2025-26 North Carolina FBS College Football Transfer Portal Tracker

The 2025 college football regular season is winding down, with only bowl games remaining for five of North Carolina’s seven FBS programs. Though the NCAA transfer portal does not officially open until January 2, 2026, many players have started to announce their intentions publicly on social media or through national recruiting outlets.

This tracker will follow:

• FBS players announcing plans to enter the portal from App State, Charlotte, Duke, East Carolina, NC State, UNC and Wake Forest
• Incoming transfers to NC FCS programs (added once movement starts)

This is a living page and will be updated regularly leading up to the 2026 season. It will serve as complimentary pages published by our partner, The North Carolina Sports Network, which is tracking statewide movement and ACC transfer movement.

More Transfer Portal Content

🔗 North Carolina FCS Transfer Portal Tracker
🔗 North Carolina D2 Transfer Portal Tracker
🔗 Tiered NC Transfer Portal Rankings and ACC Transfer Portal Coverage (from NC Sports Network)

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🏫 School-By-School Outgoing Transfers

These are names of players who, for now, have announced their intentions to enter the transfer portal when it opens Jan. 2, 2026. Sources: 247Sports, NC Sports Network, social media, On3Sports.

Appalachian State Mountaineers

CB Elijah Mc-Cantos
CB Tyshawn Sanders
DL Bucci Farmer
DL Dylan Manuel
DL KJ Liles
DL Rondo Parker
EDGE Anthony Mebane
EDGE Thomas Davis
LB Brayshawn Littlejohn
LB Jayden Bethea
OL Felix Doege
OL Moritz Schmoranzer
OT Denell Nix Jr.
OT Gabriel Funk
QB AJ Swann
QB Matthew Wilson
RB Jaylon Calhoun
RB Khalifa Keith
S Ja’Torian Mack
S Kaleb Neal
WR Chris Lawson Jr.
WR Jose Leon
WR William Fowles

Charlotte 49ers

OL Aiden Martinez
PK Liam Boyd
QB Zach Wilcke
RB Don Chaney Jr.
RB Jake Davids
RB Duke Guenther
S Cary Grant

Duke Blue Devils

RB Peyton Jones
S Maliki Wright

East Carolina Pirates

DB Bernard Lackey Jr.
LB Kendric Davis

NC State Wolfpack

DL Josh Alexander-Felton
OT Val Erickson

UNC Tar Heels

CB Khalil Conley
DB Ty White
LB Khmori House
OL Jani Norwood
OT Miles McVay
OT Trevyon Green
OT William Boone
RB Davion Gause
QB Max Johnson
TE Jake Johnson
TE Yasir Smith
WR Aziah Johnson
WR Chris Culliver
WR Jason Robinson Jr.
WR Javarius Green
WR Paul Billups II

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

EDGE Cole Funderburk
DL Ka’Shawn Thomas
DL Mateen Ibirogba
OL Derrell Johnson II
OT Nathan Pahanich
QB Elijah Oehike
RB Tate Carney
S Jacob Cosby-Mosley
S William Wiebush
TE Harry Lodge
WR Ben Grice
WR EJ Reid
WR Reginald Vick Jr.

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🏫 School-By-School Incoming Transfers

Incoming 2026 transfers from the D2/D3 portal, which is currently open. Once the Division I portal officially opens in January, we’ll start adding names of players pledging/signing with North Carolina’s FBS programs.

Appalachian State Mountaineers

OT Kamron Burris (Anderson)

Charlotte 49ers

DL D’Nas White (Catawba)

Duke Blue Devils

Incoming 2026 transfers will go here

East Carolina Pirates

Incoming 2026 transfers will go here

NC State Wolfpack

Incoming 2026 transfers will go here

UNC Tar Heels

Incoming 2026 transfers will go here

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Incoming 2026 transfers will go here

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions: College Football Transfer Portal (FBS)

When does the college football transfer portal open for FBS players?

For the 2025-26 cycle, the NCAA transfer portal for FBS players officially opens January 2 and closes January 16. Players may announce intentions before that date, but they cannot officially enter the portal until the window opens.

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Can FBS or FCS players enter the transfer portal before January 2?

In most cases, no. FBS and FCS players must wait until the January window opens to put their name into the portal officially.
Exceptions include:

• Players previously grandfathered in under older rules, such as a mid-season coaching change.
• Players transferring from Division II or Division III, which do not have transfer windows

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What changed with the transfer portal window dates?

Previously, the portal opened in early December and lasted about 30 days. Beginning with the 2025–26 cycle:

• The winter portal window moved to January
• The window was shortened to 15 days
• The spring transfer window was eliminated
  These changes were designed to limit roster churn and make the process more predictable for teams.

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Do players have to find their new school before the transfer portal window closes?

No. The portal window only governs when a player can enter their name.
Once in the portal, a player can:

• Take official visits
• Communicate with schools
• Commit and enroll later

There is no deadline for choosing a new school after entering the portal.

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Do graduate transfers have special rules?

Not anymore. Graduate transfers previously had more flexibility, but under the new rules graduate transfers must follow the same 15-day January window as all other players.

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How do coaching changes affect the transfer portal?

Under the updated rules:

• A coaching change does not automatically trigger a transfer window
• Players only receive a 15-day window if a new head coach is hired after January 2

This is a change from earlier rules, which allowed immediate portal entry after a coach departed.

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How many players typically enter the transfer portal?

The numbers continue to grow each year. During the 2024-25 season more than 4,900 FBS players and more than 3,200 FCS players entered the transfer portal nationwide, per ESPN reporting.

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Why did the NCAA move the portal window to January?

Coaches and administrators pushed for the change because December had become overwhelming.
December now includes:

• Coaching carousel
• High school early signing day
• Bowl preparation
• Recruiting visits

Moving the portal to January reduces conflicts and theoretically helps prevent a large exodus of players from leaving College Football Playoff teams mid-postseason.

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Does tampering happen before the portal opens?

Yes — a lot of it, per ESPN and 247Sports reporting. While players cannot officially enter the portal until January, recruiting conversations often begin earlier through:

• Agents
• General managers
• Informal back-channel communication

In many cases, players already have a strong idea of where they will transfer before officially entering the portal. Already hundreds of players, through their agents or social media posts, have announced their intentions to seek a transfer, even some on North Carolina bowl-bound teams.

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Will fewer players transfer now that the window is shorter?

It’s too early to know for sure. While the portal window has been reduced from 60 days (in 2022) to just 15 days now, several factors may still fuel movement:

• Revenue sharing
• NIL opportunities
• Multiyear agreements

Schools hope shorter windows will improve roster stability, but transfer volume has increased every year so far.

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