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College football’s quarterback carousel is more active—and more expensive—than ever this season.
For the first time this year, a single transfer portal window for football players is open Jan. 2–16. Previously, there were two windows, a winter window in December and a spring window in April.
Since the new portal opened Friday, teams across the country have been retooling their rosters for the 2026 season.
Staying on Top
While Indiana, the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff, prepares for this week’s semifinal matchup against Oregon, the Hoosiers have landed former TCU quarterback Josh Hoover. The redshirt junior will succeed Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, who transferred from Cal a year ago and is now expected to be the top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Oregon quarterback Dante Moore is also projected to be a top pick if he enters the NFL Draft.
Meanwhile, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss announced he will return for one more season, pending his waiver request for a sixth year of NCAA eligibility. The news comes as the Rebels prepare to face Miami in the other CFP semifinal.
Big Spending
Texas Tech, which lost to Oregon in the Playoff quarterfinals on New Year’s Day, has signed former Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby to a deal that will pay him $5 million next season, according to multiple reports. To celebrate, the school bought an ad in Times Square welcoming Sorsby to Lubbock.
After losing Hoover to the top-ranked team in the country, TCU has signed Harvard’s Jaden Craig, widely regarded as the top FCS quarterback in the portal, to replace Hoover. Nebraska, which lost Dylan Raiola to the portal, has signed Kenny Minchey, who was Notre Dame’s backup this past season. North Carolina has signed former Wisconsin quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., who will replace Gio Lopez in Bill Belichick’s second season in Chapel Hill.
More Musical Chairs
Several notable quarterbacks who could command multimillion-dollar deals remain in the portal, including Raiola, former Florida star DJ Lagway, and Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt.
The 15-day transfer portal window will close Jan. 16—three days before the CFP national championship game. But players on the two teams competing in the title game will get an additional five-day period Jan. 20–24 to enter the portal after their season ends.
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