Top tight ends still available in the NCAA transfer portal

The tight end market has been hot in the early days of the 2026 NCAA college football transfer portal. Top prospects like all-Big 12 performer Benjamin Brahmer and his teammate Gabe Burkle are already off the board, having made their new college selections in the first few days after the portal opened.

There are still several high-impact players among the remaining tight end transfer market, as well as some big upside players with several years of eligibility still remaining. These prospects are among the best at the tight end position who have yet to declare their intentions after entering the portal.

1. Dorian Thomas

New Mexico tight end Dorian Thomas had ten receptions and two touchdowns against Michigan in his season opener. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

New Mexico tight end Dorian Thomas had his breakout game on a national stage against Big Ten power Michigan, when he caught 10 passes for 71 yards and two touchdowns for the Lobos in their season opener at the Big House. Thomas would finish his sophomore season with 56 total receptions for 560 yards and four touchdowns, earning all-Mountain West honors for his play.

The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Thomas started his career at the University of Arizona, redshirting in his first season and playing sparingly in the second. Now with two more years of eligibility remaining, Thomas is fielding strong interest from schools across the country, though it looks like he may stay out West with recent visits to Cal and UCLA.

2. Brody Foley

Notre Dame is among the schools showing strong interest in Tulsa transfer tight end Brody Foley. | James Guillory-Imagn Images

One of the most surefire, impact tight ends left in the portal is Tulsa transfer Brody Foley. Tulsa was actually the second stop for Foley after he started his career at Indiana upon graduating from Anderson High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. He missed out on the Hoosier’s College Football Playoff appearance this season, but could be a key piece for a team looking to make CFP run in 2026.

In his one season at Tulsa, Foley collected 37 receptions for 528 yards and seven touchdowns, adding two more scores on the ground. This was truly a breakout season after the 6-foot-6, 260-pounder did not record a reception during his three years at Indiana. Now with one season of eligibility remaining, Foley is being courted by a number of schools, with a visit to Notre Dame already in the books.

3. Andrew Olesh

With new Penn State head coach Matt Campbell bringing two of his former players at Iowa State with him to Happy Valley, the writing was on the wall for former four-star tight end prospect Andrew Olesh to seek out a new setting. One of the appeals about Olesh that is sure to draw increased attention is that he redshirted this past season as a freshman and has four full years of eligibility remaining.

Olesh was one of the highest-ranked recruits in Penn State’s 2025 class, coming in at No. 46 on 247Sports Top 100 and ranking as the No. 1 prospect in the state of Pennsylvania. Among the schools he considered before selecting Penn State late in his senior year were Florida, Notre Dame and Oregon, and he was at one time committed to Michigan. Several of those programs are demonstrably in the market for tight end help this transfer cycle.

4. Luke Dehnicke

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗡𝗖𝗔𝗔 𝗗𝗜𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝟮 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗜𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗬𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗦 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗦

① Jaylen Himes (Wingate) 1,185
② Luke Dehnicke (Minn. Duluth) 1,119
③ TJ Chukwurah (Black Hills St.) 1,100
④ Keith Desaussure (Newberry) 1,096
⑤ Ashton Schumann (Central Okla.) 1,060#D2FB pic.twitter.com/5m8fvvfY67
— D2 College Football Spotlight (@d2fbspotlight) January 5, 2026

With the success of Division 2 transfers like Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, there is less hesitation this year from Power 4 programs to scour the lower divisions for potential immediate help. At 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, Minnesota-Duluth tight end Luke Dehnicke is a prospect that has already shown the ability to put up big numbers and he still has three years of eligibility remaining.

As a redshirt freshman, Dehnicke posted the second-highest receiving yards in Division 2, regardless of position, finishing with 61 receptions for 1,119 yards and 14 touchdowns. He drew almost zero Division 1 interest as a 6-foot-3, 205-pound prospect coming out of high school in the 2024 class, but after two years of physical development and on-field production, Dehnicke should be punching his ticket soon to the top tier of the collegiate game. Iowa State, Minnesota and Wisconsin are among the teams in pursuit.

5. Theo Melin Ohrstrom

A former four-star recruit, tight end Theo Melin Ohrstrom is moving on after four years at Texas A&M. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

A team looking to roll the dice on a potential breakout flex tight end with definite pro potential need look no further than Swedish product Theo Melin Ohrstrom. In four years at Texas A&M, the 6-foot-6, 255-pound Ohrstrom caught just 29 passes for 352 yards and three touchdowns, but he showed flashes throughout his time in College Station of the potential that attracted U.S. scouts to Europe.

A consensus four-star prospect coming out of Sweden, Ohrstrom has not yet lived up to the high expectations he was saddled with as a recruit when he landed more than a dozen scholarship offers from top teams across the country. He still maintains the high ceiling that should generate plenty of portal interest, with schools like Auburn, Houston, Kansas State and SMU in the mix.

6. Gavin Harris

Dorian Thomas was not the only tight end making noise out of the state of New Mexico this past season. New Mexico State’s Gavin Harris was Top 15 in receiving yards among all tight ends in Division 1, registering 36 receptions for 514 yards. At 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, Harris does not possess ideal size for the position, but his production has already started to generate interest from Power 4 programs.

The question with Harris is stability. The junior has been in the transfer portal after each of his first three collegiate seasons, transferring first from Howard to Central Michigan before leaving the Chippewas to join New Mexico State for the 2025 season. NC State, however, is set to bruins Harris in for a visit this weekend.