San Diego State defensive star says he will enter the transfer portal

Linebacker Owen Chambliss was All-MW, had 110 tackles

San Diego State Aztecs football team. | Photo courtesy of San Diego State University Aztecs

One of San Diego State’s defensive leaders, sophomore linebacker Owen Chambliss, says he’ll enter the transfer portal when it opens on Friday.

Chambliss’ decision was reported by several outlets on Sunday, the day after the Aztecs’ resurgent season ended with a wild 49-47 loss to No. 23 North Texas in the New Mexico Bowl.

Chambliss will have two years of eligibility remaining. He is the first Aztecs player to make his intentions known about entering the 15-day January portal. 

Who is Owen Chambliss?

Chambliss was one of the leaders of San Diego’s stingy defense, which was Top 10 nationally in many categories, including total defense and scoring defense. 

Chambliss’ breakout season was rewarded with selection to the All-Mountain West first team. He finished with a team-high 110 tackles, 30 more than the next player on the list, and his 62 solo tackles were 22 more than the next player. He had 9.5 tackles for loss, for 63 yards, as well as four sacks, one interception and one fumble recovery. His 110 total tackles were seventh in the MW.

San Diego State Aztecs linebacker Owen Chambliss (12). | Photo courtesy of San Diego State University Athletics

He recorded four games this season with at least 10 tackles. His 110 tackles were the most by an Aztec since Kyahva Tezino had 127 in 2018.

Chambliss is from Corona and started his collegiate career at Utah in 2023 before transferring to SDSU.

San Diego State’s defense set the tone early in the season, with two shutouts in the first three games, including 42-0 against FCS Stony Brook in the opener on Feb. 28 and a stunning 34-0 win against California on Sept. 20. Both were at home. The Aztecs added a third shutout, 23-0 at Fresno State on Oct. 25.

The new transfer portal

In October, the NCAA Division I Administrative Committee approved a new structure that condenses the transfer period into a single, shorter window in early January, rather than multiple windows throughout the year.

For the 2026 cycle, players will have from Friday through Jan. 16 to formally submit their names to the transfer portal. The change moves all transfer activity out of December and eliminates the spring period entirely.

It won’t be surprising to see other Aztecs enter the portal following their turnaround season in coach Sean Lewis’ second year on Montezuma Mesa.

San Diego State All-Mountain West linebacker Owen Chambliss is entering the NCAA transfer portal, he tells ESPN. He’ll have two seasons of eligibility remaining. Chambliss finished this year with 110 tackles, four sacks and 9.5 TFLs. pic.twitter.com/EdV5AKHxEA

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 28, 2025

The Aztecs finished 9-4 overall and in a four-way tie atop the MW at 6-2, although they were knocked out of contention for a spot in the championship game due to a double-overtime loss at New Mexico in the regular-season finale and computer rankings that were used to break the tie. 

SDSU officially joins the reconfigured Pac-12 on July 1.