College football program loses 47 players to transfer portal

College football’s 2025 season produced surprise collapses and underperformance from several blue-blood programs, from top-ranked Texas and Heisman favorite Arch Manning missing the postseason, to Clemson suffering its worst year under Dabo Swinney despite opening the year ranked No. 4 in the AP preseason poll.

Yet arguably the biggest disappointment, and the most consequential roster upheaval, has come at Penn State.

Penn State finished the 2025 season 7–6 (3–6 Big Ten) and capped it with a 22–10 victory over Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 27, 2025.

James Franklin began the season as head coach but was dismissed on Oct. 12, 2025, after a 3–3 start, with Terry Smith serving as interim head coach for the remainder of the year.

Following a national search, Penn State hired Matt Campbell as its 17th head coach on Dec. 5, 2025, bringing him over from Iowa State, where he spent a decade building the program into a Big 12 contender.

However, as of Saturday, 247Sports lists 47 outgoing transfers from Penn State in the 2026 portal window, one of the largest exoduses in FBS this cycle.

The latest addition to that list was freshman running back Tikey Hayes, who entered the portal on Jan. 10, 2026, a move that drew criticism after he had publicly stated earlier in the week that he planned to return for the 2026 season.

Penn State Nittany Lions running back Tikey Hayes. — Penn State Nittany Lions running back Tikey Hayes (23) leaps over cornerback Daryus Dixson (5) | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Hayes, a former four-star recruit and 2025 enrollee from Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, saw limited opportunity in his first year with the program, logging just three carries for 18 yards while appearing sparingly during the season.

Beyond Hayes, 247Sports lists several notable departures.

Quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, who stepped in for starter Drew Allar following his season-ending ankle injury in October and appeared in 10 games as a true freshman, entered the portal alongside sophomore Luke Reynolds, the team’s leading tight end. Both Grunkemeyer and Reynolds followed Franklin to Virginia Tech.

The losses extend to the defensive side of the ball as well. Leading tackler Amare Campbell (103 total tackles) committed to Tennessee, junior cornerback and former five-star recruit A.J. Harris transferred to Indiana, and freshman Chaz Coleman, the No. 1-ranked edge rusher in the transfer portal, also signed with Tennessee.

During his tenure at Iowa State, Campbell earned a reputation for elite player development, staff construction, and identifying undervalued transfer talent, factors that provide optimism he can mitigate some of the damage caused by the mass departures.

Already, Campbell’s staff has moved aggressively to replenish the roster, with 36 incoming transfers currently listed, including several former Cyclones, most notably starting quarterback Rocco Becht, running back Carson Hansen, and wide receivers Brett Eskildsen and Chase Sowell.

Still, the departure of nearly 50 players represents one of the largest outgoing transfer totals in college football this cycle, presenting a significant early challenge for a first-year head coach tasked with engineering a rapid turnaround.

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