College football QB enters transfer portal after 4,000-yard season

A college football quarterback is entering the transfer portal for a second time after 4,000-yard season in 2025.

Dec 23, 2025; Frisco, TX, USA; UNLV Rebels quarterback Anthony Colandrea (10) pitches the ball against the Ohio Bobcats during the second half at the Ford Center at The Star. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

The NCAA transfer portal opens on Jan. 2, 2026, and will remain open for the following two weeks.

In the weeks before the portal opens, numerous college football quarterbacks have announced their decisions to venture elsewhere for the 2026 season. These quarterbacks include DJ Lagway, Brendan Sorsby, Dylan Raiola, Drew Mestemaker, Josh Hoover and Rocco Becht.

The number of quarterbacks shifting around increased on Friday when it was announced that UNLV quarterback Anthony Colandrea will enter the portal. He will be searching for his third school to play his final season of college football.

NEWS: UNLV QB Anthony Colandrea intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal, he tells ESPN. He threw for 3,459 yards last year at UNLV and won Mountain West Player of the year. He accounted for 23 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing for the Rebels. pic.twitter.com/wz1tLkNtjF

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 26, 2025

The 6-foot, 205-pounder began his college football journey at Virginia with Tony Elliott in 2023. After Cavaliers starter Tony Muskett suffered an injury in the season opener, Colandrea started the following three games. Despite Muskett's return, Virginia still featured Colandrea heavily over the course of the season.

Colandrea finished 2023 with 1,958 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions while rushing for another 225 yards across eight games.

Virginia featured Colandrea in 11 of its 12 games in 2024. He threw for 2,125 yards, 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while rushing for 277 yards and two touchdowns. The Cavaliers finished 5-7 in 2024, and Colandrea transferred to UNLV the following offseason.

The Rebels started Colandrea in all 14 of their contests in 2024. He passed for 3,459 yards, 23 touchdowns and nine interceptions and accumulated another 649 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. Colandrea was named Mountain West Player of the Year and All-Mountain West First Team for his efforts in 2025.

𝐀𝐂 𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑!@Acolandreaa10 | @MountainWest

📰 https://t.co/cQZ9qXGBCS pic.twitter.com/ElX69w6cta

— UNLV Football (@unlvfootball) December 2, 2025

After Barry Odom's brief but successful tenure in Las Vegas, the Rebels hired Dan Mullen as his replacement. The Rebels won all four of their non-conference games against Idaho State (38-31), at Sam Houston State (38-21), UCLA (30-23) and at Miami OH (41-38).

UNLV won road games at Wyoming (31-17), Colorado State (42-10), and Nevada (42-17) in Mountain West play. The lone road loss for the Rebels in 2025 was at Boise State (56-31).

Similar to its road schedule in conference play, UNLV finished 3-1 at home against Mountain West foes in 2025. The Rebels defeated Air Force (51-48), Utah State (29-26) and Hawaii (38-10) while losing to New Mexico (40-35).

UNLV was rematched with Boise State in the 2025 Mountain West Championship game. The Broncos once again prevailed over the Rebels (38-21).

The Rebels accepted a bid to play Ohio in the Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl on Dec. 23. The Bobcats defeated the Rebels 17-10, with Colandrea scoring UNLV's lone touchdown on the ground.

UNLV quarterback Anthony Colandrea (10) is grabbed Nevada defensive linemen Logologo Va'a (10) | Tom R. Smedes/Special to the RGJ / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images