🗓️ TRANSFER PORTAL CHANGES & NOTES
Updated Transfer Portal Dates
Players must enter the portal by the time it closes in mid January, unless on a CFB Playoff team. In that scenario they must enter within 5 days of their season ending.
Opens: January 2nd, 2026
Closes: January 16th, 2026
What’s New In The Portal?
The CFB Spring Transfer Portal is now eliminated. There is only one portal and it is in January. Rosters will be set by Spring Practice!
Note: Players will announce their intention to enter the portal well before 1/2/2026
𖣐 BEARCATS NEWS
RS Junior OL Grant Edgington and RS Sophomore TE Lyviel Waters have both been granted scholarships. Congrats to the former walk-ons! This is the up to date Scholarship Sheet for the 2026 Cincinnati Bearcats including incoming freshmen, 5 outgoing transfers, and getting rid of outgoing seniors. RB Evan Pryor & K Stephen Rusnak still remain due to possibilities of receiving an additional year of eligibility by the NCAA. ⬇
𖣐 OUTGOING PORTAL RECAP
5 Cincinnati Bearcats have announced their intentions to enter the Portal thus far ⤵
🔴 Zebulin Kinsey, QB, Freshman, 6’3 222lbs. Entered on 12/5.
Background: Kinsey, the 1,092nd rated recruit in the country in 2025, was recruited by the current staff and played at Toronto HS in Ohio. Kinsey did not play in his lone season in Clifton.
Analysis: Kinsey will likely be transferring down a level and his role is immediately replaced on the roster by incoming freshman QB Brooks Goodman.
⚫ Dakarai Anderson, WR, RS Freshman, 5’8 183lbs. Entered on 12/3
Background: Anderson, the 1,123rd rated recruit in the country in 2024, was recruited by the current staff and is from Perry HS in Georgia. Anderson played minimally in offense and special teams situations. He recorded 1 carry for -2 yards in his Bearcats career.
Analysis: Anderson will likely be transferring down a level.
With Kale Woodburn & Dakarai Anderson entering the portal Elijah Jones is now the only remaining WR of the Cincinnati Bearcats’ 2024 class.
🔴 Kamari Burns, DT, RS Sophomore, 6’3 300lbs. Entered on 12/4.
Background: Burns, the 649th rated recruit in the country in 2023, initially committed to Luke Fickell’s staff in the summer of 2022 and Scott Satterfield was able to retain him later that winter. Burns ends his Cincy career with 16 tackles and 0.5 sacks. Kamari didn’t take full advantage of the opportunity when star DT Dontay Corleone missed the Northwestern State and Kansas games with injury. Burns ended up with 15 snaps per game and only had one 20+ snap game after Corleone returned from injury. Burns’ snap counts + PFF grades ⤵
Analysis: Burns will likely be transferring laterally or down a level and is looking for a scheme that better fits him.
⚫ Kale Woodburn, WR, RS Freshman, 5’8 165lbs. Entered on 12/4.
Background: Woodburn, the 826th rated recruit in the country in 2024, was recruited by the current staff and played at Houston County HS in Georgia. He did not play in either of his 2 seasons in Clifton.
Analysis: Woodburn will likely be transferring down a level.
Since 2023 this staff has landed WR’s Barry Jackson Jr., Kale Woodburn, Dakarai Anderson, Elijah Jones, and Giyahni Kontosis out of high school.
Those 5 receivers have 263 combined snaps in their entire careers spanning 10 total seasons
🔴 Ethan Green, OT, RS Junior, 6’6 313lbs. Entered on 12/3.
Background: Green, the 870th rated recruit in the country in 2022, initially committed to Luke Fickell’s staff in February 2021 and Scott Satterfield was able to retain him after his first year under Fickell. He played a career high 82 snaps in the 2025 season including 46 vs. BG. Green was unable to win the RT job over Deondre Buford.
Analysis: Green will likely be transferring laterally or down a level.
🏈 AROUND THE BIG 12 & OTHER NEWS
ASU’s star QB Sam Leavitt is expected to transfer from the program: ASU will have to replace their QB spot after going 19-7 in Leavitt’s two seasons with the Sun Devils. Big changes coming for ASU as Kenny Dillingham heads into year 4. Cincinnati does not play ASU in 2026.
Kansas State and Iowa State both hire new head coaches and both received $500k fines from the Big 12 after declining bowl invites: This was likely done because the Big 12 pools its bowl revenue and splits it equally among member schools so declining the bowl invites cost the league money. The conference went from having 10 bowl teams to 8 bowl teams due to these decision. Kansas State’s Chris Klieman announced retirement and was quickly replaced by former KSU OC Collin Klein. Iowa State’s Matt Campbell accepted the HC job at Penn State and was immediately replaced by Washington State’s Tommy Rogers.
Former Cincinnati Bearcats ST/CB Coach Kerry Coombs accepts Special Teams Coordinator job at the University of Michigan: This one truly came out of nowhere. Many expected Kerry Coombs to never coach at the college level again. Coombs, 64, also coached at Ohio State for years. He pops up out of nowhere here to take a job at his former employer’s biggest rival.
Former Cincinnati Bearcats walk on RB Victor Dawson has career day in biggest FCS Playoffs upset ever:
🙂 IT’S SAD RIGHT NOW, LET’S TAKE A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE
💡 STUFF
I do not expect QB Brendan Sorsby, TE Joe Royer, DT Dontay Corleone, or LB Jake Golday to play in the Liberty Bowl vs. Navy on January 2nd, 2026. There will be other upperclassmen who miss the bowl as well.
I expect senior QB Brady Lichtenberg to get the start vs. the Midshipmen, could be a really cool moment in his final game as a Cincinnati Bearcat. Lichtenberg has been in Clifton so long that the 6th anniversary of his commitment to UC is coming up next week. Lichty has been the longstanding QB2 and a leader for the team.
Could we see coaching changes on Scott Satterfield’s staff heading into a critical season for him? South Carolina’s 247 site has loosely linked OC Brad Glenn and OL coach Nic Cardwell to their respective jobs while DC Tyson Veidt could possibly have opportunities available to him at Iowa State or Penn State.
I expect the Cincinnati Bearcats coaching staff and front office to strongly pursue quarterbacks in the transfer portal for the 2026 season as QB Brendan Sorsby has interest from the NFL and could possibly be a top 5 paid player in all of CFB next season if he does decide to stay ⤵
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