getting a quarterback like Mensah could be the difference. 

“When we evaluated ourselves and some of the things that were missing in our offense, (Darian was) pretty cool character for a (redshirt) freshman in terms of his pocket awareness, his ability to manufacture time with his feet, scramble to throw, scramble to run when necessary,” Diaz said. “Those types of plays on third-and-6 when nobody’s open; it’s what made Cam Ward amazing last year. You don’t have to be perfect as a play caller because there’s the play that you call and there’s the play that the quarterback can make. 

“We just felt like that was an element to our offense that Darian could do.” 

Mensah threw for 389 yards and three touchdowns in Duke’s season-opening win over Elon that started shaky before ending easy. Next up is Illinois, which is also trying to take the leap to the next level after a 10-3 record in 2024. From there is a spicy return trip for Mensah to New Orleans to play his former school. 

It’s a critical stretch for a program ready and eager to take that next step. Duke has invested like never before in its football program, and it’ll find out Saturday afternoon whether it is on the right path. 





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The NCAA further fails high schoolers with G League Rulings

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51 minutes ago

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January 5, 2026

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If the road to college basketball scholarships was not already difficult for high school players, the NCAA’s decision to allow NBA G League athletes to enter or re-enter college basketball has created another obstacle. One of the most impactful rulings of 2025, the policy arrives at a moment when NIL and the transfer portal have already reduced access to scholarships and roster spots. By granting G League players immediate eligibility, the NCAA further dilutes opportunities for first-time college athletes.

G League to College: The Precedent Is Already Set

The first notable example of this shift was Thierry Darlan. Darlan spent two seasons in the G League, appearing in 58 games. He suited up for Ignite during the 2023–2024 season and later joined the Delaware Blue Coats in 2024–2025. He was not on the fringe of the league. Instead, he emerged as a legitimate contributor and started roughly half of his games.

Despite that professional experience, Santa Clara granted Darlan eligibility for the West Coast Conference. Because Santa Clara carries a limited national profile, his return to college basketball drew little attention.

That changed when the NCAA restored eligibility for London Johnson at a true “blue blood,” the University of Louisville. Johnson’s case sparked national outrage and forced the college basketball world to confront a new reality. Players could now return to NCAA competition after playing in the NBA G League. The trend continued in November when BYU signed Abdullah Ahmed, a former player for the G League’s Westchester Knicks.

James Nnaji Pushes the Boundary Even Further

Baylor’s signing of James Nnaji brought the issue into sharper focus. Nnaji was selected 31st overall in the 2023 NBA Draft and later became part of an NBA trade in 2025. His move back to college basketball showed just how far the boundaries had shifted.

NCAA Responds as Backlash Grows

As concerns mounted, NCAA President Charlie Baker addressed the issue publicly.

“The NCAA has not and will not grant eligibility to any prospective or returning student-athletes who have signed an NBA contract,” Baker said. “As schools increasingly recruit individuals with international league experience, the NCAA is exercising discretion in applying the actual and necessary expenses bylaw. This ensures that prospective student-athletes with experience in American basketball leagues are not at a disadvantage compared to their international counterparts. Rules have long permitted schools to enroll and play individuals with no prior collegiate experience midyear.”

High School Players Were Already Losing Ground

Even before these rulings, opportunities for high school athletes were shrinking. The transfer portal now functions like free agency. As a result, Division I coaches-including those at HBCUs-often prioritize experienced transfers over developing high school talent. A brief review of HBCU Division I rosters highlights the impact.

FAMU shooting guard Jaquan Sanders
FAMU shooting guard Jaquan Sanders

Transfer Numbers Tell the Story

According to Real GM, a basketball tracking service, 99 MEAC players transferred from other institutions. In the SWAC, that number rises to 161. Together, those 260 roster spots no longer exist for high school athletes. Football numbers paint an even starker picture.

NIL Is the Driving Force

So what draws these players back to college? NIL.

The financial landscape has changed dramatically. In many cases, college athletes now earn more through NIL than NBA G League players earn through salaries. High-profile exceptions exist, such as Bronny James, whose endorsement portfolio-often linked to his father, NBA legend LeBron James-sets him apart.

BYU star AJ Dybantsa reportedly earns $4 million this season. Texas Tech’s JT Toppin is also positioned for a $4 million payday. When combined with what Duke’s Cooper Flagg earned last season, NIL compensation now exceeds typical NBA rookie salaries and far surpasses G League pay.

The Illusion of a Safety Net

NIL rumors have also fueled speculation about college athletics as a financial safety net. One widely circulated but unconfirmed report suggested Ohio State supporters planned to offer wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. more money than he would earn as a first-year NFL player. The goal was to keep him in school.

Harrison ultimately declared for the 2023 NFL Draft and was selected fourth overall by the Arizona Cardinals in 2024.

HBCUs Feel the Same Pressure

HBCUs face the same challenges and must “keep up with the Joneses.” The first nationally televised SWAC matchup of the season illustrated that reality. Bethune-Cookman defeated Florida A&M 87–83 in a high-level contest loaded with transfers.

Bethune-Cookman’s Arterio Morris, a transfer from Texas, scored 20 points. Florida A&M’s Jaquan Sanders, a transfer from Hofstra, led all scorers with 22. Most key contributors in the game came from the transfer portal.

Of the 28 total players on both rosters, only eight came directly from high school. That number even includes prep school players, who are not always truly straight out of high school. Florida A&M’s roster consists of roughly one-third high school players. Bethune-Cookman’s roster sits closer to one-quarter.

A Broader Concern Across College Sports

Across all sports, coaches increasingly worry that athletes prioritize NIL opportunities over skill development. Many cite this shift as a factor in the retirement of one of college football’s greatest coaches, Nick Saban.

After a historic run at Alabama, Saban stepped away from the program. During a roundtable discussion in Washington, D.C., led by U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, Saban explained his frustration.

“All the things that I believed in for all these years, 50 years of coaching, no longer exist in college athletics,” Saban said. “It was always about developing players. It was always about helping people be more successful in life.”

What Comes Next?

Baker closed by emphasizing that while the NCAA has lost control in several legal battles, it does not plan to concede this one.

“I will be working with DI leaders in the weeks ahead to protect college basketball from these misguided attempts to destroy this American institution.”

So what’s next? Perhaps LeBron James-who never played college basketball-and Bronny James-who left early and spent time in the G League-will enroll at the University of Arizona to play alongside Bryce.

At this point, what would stop them?

The post The NCAA further fails high schoolers with G League Rulings appeared first on HBCU Gameday.

HBCU Gameday

This story was originally published January 4, 2026 at 12:08 PM.



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Player of the Year Star QB Bolts College Football Playoff Team for Big 12

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January 5, 2026

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The college football transfer portal is heating up with a wave of early moves.

One star quarterback from the College Football Playoff has already found a new home after entering the transfer portal. As the final four teams battle for the national championship, the rest of the country is focused on the college football transfer portal.

Fresh off a career season, former James Madison quarterback Alonza Barnett entered the portal and found a new team in a matter of days. Barnett is headed to the Big 12 announcing his decision to join UCF where the dual-threat signal-caller is the early favorite to be the Knights starter. The quarterback is expected to replace Tayven Jackson.

Barnett threw for 2,806 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing 58.4% of his passes in 14 appearances for JMU in 2025. The quarterback also added 589 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground as well.

Beyond impressive stats, Barnett led James Madison to a Sun Belt championship as JMU crashed the College Football Playoff party. Barnett was named the Sun Belt Player of the Year in 2025.

Here’s what you need to know about the latest college football news.

New UCF QB Alonza Barnett Is Projected to Have a $321,000 NIL Value

NIL deals are not made public, but Barnett’s value is projected at $321,000, per On3. During Scott Frost’s first season in his second stint at UCF, the Knights struggled with volatility at quarterback. After transferring from Indiana, Jackson failed to provide consistent play at the position in 2025.

“Quarterback is no different than other positions,” Frost said on December 10, 2025, per On3’s Brandon Helwig. “In a perfect world, we’re developing them all in-house. We didn’t have the opportunity to do that much last year because I got here after Signing Day. So this is really our first step in trying to recruit some building blocks at several positions, quarterback certainly being one.

“If you were experiencing this every day and seeing the drama and the price tags that go along with transfer quarterbacks, it’d certainly benefit us to have a homegrown one. I love the two guys that we got. We’re going to pour into them and try to build somebody that we can keep for a while.”

Transfer Portal Rumors: Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt & Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby Among the Top QBs Searching for New Teams

Amid star quarterbacks like Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt and Cincinnati Brendan Sorsby in the portal generating buzz, Barnett has flown a bit under the radar. Barnett gives UCF a dynamic dual-threat quarterback that Frost covets in addition to having College Football Playoff experience, even if James Madison’s CFP game against Oregon did not go as planned.

The quarterback may not have consistently played elite competition at James Madison, but the signal-caller performed well against the best team’s on JMU’s schedule. Barnett threw for 273 yards and two touchdowns against Oregon in the College Football Playoff. The dual-threat quarterback also added 45 rushing yards and TD on the ground.

Jonathan Adams is a veteran sports contributor covering the NFL, NBA and golf for Heavy.com. His work has been prominently featured on NFL.com, Yahoo Sports, Pro Football Talk, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated. More about Jonathan Adams





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Notre Dame’s Joey O’Brien Joins Under Armour’s First NIL Squad

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January 5, 2026

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Notre Dame safety signee Joey O’Brien is one of six members of Under Armour’s first NIL squad, the athletic apparel brand announced on Instagram on Sunday. 

O’Brien represents one of four players in the incoming Fighting Irish class who earned five-star status, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. The 6-foot-4, 185-pound defensive back will arrive in South Bend, Ind., as the No. 31 overall prospect and No. 2 safety in the country. 

Last fall, he suited up for La Salle College High School in Wyndmoor, Penn., where he dominated on both sides of the ball. He had snagged 86 receptions for 1,247 yards and 18 receiving touchdowns and a 2-point conversion.

On defense, O’Brien had registered 49 tackles (1.0 for a loss), four interceptions, including a 94-yard pick-six, 11 passes defended, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Additionally, he blocked a punt on special teams.

“We’ve continued to add size at the defensive back position,” Notre Dame general manager Mike Martin said about the position group. “We talked about some [like] Joey O’Brien’s just long, rangy, unique ability to sort of get his hands on the ball and take the ball away…

“Not to backtrack, but Joey O’Brien [played] receiver and setting records on the offensive side. I think [he] recently broke Marvin Harrison’s receiving record, something crazy like that.”

Notre Dame has had its own partnership with UA since 2014, which will continue at least until the 2030s. The University finalized a 10-year contract extension with the brand in August 2023.

“10 more years of partnering with the Fighting Irish and supporting student-athletes both on AND off the field,” Under Armour wrote on social media at the time.

O’Brien isn’t the only Fighting Irish football player whose had his own apparel deal. 

In 2025, Notre Dame Heisman Trophy finalist Jeremiyah Love signed a deal with New Balance. Recently, Jordan Faison, Kyle Hamilton, Michael Mayer, Audric Estimè, Benjamin Morrison and Riley Leonard have all inked contracts with Rhoback.

UA signed five other players to its first NIL squad:

  • Ryder Lyons, BYU QB Signee
  • Zion Lee, Maryland EDGE Signee
  • Jireh Edwards, Alabama S Signee
  • Easton Royal, 2027 Texas Tech WR Commit
  • Eric McFarland, 2027 Four-Star WR Prospect





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Nebraska predicted to land defensive player from transfer portal

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January 5, 2026

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Former San Diego State linebacker Owen Chambliss visited Nebraska on Saturday and it sounds like that could be the only trip he takes. 

I mentioned on Friday that there was a good chance Chambliss would be one and done and could commit to the Huskers shortly after his visit. 

I continue to hear that’s the case and went ahead and put in a commit prediction for Nebraska to land the talented linebacker. Texas is one school to watch for but in talking to a source close to his recruitment, a commitment to the Huskers is now imminent. 

Chambliss is one of the top linebackers available in the transfer portal. He’s currently rated the No. 130 player overall and the No. 6 linebacker in the transfer portal rating. 

Chambliss is coming off a big year for the Aztecs where he totaled 109 tackles, 10 for loss, four sacks, one interception and five passes defended. 

He has developed in to the, ‘jack of all trades,’ kind of player we saw in high school where he routinely lined up as an edge rusher, outside linebacker, inside linebacker and safety and was recruited all three positions.

Chambliss has his former defensive coordinator from San Diego State, Rob Aurich, now at Nebraska and thats huge for him. 

He has a strong comfort level with Aurich, knows the defense and feels he’s the coach who can continue to develop him and get him to the NFL. 



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Two Truths and a Lie: LSU and the transfer portal

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January 5, 2026

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By Chris Marler

In the chaos of the transfer portal, NIL and coaching carousel drama, it’s becoming clear that some long held truths in college football no longer apply.

Truth No. 1 – Don’t get caught up in rankings and “big” names. 

Star rankings and blue chip recruits have been the name of the game for a long time in college football. The highest ranked recruits generate the most buzz, and it’s human nature to love the shiny, expensive things, especially in college football. 

Racking up five-star studded class after five-star studded class for your depth chart worked beautifully in the pre-portal era. We are no longer in a time where waves of elite recruits are waiting their turn on the depth chart, though. 

While it’s awesome to sign the top prospects available out of high school or the portal, losing out on a player like Sam Leavitt or a former five-star isn’t the end of the world. So, as rumors about the No. 1 overall player in the country potentially going to Kentucky continue to swirl, there is no reason to worry if you’re LSU. 

In fact, there is no better example of why that isn’t the end of the world than LSU. Look no further than Lane Kiffin’s success with a DII quarterback, and LSU going 7-6 with an $18 million roster. 

Truth No. 2 – The drama isn’t over yet.

The day that college football season ends is usually the most depressing day of the year, besides that first Sunday where it gets dark at like 4:30 p.m.. I dread the end of the season every year, but I cannot wait for this drama with the LSU-Ole Miss coaching staffs to end. 

What is happening now isn’t sustainable. Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. has traveled to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl, back to Baton Rouge for recruiting and meetings and back to Oxford for Fiesta Bowl prep. That’s all in a 72 hour window.

At this point, I can only imagine they’re just meeting every other Tuesday in a McDonald’s parking lot like my parents did. Nothing says resentment and contentious agreement like a Happy Meal and McFlurry, coach! 

The Lie – Lane Kiffin is just hoping for the best for everyone. 

Can we just stop with this charade that Lane Kiffin is actively hoping for the best for everyone. This whole “I just hope both sides have fun” schtick is ridiculous. I am not blaming Kiffin, and I genuinely don’t even disagree with most of the decisions he’s made throughout this process, regardless of the theatrics involved.

Divorce is messy, and this is no different. 

I firmly believe that Lane Kiffin wanted Ole Miss to win against Tulane and Georgia. I also believed he wanted them to win up until the point that he realized they may actually do it. It’s really simple to pretend you have genuine goodwill towards something, someone or some team (you used to coach), when deep down you never thought they’d succeed without you in the first place. 

Maybe that’s just me overreacting and reading too much into it. I’m not inside Kiffin’s head and maybe my assessment of the situation is completely off base. If it is, fine. Either way, I think the general feeling from everyone at this point is wishing that both sides would completely part ways and stop making this somehow even messier at every turn. 

I’m not sure what the exact therapy buzzword is for that level of disingenuous gaslighting, but I’ll let you know when I meet with Dr. Frankie on Tuesday. 





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College football quarterback with 6,600 career passing yards enters transfer portal

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5 hours ago

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January 5, 2026

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A quarterback with nearly 7,000 career passing yards has elected to enter the college football transfer portal in search of what will be his fifth school heading into the 2026 season.

North Texas quarterback Reese Poffenbarger has entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal looking for a new school next year, according to CBS Sports.

Over the last four seasons, the quarterback has been on three different rosters after redshirting his first year at Old Dominion in 2021.

His best performance to date

Poffenbarger had his two best overall outings in the 2022 and 2023 seasons when suited up for Albany, where he transferred to the FCS ranks.

He was named the starter at Albany after competing with two other candidates for the position and established a school record with 412 passing yards in a game against Fordham.

That year, Poffenbarger finished with one yard shy of 3,000 yards with 24 touchdowns and was named the Colonial Athletic Conference Offensive Rookie of the Year.

He led Albany to the FCS playoff semifinal round the following season, and elected to transfer away after leading the FCS with 36 passing touchdowns and 3,603 passing yards.

The quarterback finished as the school’s touchdown passing record-holder in his time with the program.

Where he’s been lately

Poffenbarger transferred to Miami ahead of the 2024 season, ultimately serving as the backup to Cam Ward, himself a transfer to the school who went on to lead college football’s top-ranked passing attack that year.

From there, Poffenbarger transferred to the Group of Five ranks, landing at North Texas, where he competed for and ultimately lost the starting quarterback job to eventual NCAA passing leader Drew Mestemaker.

What he’s done on the field

In his career, Poffenbarger boasts a 14-12 overall record in 26 starts across 32 total games, passing for 6,669 yards with 60 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.

He rushed for an additional 342 yards and eight more touchdowns.

Poffenbarger’s best outing came with Albany in the 2023 season, going 11-4 overall with 3,614 yards with 36 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, rushing for 6 touchdowns.

How the college football transfer portal works

The new 15-day transfer portal window from Jan. 2-16 and the elimination of the spring transfer period has condensed the timeline for players and programs to make their moves.

The NCAA Transfer Portal is a private database that includes the names of student-athletes in every sport at the Division I, II, and III levels. The full list of names is not available to the public.

(CBS)

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