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Another Nebraska Underclassman Defensive Back to Enter the Transfer Portal

A Nebraska native who struggled to find the field over the past two seasons will look to play elsewhere.
Kaleb Henry|
Nebraska defensive back Preston Okafor is headed to the transfer portal.
Nebraska defensive back Preston Okafor is headed to the transfer portal. | @OkaforPreston/X

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Nebraska Cornhuskers

A third defensive back is leaving Nebraska for the transfer portal.

Hours after news broke of Malcolm Hartzog Jr.'s intentions to find a new home, redshirt freshman Preston Okafor took to social media to announce he would also be leaving. The Omaha native thanked the program for the past two years.

"I've learned so much as a football player and as a man and I'm extremely grateful for my time here," Okafor said. "I'm excited for the future and looking forward to what's next."

Over two seasons in Lincoln, Okafor saw action in just two games: Akron and Houston Christian in 2025. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Out of Omaha Westside High School, Okafor helped the Warriors to back-to-back Nebraska Class A state championships in 2022 and 2023.

Okafor's offers out of high school were Montana State and Northern Iowa. His older brother, Collins, was a Husker running back from 2008 to 2011.

Known Transfer Portal Departures

The transfer portal doesn't open until Jan. 2 and runs through Jan. 15, but there are now four known Huskers set to depart.

The others are Hartzog, freshman running back Jamarion Parker, freshman safety Caden VerMaas, and sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola.

Returning Secondary Talent

The Husker secondary is one of the deepest positions on the roster.

On the final depth chart of the regular season, Nebraska had just three seniors among the 11 spots for rover, cornerback, safety, and nickel. Those spots also included two freshmen at safety, another at cornerback, a sophomore corner, a sophomore rover, and a junior nickel.

The depth chart for the Las Vegas Bowl also shows the youth of the position. Besides seniors Deshon Singleton (starting rover), Ceyair Wright (starting nickel), and Marques Buford Jr. (No. 2 safety), the other eight spots have eligibility to return in 2026, and three of them are starters: cornerback Andrew Marshall (Jr.), cornerback Donovan Jones (RFr.), and safety Rex Guthrie (RFr.).

Besides the departing VerMaas, the 2025 class included two other secondary players: four-star cornerback Bryson Webber and three-star safety Tanner Terch. Those two also only saw action against Akron and Houston Christian.

Several players from the 2024 class have yet to get significant time in the secondary, either. That class includes safety Braylen Prude, cornerback Mario Buford, safety Kahmir Prescott, cornerback Amare Sanders, cornerback Larry Tarver Jr., and cornerback Donovan Jones.

Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.

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Kaleb Henry
KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. 

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