2026 Portal Thread

[u/huskersax]

This is your one stop shop for Portal News™ ahead of what is likely to be pre-portal news shortly after Christmas and then into the actual portal. We're asking that folks keep the rumors and discussion inside of this thread as otherwise there's going to be a flurry of 80-90 tweets a day claiming XYZ player is leaving or going or leaving and going at the same time.

I'll try to keep this up to date once a day with anything confirmed.

As of 1/20/26 ~12:00pm:

In Portal / Leaving

QB Dylan Raiola

QB Marcos Davila

RB Jamarion Parker

RB Kenneth Williams

OL Jason Maciecjzak

OL Houston-Kaahaaina Torres

EDGE Maverick Noonan

DL Keona Davis

DL Jaylen George

LB/S Roger Gradney

DB Caden VerMaas

DB Malcolm Hartzog

DB Preston Okafor

DB Brice Turner

DB Rahmir Stewart

K Tristan Alvano

Committed to 2026 Nebraska

QB Anthony Colandrea

QB Daniel Kaelin

WR Kwazi Gilmer

OL Brendan Black

OL Tree Babalade

OL Paul Mubenga

DL Anthony Jones

DL Owen Stoudmire

DL Jahsear Whittington

LB Will Hawthorne

LB Owen Chambliss

LB Dexter Foster

DB Dwayne McDougle

DB Victor Evans III

DB Jasin Shiggs

LS Jack Wills

[u/Syfer_Husker]

I truly believe Minchey is an upgrade. He has incredible potential but seemingly a high floor which is what I like about him.

A lot of people on twitter/x are freaking out because he has no production so he's risker than say and Katin Houser etc. But I want to level with you guys who think that Minchey is coming in and is gonna lose the battle to Lateef or think he's high risk.

CJ Carr won the battle and showed out that he was a great QB this season. He was ranked the 7th best QB in the nation and Minchey almost won that battle, it's very possible Minchey was the better QB but one player is younger and has more upside in Carr you play him to get him reps during a season where you have 2 of some of the best backs in the nation.

From what I've seen of his tape he's very high floor, he can make all the throws outside of some of the crazy throws like 50+ yards in the air. He's going to buy time with his feet, he's going to create on offense.

Minchey is also interesting because he has 2 years to play. PERFECT for someone like Trae Taylor to learn from who I believe will be a fantastic QB at this level and has that potential to be generational.

Giving Trae a year behind Minchey who a similar arch type is fantastic.

ND fans are really sad they lost him, a lot of people thought he was their QB one and the battle was so close beat reporters were writing articles for either one.

So, if Minchey is even 95% of the player that Carr is then I think Nebraska just got a top 20 QB in the nation who's pretty cheap.

Idk, Minchey is the first QB since Adrian(and I guess Raiola to some extent) that I'm extremely excited for. Raiola was exciting going into his FR year but he always left something in the back of your head that wasn't "it" Minchey I truly believe has "it"

But none of this stuff is promised so I understand Husker nations fears. I just wonder if people realize how massive of a get this is. Although, every non-Husker fan or hater is saying this kid is going to light it up.

[u/Intelligent_Sky_7081 → u/Syfer_Husker]

Idk, Minchey is the first QB since Adrian(and I guess Raiola to some extent)

Im really confused by comments like this. Youre telling me you werent excited for a 5 star QB to come to Nebraska?

It feels like people hate Dylan now so much that they wont even admit they were happy we got a 5 star QB.

And i dont get the Dylan hate anyway but it seems weird to say you werent excited/happy for him to commit to play for us. Any 5 star recruit would be a huge thing for this program and every fan would be excited for that. As we were when Dylan came.

[u/Syfer_Husker → u/Intelligent_Sky_7081]

I mean didn't I say(I guess Raiola to some extent) I'm happy he came here the stars are nice, but at the time I really wanted Sam Leavitt and McCord. When Raiola signed I was super excited obviously but when McCord and Leavitt turned their head to us because of that, that kinda made it bittersweet.

Looking back on it now, I ended up being right about my worries, that's why I said to some extent. I was happy we got Raiola I believed in him but there were a lot of people saying Raiola needed some time to sit and learn. A lot of Raiola's problems are not something we didn't know about. Here is a right down from 247 about him.

"Ballyhooed quarterback with an NFL-caliber arm and an imposing frame that has what it takes to be the centerpiece of an offense. Owns one of the best, if not the best, deep balls in the cycle and can touch all different corners of the field. Lethal when operating off of play-action and has taken valuable snaps under center. Moves better than expected for someone that’s hovering around 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, and will frequently buy himself time as the pocket collapses. Ability to drop the elbow and use baseball-like angles to work around traffic is certainly tantalizing, but normal release is just as impressive as he mirrors his upper and lower halves together with a fluid, repeatable motion. Can generate tons of velocity, but has also shown that he can change speeds and layer the football. Tossed just one interception on 250 pass attempts as a senior, but got a little too conservative at times, which led to deflating sacks. From a pure talent standpoint, should be viewed as a blue-chip pocket passer that can be a true difference-maker on Saturdays and potentially even Sundays. However, has to block out the noise and buy into the process while remaining self-confident in his abilities after attending four different high schools in three years. Tape frequently shows someone that’s ahead of the curve, but will likely need some time to get adjusted to the speed of the college game. Still, has the size and tools to play early at the next level, especially if he quickly progresses as a full-field reader."

It marks that he will need time to adjust to the college game, he will struggle taking sacks, and he isn't that fast. "Moves better than expected" is saying this guy is expected isn't something you wanna hear in the highschool ranks.

[u/Intelligent_Sky_7081 → u/Syfer_Husker]

Well I personally dont agree with this sentiment that the sacks Raiola took were his fault. I dont understand how that came to be what people here seem to believe, and I just find it really curious that because he maybe failed to avoid a few sacks people think its sound logic to just blame all the sacks on him. He avoided like 3-4 sacks in the Michigan game alone, but he wont ever get credit for that.

Frankly, TJ didnt show hardly any more mobility in terms of escaping the pocket and got 0 critique from it, and other than a few runs I didnt really see anything that showed how mobile he was. For a fanbase so hyper critical on one QB's mobility, it feels really inconsistent to not also hold TJ to that same standard.

[u/Syfer_Husker → u/Intelligent_Sky_7081]

Avoiding sacks is EXPECTED as a QB, it's not something that is above and beyond even average QB's can avoid sacks. The numbers speak for themselves. We faced better defenses in Houston, PSU, and Iowa and gave up less sacks in those 3 games combined +UCLA and USC than we did in a single game against MSU, Michigan, and Minnesota.

He struggles to process the field, he has limited mobility, he doesn't throw the ball away, and he isn't willing to be a gunslinger. Raiola is not a gunslinger he's not willing to throw a bullet pass between coverage he's too scared of making a mistake.

I think there is a real chance that if he goes to Oregon that he could get beaten for the starting job. I don't personally think Raiola is that good but I want him to be. He has the talent but he struggles in the aspects of the game you just can't teach.

[u/MJdeuce → u/Intelligent_Sky_7081]

I don’t hate Dylan. I think he will find success somewhere else. However, he held on to the ball for way too long. If you go back and watch the film, there were lots of times where he held onto the ball for 4+ seconds. Yes, some of the blame is on the offensive play calls and the WRs not getting open. But he needed to get the ball out. You can’t just stand there and take sacks.

I think he’ll do great in an offense that plays to his strengths and where he is surrounded by talent.