College Football transfer portal tracker

Rusty Gorelick Updated: Jan 23 2024 17:23

For many teams, the 2023 College Football season is over, meaning the transfer portal has already been active.

Many notable players have already made their respective decisions.

Here, we track all the latest moves from big-name players seeking new schools.

Julian Sayin – Alabama to Ohio State

Freshman quarterback Julian Sayin transferred from Alabama to Ohio State after Nick Saban's retirement. An early enrollee at Alabama, Sayin was a five-star recruit and ranked as the second-best QB in his class.

He will enter Ohio State as a true freshman and will likely sit behind fellow incoming transfer Will Howard, a graduate student, for the 2024 season.

Caleb Downs – Alabama to Ohio State

Safety Caleb Downs, Alabama's leading tackler by 40 tackles in 2023 as a true freshman, announced his transfer away from the school after Nick Saban announced his retirement.

In his lone season at Alabama, Downs intercepted two passes, defended four passes, forced one fumble, and recovered one fumble in addition to his 107 total tackles and 3.5 tackles for a loss.

Will Howard – Kansas State to Ohio State

Quarterback Will Howard is transferring to Ohio State, where he will replace Syracuse-bound Kyle McCord. Howard is coming off his senior season at Kansas State, where he completed a career-high 61.3 percent of his passes for 2,643 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions while leading his team to a 9-4 record.

In 2024, Howard will benefit from the fact that Ohio State offensive skill players Emeka Egbuka and TreVeyon Henderson are returning to school.

Malachi Nelson – USC to Boise State

The No. 1 recruit in the class of 2023, Malachi Nelson, is passing up the chance to replace NFL-bound Caleb Williams at USC and instead will spend next season at Boise State. During his recruitment out of high school, Nelson had committed to Oklahoma to play for the school's then-head coach Lincoln Riley, and he flipped his commitment to USC once Riley took the top job there.

Nelson was dealing with an injury leading up to the 2023 College Football season and was USC's third-string QB behind Williams and Miller Moss. Moss threw for six TDs in USC's Holiday Bowl win over No. 16 Louisville, putting himself in pole position to replace Williams. Nelson will join a team with a solid running back in Ashton Jeanty, and good offensive line that was joint-13th in the nation with 16 sacks allowed in 2023.

DJ Uiagalelei – Oregon State to Florida State

Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei will play his fifth season at Florida State. A five-star recruit out of high school, he played his first three years at Clemson before transferring to Oregon State for 2023.

At Oregon State in 2023, he completed 57.1 percent of his passes for 2,638 yards, 21 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He rushed for six TDs and led Oregon State to an 8-5 record.

Maalik Murphy – Texas to Duke

Maalik Murphy was always going to have trouble getting playing time on a roster with Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning, so the QB decided to transfer to Duke and replace Notre Dame-bound Riley Leonard.

The timing of Murphy's transfer announcement was initially called into question with the Longhorns in this year's College Football Playoff, but given how fast the portal moves, it's become more understandable. A freshman this past year, Murphy completed 40/71 passes for 477 yards, three TDs, and three INTs.

Trevor Etienne – Florida to Georgia

Sophomore running back Trevor Etienne - brother of Jacksonville Jaguars RB Travis - is transferring from Florida to Georgia, where he will enter his junior season.

In 24 career college football games, Etienne has rushed 249 times for 1,472 yards and 14 touchdowns. Through the air, he has caught 30 passes for 238 yards and one TD. As a Bulldog, he will step in to take on much of the burden that will be left if senior backs Kendall Milton and Daijun Edwards do not return for a fifth season.

AJ Swann – Vanderbilt to LSU

Vanderbilt QB AJ Swann is heading to LSU, where he will battle to win the starting job after 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels declared for the NFL Draft.

Swann completed 56.3 percent of his passes for 2,731 yards, 22 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in 15 games over his first two collegiate seasons.

London Humphreys – Vanderbilt to Georgia

Vanderbilt loses another key player in wide receiver London Humphreys, who was ranked as the top wideout in this year's transfer portal and is swapping the SEC's worst team for one of its best.

Humphreys was a high-level track athlete in high school, and his speed will be a huge asset to the Bulldogs. Humphreys posted 22 catches for 439 yards and four touchdowns in 12 games as a freshman in 2023.

Dante Moore – UCLA to Oregon

Oregon has landed another high-profile transfer QB in Dante Moore. A freshman in 2023, Moore will likely sit behind fellow transfer QB Dillon Gabriel in 2024.

In nine games in 2023, Moore completed 53.5 percent of his passes for 1,610 yards, 11 touchdowns, and nine interceptions.

Will Rogers – Mississippi State to Washington

With Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. set to declare for the NFL Draft after the College Football Playoff, the Huskies moved quickly to bring in a replacement.

While it will be hard to replace the playmaking ability of a player as talented as Penix, Rogers comes in with 43 games of college football experience. In eight games in 2023, he completed 59.9 percent of his passes for 1,626 yards, 12 touchdowns, and four interceptions.

Kyle McCord – Ohio State to Syracuse

Quarterback Kyle McCord ended his tenure as Ohio State's starting QB on a sour note, throwing a late interception to seal the Buckeyes' third-straight loss to rivals Michigan in as many years.

With five-star QB recruit Air Noland heading to Columbus in 2024, McCord decided to transfer and will spend his senior season playing for new Syracuse head coach Fran Brown, a native of the Philadelphia area where McCord grew up.

Princely Umanmielen – Florida to Ole Miss

Entering his fifth year, defensive lineman Princely Umanmielen is switching between SEC schools as he heads to Ole Miss after a productive career at Florida.

Umanmielen finished in the top 10 in the SEC in tackles for a loss (12) and sacks (7) in 2023. In 36 career games, he has 14.5 sacks, 24.5 tackles for a loss, and three forced fumbles.

Tyler Van Dyke – Miami to Wisconsin

Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke is moving far north from Miami (FL) after committing to Wisconsin for his fifth college football season. In 11 games in 2023, he completed a career-high 65.8 percent of his passes for 2,703 yards, 19 TDs, and 12 interceptions.

Dillon Gabriel – Oklahoma to Oregon

With 50 College Football games under his belt, former Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel was one of the biggest names in the transfer portal after a season where he threw 30 touchdowns and six interceptions while rushing for 12 more scores.

Gabriel led Oklahoma to a 10-2 season that included a win over Texas, and he will return for a sixth season to replace Bo Nix at Oregon in 2024.

Riley Leonard – Duke to Notre Dame

Now former Duke head coach Mike Elko moved to Texas A&M after the 2023 College Football season ended, so the now former Duke QB Riley Leonard decided to move to Notre Dame.

Leonard is replacing Sam Hartman in South Bend, Indiana. Only playing in seven games in 2023 due to an ankle injury, Leonard posted 1,102 passing yards with a 57.6 completion percentage, three touchdowns and three interceptions while also rushing for four scores.