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College Football Playoff team loses starter to transfer portal

The endless ebb and flow of the transfer portal hits even a Playoff squad.
Joe Cox|
One CFP squad has already lost a three-year starter to the transfer portal
One CFP squad has already lost a three-year starter to the transfer portal | Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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James Madison Dukes

The college football transfer portal doesn't really discriminate in that it claims casualties from teams from great to awful. That was emphasized on Tuesday with a squad that reached the 2025 College Football Playoff losing a three-year starter to the portal.

The 2025 postseason was certainly unusual with a pair of Group of Five teams reaching the Playoff, due to complications with the ACC title. That said, the rough losses taken by Tulane and James Madison might have hurt the cause moving forward for G5 teams hoping to reach the Playoff. One of those losses is already seeing costs in the transfer portal.

James Madison defensive back DJ Barksdale has indicated that he will enter the transfer portal. Barksdale was an All-Sun Belt Conference pick in 2025, helping the Dukes defense en route to a 12-2 season and a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Barksdale is from South Carolina and according to 247sports, was basically an under-the-radar recruit whose only two FBS scholarship offers came from Army and James Madison. Barksdale played as a kick returner and a defensive reserve as a freshman and then moved into the starting secondary in the last two years.

He broke up 14 passes in 2025, including a pair of interceptions while recording 39 tackles. Listed at either 5'9" or 5'10", Barksdale is slightly undersized as a defensive back, but his multiple seasons of starting experience and his ball skills figure to make him a highly-regarded portal addition.

Barksdale
Defensive back DJ Barksdale is heading into the portal after James Madison's Playoff season. | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Barksdale is far from the only player on the move from JMU. The Dukes lost coach Bob Chesney to UCLA. Given the struggles of the Bruins in prior seasons, it wouldn't be surprising for Chesney to bring some of his better players with him to UCLA. He has already brought his offensive and defensive coordinators and new JMU coach Billy Napier will have some rebuilding to do.

UCLA could certainly use help anyway, as the Bruin secondary allowed 23 touchdowns while recording just four interceptions in 2025. UCLA finished 15th of the 18 Big Ten teams in opposing QB rating in 2025. Those four picks tied Purdue for worst in the league and the 23 passing scores allowed tied for next-to-worst in the conference.

Given Barksdale's skill set and experience with Chesney and defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler, it'll be interesting to see if he heads west. In any case, he should have plenty of interested portal suitors in the weeks to come.

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Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.

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