Everything everywhere all at once

Trying to make sense of Nebraska's first transfer portal weekend, including the addition of a new QB.

Courtesy SDSU Athletics

The silliest portal season yet¹ is less than four days old (11 more to go) and it has been as head-spinning as expected. In an effort to get our heads on straight as most of the world returns to a typical schedule following the varying vagaries of holiday breaks, let’s explore Nebraska’s place in this circus so far.

It is still relatively early in this process, so teams haven’t had much time to make additions yet, but we can get a decent sense of losses. The portal isn’t perfectly quantifiable—some team near the top of the portal rankings will tank, and some team nobody sees coming will make the playoff—but if you want to try and keep score, I recommend the portal rankings from McIllece Sports. It assigns a Net Win rating to every player, a number meant to measure how many wins a player contributes over a 12-game season. These are the numbers you’ll see in parentheses going forward. I’ve occasionally seen some ratings that struck me as odd, but if you want a way to compare nearly 4,000 players, these work as a starting point. Crucially, they allow you to view this as not just acquisition but for what it really is—imports and exports.

As of Sunday, Nebraska’s 13 departures totaled 0.67 Net Wins out the door, the 26^th-highest number nationally so far,² but here’s where that number requires some context. Half the Huskers’ total so far is simply quarterback Dylan Raiola (0.36) leaving. However you felt about that move, makes sense that a two-year starter’s departure should sting a bit. Defensive back Malcolm Hartzog (0.11) is also up there, but it was pretty clear a change of scenery might be best for player and program after 2025.

Beyond those two, NU hadn’t experienced many shocking departures through the weekend until defensive lineman Keona Davis (-0.01) announced he was transferring Sunday evening. He didn’t have a high rating from McIllece, but he’s a player who was almost certainly part of Nebraska’s plan on the line in 2026. Feels like the Huskers are missing out on most of Davis’s upside, something that wasn’t helped by NU having to fire its d-line coach, Terry Bradden, after one season.

It’s still too early to declare winners and losers in the Big Ten, but a few teams caught my eye over the weekend. Minnesota (-0.39) lost defensive back Koi Perich (0.13)—sort of the Gophers’ version of Raiola in that he was a recruit with program connections that a program like Minnesota doesn’t typically get—and second-leading rusher Fame Ijeboi (0.05).

Meanwhile, Indiana is at it again. The Hoosiers (0.60) have already added TCU quarterback Josh Hoover (0.35), Boston College running back Turbo Richard (0.17), Kansas State defensive lineman Tobi Osunsanmi (0.05), Wisconsin defensive back Preston Zachman (0.08) and Michigan State wide receiver Nick Marsh (-0.02).³ This is what portal power looks like, and Indiana’s doing it while preparing to play in a CFP semifinal later this week.

NU has a QB

The Huskers only announced addition as of Sunday night was the one rumored to be happening almost as soon as the portal opened last week. Notre Dame backup quarterback Kenny Minchey visited Lincoln over the weekend and committed to Nebraska.

It’s a bold bet by the Husker staff. Last month, Matt Rhule offered these clues about what he was looking for in a quarterback: “I don’t care about their rating…I don’t care about their arm slot, I don’t care about the rotation, I don’t care about any of that. I want guys who make their team win.”

Minchey didn’t win any games at Notre Dame because he didn’t start any. He didn’t win the Irish’s 2025 quarterback battler either, losing what was by all accounts a tight race to C.J. Carr. Minchey appeared in 10 games over three seasons, completing 23-of-29 passes and rushing nine times for 96 yards with a touchdown.⁴ His experience, mostly confined to garbage time, is so limited McIllece doesn’t have a Net Win rating available.

Point is, if Minchey is a guy who makes his team win, only the staffs at Nebraska and Notre Dame might know it right now. And it’s completely possible he will be that guy, but in an offseason where Rhule has to get the QB pick right, this pick invites more skepticism than I would’ve projected. In that sense, it’s a bigger swing than it would’ve been landing (and paying more for) one of the consensus top picks in the portal.

And the Huskers do still need to add another QB from somewhere, though many of the top-rated players by Net Wins have already found new homes or are close to doing so. Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby (0.72) is going to Texas Tech. LSU is hosting Sam Leavitt (0.73) with Kentucky in the mix as well. North Texas QB Drew Mestemaker (0.69) followed his head coach to Oklahoma State. Ohio State backup Lincoln Kienholz (0.68) is off to Louisville to get Jeff Brohm-ified.⁵ Georgia Tech’s heir apparent, Aaron Philo (0.53), is following his OC to Florida and Iowa State starter Rocco Becht (0.48) will join Matt Campbell at Penn State. Somehow Wisconsin landed Old Dominion’s Colton Joseph (0.41).

Those are most of the quarterbacks with a higher Net Win rating than Raiola had after two seasons at NU. Not that Rhule was using that as a guide to QB transfers, but I don’t think it’s too early to say, with Minchey in and someone else presumably to come, the Huskers likely aren’t coming away from this transfer window with a proven upgrade behind center.⁶

And maybe that will be fine. We’ll know in about 10 months.

An SDSU infusion?

Nebraska plucked defensive coordinator Rob Aurich from San Diego State, and it so happens that many of the best defenders off the Aztecs’ seventh-ranked scoring defense are in the portal. The Huskers hosted two over the weekend—linebacker Owen Chambliss (0.18) and safety Dalesean Staley (0.05). The pair ranked 1-2 in tackles for SDSU in 2025 and would represent a pretty solid backbone for Aurich’s first Blackshirts defense.

As of right now, there might not be a better (realistic) portal get for Nebraska than Chambliss, the third-best available linebacker per McIllece. Nothing was official last night, but signs point to the Huskers getting the deal done. Staley would offer a potential plug-and-play replacement as a fill-the-box safety for DeShon Singleton.

NU also should still be in the mix for edge rusher Trey White (0.08, tied for seventh among DL) though there’s been little official news there. Another Aztec edge, Ryan Henderson (0.05, T-24th), was rumored to be visiting Lincoln this weekend, but that visit didn’t happen. Their former position coach, Roy Manning, joined the Husker staff in December.

Nebraska needs a difference-maker or two on the defensive line and that pursuit was ongoing after opening weekend. The Huskers have also been quite active on the offensive line, but we’ll have to save that for another newsletter as the options there were still developing.

1. Note: This is probably an annual, self-renewing title until college football does something crazy like not have player acquisition take place while teams are still playing bowl games and competing for the national title.

2. And fourth-highest in the Big Ten behind Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan State.

3. This would be an example of a rating that feels low.

4. These numbers are curiously similar to what TJ Lateef posted as Raiola’s backup over the first 8 games. He was 16-of-19 passing and rushed 11 times for 50 yards.

5. I thought Louisville could’ve been a good landing spot for Raiola, but that’s not happening now.

6. Though I will also note that the undersized-but-electric Taron Dickens of Western Carolina is still available for now.