College football team linked to transfer portal QB after losing $2.4 million quarterback

A transfer QB has been linked to a college football program that has lost its quarterback to the portal

Nov 1, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Aidan Chiles (2) warms up before the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The NCAA transfer portal will open on Jan. 2, 2026, for all college football players seeking new destinations next season.

While the prospect of the transfer portal is often exciting for players who enter it, it is a sore subject among college football programs when it comes to roster retention. In many cases, programs have to look into the portal to address areas in which they are deficient.

That appears to be Cincinnati's predicament, as it will lose starting quarterback Brendan Sorsby to the transfer portal when it opens. He passed for 2,800 yards, 27 touchdowns and five interceptions in his second season with Cincinnati.

Thank you 🫶🏼 pic.twitter.com/Wx6JI44zP7

— Brendan Sorsby (@Brendan_Sorsby2) December 15, 2025

With Sorsby headed to the portal, Cincinnati is turning its attention to the portal too.

One name linked to the Bearcats early in their search is former Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles. College football insider Josh Pate mentioned the possibility of Chiles making his way to Cincinnati on his show Sunday.

"Cincinnati and Nebraska are (sort of) the early names out there," Pate said. "There's this part of me, maybe it's a personal flaw, but I just can't quit on some guys. Aidan Chiles has got something about him that I just can't quit. All of my instincts are saying don't do it. Wherever he goes, I'm probably betting an over win total immediately."

The school Chiles transfers to next will be his third across a four-year period. The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder began his college football journey at Oregon State in 2023 and primarily served as a backup to DJ Uiagalelei. He appeared in nine games for the Beavers, throwing for 309 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for another 79 yards and three touchdowns.

Michigan State's Aidan Chiles, left, is hit by Michigan's Dominic Nichols | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

At the conclusion of the 2023 regular season, Beavers head coach Jonathan Smith left Corvallis to take the head coaching vacancy left by Mel Tucker at Michigan State. Chiles followed through the transfer portal in the 2024 offseason.

The Spartans named Chiles as their starter in 2024. They finished the season 5-7 while Chiles threw for 2,415 yards, 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and rushed for another 225 yards and three touchdowns.

Due to a grueling combination of head and foot injuries suffered in the first two months of the season, Chiles was limited to just eight games in 2025. He accumulated 1,392 passing yards, 10 touchdown passes and three interceptions while rushing for 227 more yards and another six touchdowns.

The Spartans decided to part ways with Smith after a 9-15 record over two seasons. Michigan State hired former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald to be its next head coach on Dec. 1.