The main transfer portal deadline has come and gone.
Friday was the final day for those not playing in Monday night’s national title game to enter the 2026 college football transfer portal. A player can commit at any time after Friday’s deadline. But if he’s not in the portal by midnight, he’s unable to transfer ahead of the 2026 season barring a sudden coaching change or other unforeseen circumstance.
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And while many notable players have committed to new schools already so they can enroll for the spring semester — we’ve got the winners and losers here — there are still some key players who have not made an official decision just yet. Here are the top players still available ahead of the portal’s closure.
(Note: Indiana and Miami players will have five days to enter the transfer portal after Monday night’s game)
Non-Quarterbacks
Ole Miss EDGE Princewill Unmanmielen
The Rebels’ star edge rusher announced Thursday night that he would be entering the transfer portal and while he hasn’t committed anywhere yet, it’s not hard to see how LSU and his former coach Lane Kiffin could be the favorites to land him. Ole Miss is reportedly trying to block his transfer.
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Unmanmielen had nine sacks in 2025 and 13 tackles for loss in his first season at Ole Miss. He came to Oxford after two seasons at Nebraska, where he had 1.5 sacks and 35 tackles. It was a breakout year after his brother Princely recorded 10.5 sacks in 2024 for Pete Golding’s defense.
Colorado OT Jordan Seaton
The top recruit signed by Deion Sanders announced this week that he was entering the transfer portal and has no shortage of suitors. He reportedly is taking a visit to Texas as the Longhorns are looking to add even more to their offense ahead of Arch Manning’s fourth season with the team. Texas’ offensive line improved as the season went on and the Longhorns’ performance correlated with it.
Seaton started right away at Colorado when he arrived ahead of the 2024 season and could be a first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft after another strong season.
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Missouri EDGE Damon Wilson
Wilson signed with Missouri ahead of the 2025 season and was the Tigers’ sack leader with nine in 2025. He came to Mizzou after two seasons at Georgia, where he had 3.5 sacks over those two years.
Wilson is looking to leave Missouri amid legal action by Georgia over his departure from the Bulldogs. Georgia’s athletic association has said Wilson owes the balance of the NIL deal he signed after the 2024 season before he made the decision to transfer. Wilson has challenged Georgia’s assertion.
Ohio’s starter for the past two seasons will have one season of eligibility following a season at UCF and four with Ohio. In 2025, Navarro was 188-of-303 for 2,375 yards and 14 TDs with 11 interceptions while also rushing for 886 yards and nine scores. In 2024, he was even better as he was 195-of-295 passing for 2,423 yards and 13 TDs and 11 interceptions while rushing 160 times for 1,046 yards and 18 touchdowns.
San Jose State QB Walker Eget
A four-year player at San Jose State, Eget been the Spartans’ starter for the past two seasons. He was 232-of-393 for 3,051 yards, tossing 17 TDs and nine interceptions across 11 games in 2025. For his career, Eget is 421-of-730 passing for 5,563 yards and 30 TDs with 19 interceptions.
“Anything related to the future, we choose respectfully not to comment on because, for us, all that matters right now is this team and this opportunity,” Cristobal said.
“So we’ll leave it at that, if that’s OK. Respectfully.”
Miami QB Carson Beck’s final college game is set to be Monday night, and the Hurricanes hadn’t added his successor in the transfer portal — yet. As the portal closed Friday night, Mensah was a surprise entrant. The former Tulane QB had been signed with Duke for the 2026 season after he was one of the most high-profile transfers of the 2025 offseason.
Mensah led Duke to the ACC title in 2025 as Miami missed out on the title game but still snuck into the College Football Playoff. He was one of the best quarterbacks in the ACC this past season and was 334-of-500 passing for 3,973 yards and 34 TDs with just six interceptions.
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He could be a first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. And he looked set to play his fourth season of college football with the Blue Devils. Instead, he could have an even bigger NIL offer coming his way from Miami or someone else — and now the defending ACC champions are left to scramble for a replacement as the portal has officially closed.
“The calendar, we all know, needs work,” Cristobal said. “We need a remedy that works for everybody and makes sense for everybody and allows for both student athletes to pursue their best opportunities while somehow, some way, maintaining their principles and values that come with college football, which I think we all know we’ve lost that a little bit. We have.
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“Then obviously we’re up against a different clock, being that we’re still playing, and all the focus for us is on playing, and then all the extra time, which you have to make, you have to cut into your own time, to continue to build your team for the future.
“We feel we’ve done the best that we can thus far, and we’re going to keep going.”
After the Green Bay Packers spent a first-round pick on WR Matthew Golden in the 2025 NFL Draft, many believed that was a signal to target the speedster in fantasy football drafts immediately. That belief backfired in a big way as Golden struggled to carve out a role while injuries and a crowded receiver room held him back.
Matt Harmon and Justin Boone discussed the Packers rookie WR’s disappointing first year in the NFL and whether or not there’s hope for the future on the latest episode of the Yahoo Fantasy Forecast.
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There were plenty of question marks surrounding the Packers’ WR room going into 2025, as Harmon points out, and he admits it was a huge whiff on his part before the season. Boone mentions the crowded group of receivers, and while Romeo Doubs could bolt in free agency, there’s still the presence of Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks and TE Tucker Kraft.
Boone doesn’t really see a path to Golden being a quality fantasy asset next season. While Harmon was high on Golden going into the fantasy season, he viewed him as a third-tier prospect coming out of college.
Golden finished his rookie season with just 29 receptions on 44 targets for 361 yards and no scores. He also had 10 carries for 49 yards and four catches for 84 yards and a touchdown in the wild-card loss to the Bears.
Curt Cignetti’s work turning Indiana from a Big Ten doormat into a national championship hopeful has not gone unnoticed by those outside of the college football world.
As the 15-0 Hoosiers prepare for Monday’s College Football Playoffnational championship game against Miami, Cignetti was asked about taking his talents to the NFL. His name has been brought up during this current coaching cycle and bandied about regarding potential future openings. But the interest would only be one sided.
“I’m not an NFL guy,” Cignetti said during Saturday’s CFP media day. “I made that decision a long time ago. Chuck Amato, NC State, in 2000. I had a chance to go with the Packers. Tommy Rossley, Mike Sherman, [Brett] Favre was in his heyday. I declined the opportunity. I almost took it. That’s when I made the final decision. I’ve always been more of a college football guy.”
Cignetti has over 90 million reasons to stay in the college game after inking a lucrative eight-year extension with Indiana in October that will see him average $11.6 million per season.
The Hoosiers lost to Notre Dame in the CFP first round last year before this past season's climb atop the rankings and wins over Alabama and Oregon to reach the title game.
“Air Force Men’s Basketball Head Coach Joe Scott has been suspended indefinitely pending an investigation into the treatment of cadet-athletes,” the statement reads. “Assistant Coach Jon Jordan (USAFA ’85) will serve as interim head coach.
“No further information is releasable at this time.”
Scott, 60, has led the Falcons for 10 seasons, including six straight in his second stint as head coach. He previously served in that role from 2000-04.
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While Scott, who played at Princeton as a guard from 1983-87, guided Air Force to a Mountain West regular-season title and an NCAA tournament appearance during a 2003-04 season that saw the Falcons crack the AP Top 25, he hasn’t achieved comparable success in his second go-around at the program’s helm.
In fact, Scott has yet to author a winning season since he took over the reins again ahead of the 2020-21 season.
The Falcons have won single-digit games three of the past five seasons and are off to a 3-14 start this season. As of Saturday morning, they are still winless (0-6) in Mountain West competition during the 2025-26 campaign.
After Scott’s first run as Air Force head coach, he took the same position at his alma mater, Princeton. His reunion lasted from 2004-07. Then he coached Denver for nine seasons from 2007-16. He took the Pioneers to the NIT after a WAC regular-season title in 2012-13.
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Scott was an assistant at Holy Cross (2016-18) and then Georgia (2018-20) before returning to Air Force.
Jon Jordan, Air Force’s interim head coach, is also in his second stint with the program. He’s been back since the 2022-23 campaign. He’s coached on the program’s staff for a total of nine seasons, dating back to 2000-05 when he first worked under Scott and then Chris Mooney.
A 1985 graduate of Air Force, where he was a three-year letter winner on the court, Jordan also coached on Scott’s staff at Denver.
The Buffalo Bills have made it all the way to the divisional playoff round this season, but as they head into their game against the Denver Broncos, they’ll be without a few key players who have suffered injuries as of late, including cornerback Maxwell Hairston, linebacker Terrel Bernard, along with safety Jordan Poyer and wide receiver Gabe Davis, who were both injured last weekend in the Bills win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Broncos are healthy and well-rested by comparison, coming off a bye week and ready to host the Bills at Mile High Stadium.
The Bills vs. Broncos game will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+. Here’s everything you need to know about how to watch this and every other divisional round playoff game this weekend.
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How to watch the Buffalo Bills vs. Denver Broncos:
The Bills vs. Broncos game kicks off at 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT on Saturday, Jan 17, 2026.
Buffalo Bills vs. Denver Broncos game channel:
The playoff game between the Bills and Broncos will air on CBS, which means if it’s on in your area, it’ll also stream live on Paramount+. You can also tune in on mobile devices with NFL+.
How to watch the Buffalo Bills vs. Denver Broncosgame without cable:
San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks, 8:00 p.m. (FOX)
Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026
Los Angeles Rams vs. Chicago Bears: 6:30 p.m. (NBC/Peacock)
How to watch NFL games in 2026:
Many NFL games are broadcast on local channels, so if you’re looking to catch an in-market game, it may be as simple as turning on your TV (or setting up a digital TV antenna) or finding a live TV streaming service that carries the correct RSN (Regional Sports Network). If you want to watch out-of-market games, a $7 monthly subscription to NFL+ will let you watch every out-of-market-game local and primetime game in the season on your phone — but only a select few regular season games on your TV. You could also spring for the uber-expensive NFL Sunday Ticket package to get every out-of-market Sunday game of the season.
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When it comes to nationally broadcast games, NFL games typically air across ESPN, NBC, CBS, Fox, ABC and NFL Network. Thursday Night Football games stream exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, select football games will stream exclusively on Peacock, games on CBS will stream live on Paramount+, and Monday Night Football games will air on ESPN or ABC and stream on the newly revamped ESPN+ this season. That’s six channels and four streaming platforms to keep up with this season — and that’s not counting your local RSN’s for in-market games and an NFL+ or NFL Sunday Ticket subscription for out-of-market games. Plus, Netflix is once again hosting at least two Christmas Day matches, so add that subscription into the mix. And we can’t forget about Fox One, Fox’s first streaming service, a place where you can also stream games airing on FOX (if you don’t already have access to it).
Confused? You’re not alone. Here’s a breakdown of the platforms we recommend checking out ahead of the 2025 NFL season, so that come game time, tuning into your favorite team’s games will be as easy as simply turning on the TV.
Pros
Full package free trial available
Many local RSNs included
Free ESPN unlimited
Unlimited Cloud DVR
Cons
Cost
Regional Sports Network fee
Pros
Free trial available
Unlimited cloud DVR storage
Free ESPN unlimited
Cons
Entirely sports-focused
Doesn’t include NBC
Pros
Offers NFL Sunday Ticket bundle
Offers almost every channel you need for NFL games
Cons
High cost
Locked into YouTube TV Base Plan with the Sunday Ticket bundle
Just over a year ago, on Jan. 6, 2025, New England Patriots team owner Robert Kraft addressed reporters.
Less than a year after promoting Jerod Mayo to head coach, Kraft was facing another coaching search. The Patriots had a promising first-round rookie quarterback in Drake Maye and a slew of talented players. But that combination had produced only four wins, and Kraft believed there was more to unlock.
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“I don’t like losing,” he said. “I don’t like losing the way we lost. Things were not developing the way we would have liked.
“I have to go out and find a coach who can get us back to the playoffs and hopefully championships.”
So the Patriots kept the general manager who found their quarterback and they capitalized on the marketability of a storied franchise with its biggest roster question seemingly answered.
The turnaround speed has been remarkable. So has the rapid shift in Patriots culture. The NFL took note — and now, one of the nine teams who moved on from their head coach is following a similar blueprint with hopes of similar results.
Promising first-round quarterback on rookie contract wins four games. General manager who found the quarterback stays in place. Coach out. Club pursues established coach with track record of success.
John Harbaugh has a chance to turn thing around quickly with the Giants, who already have a promising young QB, Jaxson Dart, in place.
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / REUTERS)
When the Baltimore Ravens fired their 18-year coach who won a Super Bowl, Harbaugh immediately became the most attractive candidate on the market. Baltimore, similarly, rose to the top of the most attractive openings — but the Giants moved down only one spot, to second place and thus first of teams Harbaugh could consider.
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The marquee franchise in the league’s biggest market drafted Jaxson Dart 25th overall last spring. In his 14 games (12 starts) this season, Dart completed 63.7% of his passes for 2,272 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions while rushing for another 489 yards and nine scores.
The negotiation tenor that followed seemed to indicate what league sources believed: Harbaugh and Dart were each the best partner the other could land this cycle. The high-energy marriage that looms intrigues opponents.
“There’s something to be said for guys who have proven themselves,” one person with franchise familiarity said of Harbaugh. “Throughout the league, a lot of people hire [coaches] just because they call good plays. Being a head coach is so much more than calling plays.
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“I think the direction the Giants are going in is the right direction.”
What the Giants offer Harbaugh
At Giants general manager Joe Schoen’s end-of-season news conference, he touted “leadership” as the top quality he’d search for in the Giants’ next head coach. Football acumen, player development and a plan at quarterback followed.
Harbaugh rose to the top, checking these boxes.
Ravens colleagues and league sources who have competed against the Ravens view Harbaugh’s enthusiasm as a great fit for a team with young players to engage. Harbaugh’s culture building, others said, could instill the discipline some members of the roster have lacked in recent years. His message, some believe, could resonate even more in a new building than in the hallways through which he has spoken to them through 293 regular-season games (180 wins) and 12 playoff berths.
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Harbaugh led the Ravens to a Super Bowl title following the 2012 season. He has since won four of 11 postseason contests.
The Giants have a young core to build around in Dart, 2025 rookie running back Cam Skattebo and 2024 first-round draft pick Malik Nabers on offense. Abdul Carter, the edge rusher New York selected third overall in 2025, rounded into an effective edge rusher by year’s end. Dart and Carter also each took on increasing leadership roles as the season elapsed.
“We can’t accept what happened this year to happen ever again,” Dart said the final week of the season. “I’m excited for the offseason to grow the culture and help put my hand in it. But it’s going to have me and everybody else sick that we’re going to have to watch other teams play [in the playoffs].”
Jaxson Dart’s dual-threat abilities caught the eye of many head coaching candidates. (Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images)
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / REUTERS)
Dart said he would lead moving forward with “the highest expectation” for teammates; he said Carter shared a similar message in a team huddle for the final game.
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“We just have that energy and the outlook,” Dart said, “that it’s just the only way it can go.”
The mentality is not dissimilar from that of Harbaugh. The longtime Ravens coach and previous special teams coordinator leads with an emphasis on positivity and growth, moments threading across his Baltimore leadership through his final game as Ravens coach. Ravens kicker Tyler Loop had missed the game-winning field goal that decided the AFC North; Harbaugh who comforted Loop and reassured him as the two walked through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ stadium tunnel minutes after what would later become Harbaugh’s final game as Ravens coach.
The Giants’ talent pool generates mixed responses from opponents. Some league sources whose clubs faced the Giants this season viewed New York’s 2025 roster as a list of individuals including some talented standouts rather than a team adept at channeling those talents collectively to achieve more. Nabers’ season-ending ACL tear in Dart’s debut start hurt the offense’s potential, as did Skattebo’s October tibia fracture, ruptured deltoid ligament and right ankle dislocation.
But their return could help improve the offense’s explosion in Dart’s second year. And defensively, the Giants’ front boasts Carter, Dexter Lawrence II, Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux.
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An opponent who faced the Giants credited the defensive line as an area they “have gotten right.” Criticism of Lawrence slowing down, the opponent said, may speak more to the increased speed of the linemen around him.
Dart’s continued development will be key to Harbaugh achieving success with the Giants. That opportunity also helped New York land the big fish.
“There are a lot of potential head-coaching candidates,” Schoen said Jan. 6, “that are excited about the opportunity here because of Jaxson Dart.”
What coach, scheme will Harbaugh choose for Dart?
It’s arguably too soon to settle on coordinator expectations with eight head-coaching roles in flux even after Harbaugh’s negotiations moved seemingly from a matter of if to when.
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But there is an expectation that Harbaugh will bring to New York his most recent Baltimore offensive coordinator, Todd Monken, if Monken does not get a head-coaching job.
The Cleveland Browns interviewed Monken, who coordinated their offense in 2019, for the Browns’ top role last Saturday.
How would Monken’s offense look in New York?
“It will be different,” one AFC assistant who faced the Ravens in Monken’s tenure told Yahoo Sports. “He walked into a situation with Lamar Jackson and [Derrick] Henry. Those are two Hall of Fame players … so it will be different.”
And yet, the AFC assistant believed Monken’s philosophies could cater to Dart’s skill set.
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“I think he does a great job with marrying up the run with the play action,” the assistant said. “A balanced offense.”
Another AFC executive described Monken as “naturally a pass-oriented play caller” but one who has “adapted to different guys and been explosive.”
Developing Dart into an explosive but less reckless quarterback will be key after a rookie year that included five concussion checks, per ESPN, and two games missed to concussion.
Nail that risk-reward analysis, and the Giants have an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the Patriots — who beat the Los Angeles Chargers in last weekend’s wild-card round and host the Houston Texans in this week’s divisional round.
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In his second season, Maye is among betting favorites for MVP. Vrabel, in his first year at the Patriots helm, is among Coach of the Year favorites.
“There’s certainly an opportunity that you look at those franchises and how they put it together in a quick turnaround,” Schoen said of the Patriots and the Chicago Bears’ 2025 success. “In an ideal world, yeah, that would be it.
Miami (Ohio)’s incredible unbeaten run continued on Saturday thanks to an overtime winner by Peter Suder.
Suder hit a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left in OT to give the RedHawks a 105-102 home win over Buffalo. The win pushed Miami to 19-0.
Miami is one of just three teams that entered the weekend without a loss, along with Arizona and Nebraska. The RedHawks are now 7-0 in the MAC.
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Suder’s 37 points are the most he’s scored in a single game since he dropped 42 on Air Force in December 2024. Suder was 13-of-22 from the field and 7-of-10 from 3-point range. All five of Miami’s starters had at least 12 points, as the team got just seven points from the bench.
The RedHawks have been one of the best offensive teams in the country this season. Their offensive rating ranks second, though advanced statistics like KenPom don’t treat Miami as kindly, thanks to the team’s strength of schedule. Miami played two lower-level teams outside of MAC play and did not play a power conference opponent.
That lack of schedule strength could be an issue for the NCAA tournament committee if the RedHawks don’t win the MAC tournament. But that’s a problem for another day. Miami deserves to be ranked in the AP Top 25 on Monday and should stay there as long as it stays unbeaten.
Jeff Hafley is attracting a handful of NFL teams who are in search of a new head coach, but one franchise in particular is reportedly keying in on the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator.
Hafley, 46, has emerged as the leading candidate for the Miami Dolphins’ head-coaching job, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, who reported Saturday that he was told the former Boston College head coach “blew everyone away in his initial virtual interview with the Dolphins.”
Pelissero pointed out in his Saturday report, however, that the Dolphins haven’t made a final decision, and that they have more interviews scheduled, including one on Sunday with Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady.
Plus, Miami has competition for Hafley. Four other teams — the Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders and Arizona Cardinals — have all requested second interviews with Hafley, and he’s slated to interview for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ head-coaching vacancy on Saturday, per Pelissero.
The Packers got off to a 9-3-1 start this season. Along the way, they allowed just 19 points per game. That was even an improvement from the 19.9 points per game they gave up in 2024, Hafley’s first season on the job, when they clocked out sixth in the NFL in scoring defense.
Before Matt LaFleur brought Hafley aboard in Green Bay, Hafley went 22-26 as BC’s head coach from 2020-23. He went from coordinating a suffocating Ohio State defense in 2019 to navigating the pandemic in 2020 and leading BC to a winning season in his first year as a first-time head coach.
Hafley finished his stay at BC with another winning season, capped by a Fenway Bowl victory over a 17th-ranked SMU team.
Hafley spent seven seasons as an NFL assistant in the 2010s, coaching defensive backs for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012-13), Cleveland Browns (2014-15) and San Francisco 49ers (2016-18).
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Whether you like it or not, here’s the new economic reality of college football: If you’re an in-demand transfer quarterback, that job will be roughly as lucrative over the next year as being the No. 12 pick in the NFL Draft, the No. 15 pick in the NBA Draft, the 30th-ranked golfer on the PGA Tour and the No. 10 men’s tennis player in the world.
As we’ve watched the transfer portal over the past two weeks and heard the reported numbers attached to those transactions, it doesn’t always feel real. Four million here, five million there. It seems like Monopoly money.
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For a college quarterback? Someone who may never throw a touchdown in the best football league in the world?
Yes.
And Monday night’s national championship game will show us why.
We can talk all we want about what it takes to build a roster in the NIL era, the escalation of coaching salaries and which programs are doing the best job developing talent. But at the end of the day, nearly all of it hinges on the shotgun courtship between a program and the quarterback it pulls out of the transfer portal.
Miami’s Carson Beck and Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza will meet in the title game on Monday night. (Getty)
Get it right and you’ve got a chance to be playing in the last game of the season like Indiana and Miami. Get it wrong and you’re talking about millions of dollars down the drain, boosters who feel like they got ripped off and coaches getting put on the hot seat.
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“It’s definitely a tricky situation,” Indiana offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan said. “It happens quick.”
And it defines so much of what’s happening on the field, off the field and in courtrooms around the country.
It’s why schools were desperate to get Alabama’s Ty Simpson to put his name in the portal over the last few weeks, offering millions of dollars even after he announced his intent to enter the draft where there’s a chance he won’t make as much money.
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And it’s why Miami is at the center of a different storm this weekend amid Duke’s Darian Mensah putting his name in the transfer portal and breaking a contract worth $4 million next year. Despite creating all kinds of legal entanglements that will need to be resolved, it seems likely to happen one way or another because the Hurricanes need a starting quarterback next year and they’re willing to pay a lot to get one who’s proven he can play.
“Anything related to the future, we choose respectfully not to comment on because, for us, all that matters right now is this team and this opportunity,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said Saturday. “So we’ll leave it at that.”
Duke’s Darian Mensah has entered the transfer portal and Miami is reportedly considered the landing spot for the talented quarterback.
(Cory Knowlton/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
Not so long ago in college football, bringing in transfer quarterbacks on a year-by-year basis was the mark of an unhealthy program. Outside of Russell Wilson becoming a sensation at Wisconsin after spending four years at NC State, rent-a-quarterback situations largely did not work out very well.
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“Inherently, I’m an old-school soul,” Miami offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Shannon Dawson said. “I like to develop kids and [believe] reps within a system matter.”
But everyone here knows if Miami is going to make another run next year, it likely won’t be with a quarterback currently on the roster.
After all, this is the second year in a row both teams in the national title game have ridden one-year rentals. It could be a while before we see another national championship that recruited and developed its quarterback as a multi-year project out of high school.
In some ways, a program’s fate is as simple as this: Did you make the right bet in the transfer portal?
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It’s why the eye-popping financial numbers are what they are. Though we can certainly debate whether Carson Beck’s up-and-down production was worth all those millions of dollars or whether he was as good for Miami as Cam Ward (another one-year transfer) last year, that’s not the right evaluation.
Miami is the national championship game. In a sport where the demand for good quarterbacks is greater than the supply, they have more than justified Beck’s price tag. And now they’ll do it all over again. If Mensah is the right choice, the financial and legal pain of extracting him from Duke will be worth it.
“I think it comes down a lot to that,” Miami athletic director Dan Radakovich said. “That’s a football and collective type of decision. We help kind of set the parameters in terms of what the pie is, and they divide the pie the way they need to divide it.”
Indiana is playing a similar game from Kurtis Rourke last year to Fernando Mendoza this season to, most likely, TCU transfer Josh Hoover in 2026.
Compared to Beck’s high-profile departure from Georgia, Mendoza’s announcement that he was leaving Cal a year ago generated a fraction of the fanfare. Considered a good quarterback, whose deal with Indiana landed in the reported $2 million range, Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti may have been the only person who realized he had recruited a future Heisman Trophy winner.
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“If you trust your evaluation and your history of evaluation has been successful and you have a lot of confidence in yourself and your process, you feel strong about a guy,” Cignetti said. “I felt extremely strong about Fernando. Extremely. I knew we had something.”
“It would be nice to have a guy for a few years, but when you’ve got a chance to get a guy that can play winning football, that’s been through the wars, to me it’s an easy decision,” Cignetti said. “You’ve got to win every year. Now there’s no, ‘Oh, in five years we’ll be good.’ That was a long time ago. It’s not a perfect world, college football.”
The process isn’t perfect, either. The transfer portal is only open for 15 days. Coaches and general managers have to make career-defining decisions with imperfect information. The amount of money it takes to get one of these quarterbacks raises the stakes for everyone.
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At some point, if this speed dating cycle continues, Miami or Indiana is probably going to make a season-ruining mistake. It’s just how the sport works now.
“Getting to the truth a lot of times is hard,” Dawson said. “You’ve got cut through the weeds a little bit. You a blackjack player? Nothing’s 100 percent, right?
“We looked at [Beck’s] career as one of, man, this kid’s got a lot of experience. We felt like we were a really good football team and we felt like we needed somebody that’s played in some big games because we were hoping to play in some big games, and he’s been in a lot of them.”
He’s got one more Monday night. But in many ways, the biggest game of all — the one that determines who’s playing in the championship game 12 months from now — has already been played.
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When you think about everything riding on the shoulders of these transfer quarterbacks and what it means to a school when they hit the way Indiana and Miami have, the $4 million salaries may not be that crazy after all.
