Kansas Football Transfer Portal: Which Jayhawks Might Leave?

The Kansas football team has a lot of work to do this offseason as it looks to bounce back from consecutive 5-7 campaigns.

Lance Leipold's group is losing a lot of production to graduation, and he will look to the transfer portal to replenish the roster. However, it is also possible that certain Jayhawks opt to transfer despite KU being relatively effective at player retention in recent years.

Keep in mind, these aren't predictions of who will stay or go, just speculation and analysis on players who might not have been utilized to their fullest potential.

Isaiah Marshall and/or David McComb

Marshall was used sparingly in dual-threat sets as a rusher and finished the year as the true backup quarterback. Those reps were almost definitely a way for the coaching staff to show him how he could be used in the future.

But Marshall has now spent two years sitting behind Jalon Daniels and still hasn't proven himself much as a passer. If the Jayhawks prefer to pursue a transfer quarterback to run the offense next season, Marshall could look elsewhere.

A player with his potential may not want to sit behind a veteran for three straight years, and he would immediately attract attention from other programs.

Nov 28, 2025; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks quarterback Isaiah Marshall (8) runs the ball during the first half against the Utah Utes at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

My gut feeling is that if Marshall isn't promised a real chance to compete for the starting job next year, he could be out of Lawrence pretty quickly in the transfer cycle.

The same applies to true freshman David McComb, who garnered a lot of interest out of high school and has long-term upside as a passer. His situation is similar to Marshall's, although his transfer timeline might be another year away.

Dak Brinkley

Once a highly touted 4-star recruit out of high school, Brinkley played sparingly as a redshirt freshman.

He totaled 15 tackles and 1.5 sacks, but even with several KU defensive ends graduating, he will likely sit behind Leroy Harris III on the depth chart, assuming he returns.

Brinkley has three more years of eligibility and may not want to spend another season buried in the rotation. He could see a bigger role at other programs, though it remains to be seen how much his snap count would increase with Justice Finkley and Dean Miller graduating.

Jahlil Hurley and/or Syeed Gibbs

While KU's defensive back room is full of youth, that also means competition for playing time will be tight. Jalen Todd and Austin Alexander are expected to be penciled in as starters if they stay, but the same cannot be said for the Alabama transfer Hurley or Georgia Tech transfer Gibbs.

Hurley mostly played special teams, while Gibbs filled in at the HAWK role and moved around in a few packages along with Mason Ellis. Both have eligibility remaining and could choose to use it somewhere they'd see more snaps.

Gibbs especially feels like a player the staff needs to prioritize keeping, as he flashed potential throughout the year with his hard-hitting, linebacker-esque skill set. He could become a bigger contributor with another offseason under his belt.

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