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Texas Tech football transfer portal tracker: Red Raiders round things out with a kicker
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- Texas Tech football transfer portal tracker: Red Raiders round things out with a kicker
The winter transfer portal window has arrived, meaning the Texas Tech football team will have some players headed elsewhere and others coming to Lubbock from other locales.
This round of the transfer portal officially opens Dec. 9 and closes on Dec. 28. Players have until then to request their names be put into the portal though they may not officially enter the portal until Dec. 9. From there, players can take as long as they want to decide their next move.
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The transfer portal window opens again from April 16-25.
What will this year bring with Texas Tech's transfer portal activity ? We're tracking everything here, so keep this page bookmarked until the spring.
Players joining Texas Tech football through transfer portal
Upton Bellenfant, 6-foot-2, 180 pounds, K, Buffalo
Status: Officially signed
Bellenfant joins the Red Raiders with two years of eligibility remaining. He spent two years at Alabama before transferring to Buffalo, where he converted 14 of his 16 field goal attempts and all 29 of his point-after kicks. His commitment was reported on Dec. 21.
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Quinten Joyner, 5-foot-11, 216 pounds, RB, USC
Status: Officially signed
Joyner visited Ohio State but opted for the Red Raider s on Dec. 19. The Manor native and former Top 100 recruit for the 2023 class spent two years at USC under Lincoln Riley, totaling 478 yards on 63 yards and three touchdowns in 2024. He has three years of eligibility remaining.
Romello Height, 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, DE, Georgia Tech
Status: Officially signed
Height has been around the block in college, making stops at Auburn, USC and Georgia Tech before landing with Texas Tech, reportedly committing on Dec. 19. He finished the 2024 campaign with 34 tackles, 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception. With USC in 2023, he had four sacks and a fumble recovery. Height has one year of eligibility remaining.
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Tarrion Grant, 6-foot-4, 175 pounds, CB, Purdue
Status: Officially signed
Grant didn't start playing football until his freshman year of high school but was one of the top 100 prospects in the 2024 recruiting class after reclassifying. In his lone year with the Boilermakers, Grant had 13 tackles, two passes defended and a forced fumble. His commitment was announced Dec. 18 and he has three years of eligibility remaining.
Howard Sampson, 6-foot-8, 325 pounds, OT, North Carolina
Status: Officially signed
Sampson originally began his collegiate career at North Texas before heading to North Carolina this past season. The Houston native started all 12 games with the Tar Heels and logged over 800 snaps after playing sparingly with the Mean Green. ESPN ranked Sampson the No. 23 overall player in the transfer portal. His commitment was announced Dec. 18 and has two years of eligibility remaining.
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Anthony Holmes Jr., 6-foot-2, 295 pounds, DT, Houston
Status: Officially signed
Holmes makes the third defensive tackle out of the transfer portal to join the Red Raiders. He compiled 40 tackles and 8.5 tackles for a loss of yards in 2024 playing under Tech's new DC Shiel Wood. His commitment was announced Dec. 18 and he has two years of eligibility remaining.
Lee Hunter, 6-foot-4, 320 pounds, DT, UCF
Status: Officially signed
Hunter earned second team all-Big 12 accolades in 2024 by compiling 45 tackles, 9.5 for a loss of yardage and one sack to go with six quarterback hurries. Considered one of the top players available in the portal by On3 and ESPN. Hunter's commitment was announced Dec. 17 and he has one year of eligibility remaining.
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Terrance Carter, 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, TE, Louisiana
Status: Officially signed
Carter comes to Texas Tech with two years of eligibility remaining after announcing his commitment on Dec. 17. He was second on the team in receiving with 48 catches for 689 yards and four touchdowns in 2024.
Mitch Griffis, 5-foot-11, 193 pounds, QB, Wake Forest
Status: Officially signed
Griffis stepped away from football for the 2024 season but has returned and will add depth to the Red Raider quarterback room. He had one season with notable production with the Demon Deacons, starting nine games and throwing for 1,553 yards and nine touchdowns. He announced his commitment on Dec. 17 and has one year of eligibility remaining.
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Amier Boyd-Matthews, 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, CB, Texas-El Paso
Status: Officially signed
Boyd-Matthews spent three seasons at UTEP, playing in 25 games with eight starts. His stat line this season includes 16 tackles, three pass breakups, two interceptions and a fumble recovery. He committed to the Red Raiders on Dec. 16 with two years of eligibility left.
Will Jados, 6-foot-8, 307 pounds, OL, Miami (Ohio)
Status: Officially signed
A second RedHawk has joined the fold in Jados, who spent three years starting for Miami, primarily at left tackle. He's started 27 consecutive games and was second team all-MAC in 2023. His commitment was announced Dec. 15 and he has one year of eligibility remaining.
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Skyler Gill-Howard, 6-foot-1, 285 pounds, DT, Northern Illinois
Status: Officially signed
Gill-Howard was a third team all-MAC selection after totaling 52 tackles and five sacks for the Huskies last season. He commitment to Texas Tech was announced on Dec. 14 and he has one year of eligibility remaining.
Reggie Virgil, 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, WR, Miami (Ohio)
Status: Officially signed
Virgil appeared in 36 games over the past three years with the RedHawks, breaking out in 2024 with 41 catches for 816 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging just under 20 yards per catch. Virgil was ranked the No. 12 receiver in the transfer portal by On3. He committed to Texas Tech on Dec. 13 and has one year of eligibility remaining plus a redshirt year available.
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Brice Pollock, 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, CB, Mississippi State
Status: Officially signed
Ranked the No. 6 cornerback in the transfer portal by On3, Pollock totaled 49 tackles, 11 pass breakups and two interceptions. He started three games as a freshman in 2023. He committed to Texas Tech on Dec. 13 and has two years of eligibility remaining.
Dontae Balfour, 6-foot-2, 180 pounds, CB, Charlotte
Status: Officially signed
Balfour set single-season (11) and career (18) records for pass breakups in just two years at Charlotte. Spent the first two years of his career at North Carolina. Rated a four-star prospect out of high school. Balfour committed to Texas Tech on Dec. 12 and has one year of eligibility left.
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Cole Wisniewski, 6-foot-4, 218 pounds, S, North Dakota State
Status: Officially signed
Wisniewski comes to Lubbock after four years in Fargo with the North Dakota State Bison , where he sat out the 2024 season after undergoing foot surgery in August. He earned first team FCS all-America status with eight interceptions in 2023. He is ranked the No. 9 safety in the transfer portal by On3 . Wisniewski committed on Dec. 11 and has one year of eligibility remaining.
Hunter Zambrano, 6-foot-5, 300 pounds, OT, Illinois State
Status: Officially signed
Zambrano was a preseason FCS all-American for Illinois State, but missed most of the season with a hip injury. He was a three-year starter for the Redbirds before that and earned second-team all-Missouri Valley Conference recognition in 2023. ESPN ranks Zambrano the No. 3 offensive lineman and the No. 24 player overall in the transfer portal, and On3 ranks him second among available offensive linemen and No. 14 overall. He committed on Dec. 11 and has one year of eligibility.
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Players leaving Texas Tech football through transfer portal
Harvey Dyson, 6-foot-3, 250 pounds, DE
Dyson has played in 18 games in three seasons with the Red Raiders. He made his first six career starts this year as a third-year sophomore and missed four games due to injury. He was credited with 12 tackles this season, including three tackles for loss with two sacks. On3Sports reported on Dec. 19 that Dyson planned to have his name entered into the transfer portal, citing information from an NIL agent.
Trevon McAlpine, 6-foot-3, 305 pounds, DT
McAlpine played in 10 games this season as a part of the defensive-tackles rotation. The third-year sophomore was credited with 19 tackles, including two tackles for loss, 1 1/2 sacks and a blocked kick. He said on Dec. 18 he would have his name entered into the portal, and he committed to Tulane on Dec. 21.
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Dalton Merryman, 6-foot-9, 305 pounds, OT
Merryman started six games at left tackle in 2024, his second season with the Red Raiders. He had his name in the portal on Dec. 11 . He announced his commitment to Houston on Dec. 13. Merryman walked on at Tech after spending the 2021 season at Tarleton State and the 2022 season at Blinn College.
Cameran Brown, 6-foot-2, 240 pounds, QB
Brown came to Tech as a transfer-portal walk-on last winter from Division II West Georgia, projected to fill a narrow role as a run-first quarterback in special packages. He played in eight games, carrying eight times for 83 yards and completing 4 of 9 passes for 11 yards and an interceptions. His name showed up in the portal on Dec. 9, according to 247Sports.
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Kaden Carr, 6-foot-6, 320 pounds, C-OG
Carr, a scholarship signee in the 2023 class, played in only one game in two years. The Lubbock-Cooper graduate announced his plan to transfer on Dec. 6. He has three years of eligibility.
D.J. Crest, 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, WR
Crest, a scholarship signee in the 2023 class, appeared in only one game in two years in the program. The El Paso Parkland graduate announced his intent to transfer on Dec. 5. He has three years of eligibility.
Ty Buchanan, 6-foot-6, 300 pounds, OL
Buchanan started seven games and appeared in 11 for Texas Tech this season. He's started nine games in his Tech career, most of it at tackle. He announced his plan to transfer on Dec. 5 and committed to Arizona on Dec. 20. He has one year of eligibility remaining.
Texas Tech's Jordan Brown returns a punt against Colorado in a Big 12 football game Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, at Jones AT&T Stadium.
Jordan Brown, 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, WR
Brown transferred to Texas Tech after two years at Kansas. In three seasons for the Red Raiders, the DeSoto graduate played in 30 games and caught 36 passes for 414 yards and a touchdown. He also returned kickoffs and punts. He announced his plan to transfer on Dec. 4 and committed to Nevada on Dec. 21. He is eligible for a medical hardship waiver and a Covid-bonus year.
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Garrett Morphis, 6-foot-4, 300 pounds, OL
Morphis joined the Red Raiders as a preferred walk-on out of Waco Midway in 2023. He's spent the past two seasons with the team but didn't get into a game.
Brady Boyd, 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, WR
Boyd transferred to Texas Tech after one year at Minnesota. In three seasons for the Red Raiders, the Southlake Carroll graduate played in 25 games and caught 19 passes for 173 yards and one touchdown. He announced his plan to leave on Dec. 3. He has one year of eligibility remaining.
Jake Strong, 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, QB
Forced into action as a true freshman, Strong was 35-of-65 for 409 yards, two touchdowns and six interceptions in three games in 2023. He did not appear in a game in 2024. He has three years of eligibility remaining. Strong announced his departure via social media on Dec. 2.
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Jalon Peoples, 5-foot-11, 195 pounds, CB
Peoples spent three years with the Red Raiders, redshirting in 2022 and appearing in seven games over the past two seasons. He did not see the field for Tech after the Sept. 21 game against Arizona State. Announced his departure via social media on Dec. 1. He has two years of eligibility remaining.
Micah Hudson, 6-foot, 195 pounds, WR
Last year's star recruit for the 2024 recruiting class, Hudson was rated a five-star prospect and expected to assume a big role in the Texas Tech offense. Instead, Hudson accumulated eight catches for 123 yards in eight games, missing the final four games of the regular season with a lower-leg stress fracture. He committed to Texas A&M on Dec. 15.
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Miles Thompson, 5-foot-11, 175 pounds, DB
Thompson spent two years with the Red Raiders, redshirting in 2023, and not appearing in any games in 2024. He announced his departure via Instagram on Nov. 22. Northern Illinois announced his signing on Dec. 12.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Tracking Texas Tech football's winter transfer portal activity
