Boise State landed 15 players in the transfer portal. Here’s a look
The college football winter transfer portal officially closed Friday, marking the final day that athletes could enter in order to move to a different program in 2026.
More than 6,700 Division I players entered their names in the portal between Jan. 2 and 16, according to ESPN. As of the portal’s closure on Friday, more than 1,200 were yet to sign with a new program.
Boise State’s program saw plenty of portal action, with 17 players from the 2025 roster opting to head for new pastures, including star safety Ty Benefield, who committed to LSU, and backup quarterback Kaleb Annett, who landed at UCF.
The Broncos bolstered their ranks with 15 incoming transfers. Although players can still sign with programs after the Jan. 16 portal closure, the majority of Boise State’s business has likely concluded.
Coach Spencer Danielson’s team brought in five players from Power Four programs, as well as several with FBS experience. Here’s the complete list, and the incoming classes are listed, meaning that’s what the players will be starting the 2026 fall semester.
S Taebron Bennie-Powell, Notre Dame
Bennie-Powell, a redshirt sophomore safety, is the second Fighting Irish player to make the switch to Boise State in as many years, following in the footsteps of cornerback Jaden Mickey.
Bennie-Powell redshirted his freshman year in 2024 and played just one game for Notre Dame in 2025, in which he recorded a solo tackle against Syracuse. However, in a Boise State secondary that lost Benefield and safety Zion Washington, Bennie-Powell will look to challenge for playing time immediately.
LB Logan Brantley, Kansas
Boise State needed some immediate reinforcements at linebacker with the loss of senior captain Marco Notarainni, and they’ve found it in Brantley, a redshirt junior.
Brantley featured in all 12 games for Kansas last year, registering eight total tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. At 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, he should be physically ready to slot into the starting lineup for Pac-12 play. He’ll be competing alongside redshirt sophomore Boen Phelps, who played a lot at the position late in 2025, and redshirt junior Jake Ripp.
DL Mikaio Edward, Central Washington
There will be some good competition among the interior defensive line this offseason following the graduation of defensive tackle Braxton Fely. The Broncos have several players vying for starts there, and Edward, a redshirt junior, will be right in the mix.
Edward entered the 2025 season listed at 6-foot-1 and 280 pounds, meaning the Boise State training staff likely will want him to add some weight by the start of the 2026 season.
Washington State also offered a spot to Edward, who arrives at Boise State with 41 tackles, seven sacks and 10 tackles for loss.
OL Tyler Ethridge, Colorado State-Pueblo
Boise State is returning just one of its starting offensive linemen, creating a depth issue. Ethridge, a senior, is 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds, and played primarily left tackle at the junior college level. He appeared in all 12 games in 2025 and anchored a line that helped the offense average 38.3 points and 443.3 yards per game, while allowing just 1.5 sacks per game.
OL Zander Esty, Oregon State
The redshirt junior adds immediate Pac-12-level experience to the offensive line. He played in all 12 games for the Beavers in 2025, totaling 174 snaps and also featuring on special teams.
The 299-pound lineman, who will likely line up in the interior, will face his old team next season in the reborn Pac-12.
RB Juelz Goff, Pitt
Goff ended the season as the Panthers’ third-leading rusher, with 270 yards and five touchdowns on 69 carries. Despite having a chance at a lot of carries next season in the ACC, he joined a running back room that is bursting at the seams.
Goff, a redshirt sophomore, will try to challenge Dylan Riley and Sire Gaines for snaps, as well as others.
CB Cam Jamerson, TCU
Jamerson, a redshirt freshman cornerback, could be a young but exciting addition to a room that’s rebuilding in 2026. He arrived in Fort Worth as a three-star recruit and the No. 76-ranked athlete in the nation by 247Sports. Jamerson then redshirted his freshman year at TCU after turning down offers from Kansas State, Maryland and Houston.
C Caden Kellow, Weber State
Boise State has enjoyed consistency at long snapper since 2022, thanks to 2025 All-Mountain West player Mason Hutton. However, with Hutton finally set to graduate, the Broncos hit the portal and landed on redshirt senior Kellow.
Kellow began his career at Utah State, then transferred to Missouri State before landing at FCS program Weber State. He was the Wildcats’ primary long snapper last season, completing 65 punts and 51 field goals.
Boise State junior punter Oscar Doyle also arrived in Idaho via Weber State, but he did not play alongside Kellow.
LB Zyhaire Lewis, Chaffey College
The Broncos enter 2026 with just two players who have played notable snaps at linebacker, and they added Lewis, a junior, along with Brantley.
Lewis spent the first two years of his collegiate career at Chaffey College, a junior college in Rancho Cucamonga, California. He played in 18 games across those two years, totaling 73 tackles, 38 of which were solo, eight tackles for a loss, three pass breakups, two interceptions and a forced fumble.
WR Darren Morris, Southern University
The Broncos lost three upperclassmen wide receivers to either graduation or the transfer portal, leaving a relatively young group that redshirt junior Morris will join.
Morris arrives from an HBCU program in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, competing in the FCS’s Southwestern Athletic Conference, where he recorded 27 receptions for 508 yards, an average of 18.8 per reception, and four touchdowns in 2025.
DL Andrew Rheubottom, De Anza College
Boise State recruited Rheubottom on Jan. 20. The Broncos previously earned a commitment from De Anza College’s Nicholas Igwe, but after Igwe flipped his commitment to Utah, Boise State quickly jumped on Rheubottom, another defensive lineman at the school in Cupertino, California.
Rheubottom played in eight games in 2025, totaling 62 total tackles, 37 of which were solo. He also notched 3.5 sacks for 31 yards, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He’ll be a senior.
RB Harry Stewart III, Kansas
The Boise State running back room is in good hands with Sire Gaines and Dylan Riley, but the Broncos added extra depth, getting a sophomore running back from a Big 12 school.
Stewart, who is 5-10 and 215 pounds, had just 21 rushing attempts for Kansas in 2025, totaling 98 yards and a touchdown. He committed to Boise State just three days after teammate Brantley made the switch.
S Roman Tillman, South Dakota
The Broncos added experience from the FCS level at safety with the addition of Tillman, a redshirt junior who ended 2025 with the second-most tackles (94) for South Dakota. His 45 solo tackles tied for the most on the team. He also managed 2.5 tackles for a loss, six pass breakups and a forced fumble for the Coyotes.
CB JeRico Washington Jr., Kennesaw State
Washington Jr. arrives at Boise State at a pivotal moment for the cornerback room, which lost three key contributors. The position heads into 2026 with new cornerbacks coach Terrence Brown, giving Washington the chance to impress a fresh set of eyes.
Washington was part of the Kennesaw State team that played its first season at the FBS level in 2024 and went 2-10 in Conference USA. However, the redshirt junior played all 12 games for the Owls in 2025 as they rebounded to a 10-4 season and a loss in the Myrtle Beach Bowl to Western Michigan.
He recorded a team-high two interceptions and three forced fumbles in 2025, as well as 52 total tackles and 11 pass breakups.
WR Akeem Wright, De Anza College
Wright is arriving as a junior college transfer, but the 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior wide receiver also is arriving as a JUCO All-American, totalling 112 receptions for 2,137 yards and 25 touchdowns in 22 games for De Anza.
He recorded 59 catches for 1,173 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2025 and was named the Golden Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
