Top 10, All-Conference cornerback enters college football transfer portal

One of the more highly-regarded defensive players in the Sun Belt conference will enter his name into the college football transfer portal in time for the 2026 season.

Troy defensive back Jaquez White intends to put his name into the NCAA transfer portal and play for another school next season, according to On3 Sports’ Pete Nakos.

Jaquez White's production so far

White recorded 67 total tackles this past season for the Trojans while intercepting 3 passes and breaking up 11 more attempts, earning second-team All-Sun Belt honors.

Not long after news of White’s intention to transfer became known, he immediately shot up the national player rankings for those entering the portal.

A highly-ranked defensive prospect

White is currently considered the No. 8 overall ranked cornerback in the 2026 college football transfer portal class, according to the 247Sports Composite.

That model also names White as the No. 89 overall prospect irrespective of position.

What else he's done on the field

Last season, White played in 10 games at the cornerback position for Troy, recording 32 stops with 7 assisted tackles, adding a personal-best 10 tackles against Emporia State.

He also scored a major highlight by intercepting a pass against Northeastern State and returning it for a 30 yard touchdown in the regular season finale in 2024.

White was an 11 game starter as a freshman in 2023, recording 31 tackles while breaking up four pass attempts and adding two stops behind the line.

How the college football transfer portal works

College football’s transfer portal officially opens on Jan. 2, but that hasn’t stopped a flurry of players from entering their names for consideration at a new school right now.

The new 15-day transfer portal window from Jan. 2-16 and the elimination of the spring transfer period has condensed the timeline for players and programs to make their moves.

The NCAA Transfer Portal is a private database that includes the names of student-athletes in every sport at the Division I, II, and III levels. The full list of names is not available to the public.

A player can enter their name into the transfer portal through their school's compliance office.

Once a player gives written notification of their intent to transfer, the office puts the player's name into the database, and they officially become a transfer.

The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player's request and NCAA rules forbid anyone from refusing that request.

The database includes the player's name, contact information, info on whether the player was on scholarship, and if he is a graduate student.

Once a player's name appears in the transfer portal database, other schools are free to contact the player, who can change his mind at any point in the process and withdraw from the transfer portal.

Notably, once a player enters the portal, his school no longer has to honor the athletic scholarship it gave him.

And if that player decides to leave the portal and return to his original school, the school doesn't have to give him another scholarship.

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