The quarterback carousel keeps on churning in the 2026 transfer portal for college football.

The latest domino to fall on Sunday, Jan. 4, was Notre Dame backup quarterback Kenny Minchey committing to Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are looking to replace starter Dylan Raiola, who left after two seasons.

Minchey will be entering his redshirt sophomore season and should have two more years of eligibility for the Cornhuskers.

He lost the starting battle to CJ Carr during the offseason and served as his backup during the 2025 season. He completed 20-of-26 passes for 196 yards, adding 84 rushing yards and a score.

The transfer portal opened on Friday, Jan. 2, and remains open through Jan. 16. 

Kenny Minchey transfer portal, recruiting ranking

Minchey was a 4-star recruit in the 2023 recruiting class, per 247Sports’ Composite ratings, coming out of Pope John Paul II in Hendersonville, Tennessee. He was ranked as the No. 170 overall player and 14th-ranked quarterback in the class.

Stars: 4
National rating: No. 170 overall
Position ranking: No. 14 QB
State ranking: No. 3 player from Tennessee

Kenny Minchey stats

Here’s a look at Minchey’s stats in his three seasons with Notre Dame:

2023: 2-for-2 passing (100%) for 12 yards
2024: 1-for-1 passing (100%) for 4 yards; Two rushes for 12 yards and a touchdown
2025: 20-of-26 passing (76.9%), 196 yards; 17 rushes for 84 yards and a touchdown

The Las Vegas Raiders are No. 1 − and former owner Al Davis would doubtless be sick about it.

But the Silver and Black’s current Commitment to Excellence unfortunately extends only to summiting the apex of the 2026 NFL draft order, the Raiders clinching − for lack of a better term − the spot Jan. 4 when the New York Giants, who cruised past Las Vegas 34-10 in Week 17, defeated the Dallas Cowboys in their regular-season finale. The Giants’ victory locked the Raiders into the league’s worst record, even if they improve to 3-14 by beating the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday afternoon.

Have the Raiders picked No. 1 overall before?

Yes, the then-Oakland Raiders chose QB JaMarcus Russell No. 1 overall in 2007 in one of the worst draft decisions in NFL history. Who could they have taken instead? Calvin Johnson, Joe Thomas, Adrian Peterson, Patrick Willis, Marshawn Lynch and Darrelle Revis all came off the board in the first half of Round 1.

Who will the Raiders draft first in 2026?

That will likely be a topic of some debate over the next four months, but Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza from Indiana University will likely be the prohibitive choice − whether the Raiders use the pick or trade it.

The best ability is availability, and for almost all of the 2025 regular season, Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward had remained available. Until Week 18.

The first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft became the only rookie quarterback to start all 17 games for his team this season when he took the field against the Jacksonville Jaguars to begin Week 18. He hadn’t missed an offensive snap for Tennessee all season, but at the end of the Titans’ first offensive drive, Ward exited the game with an injury.

The Titans have since ruled him out for the game with a shoulder injury.

Ward rushed for a seven-yard touchdown to cap off a 58-yard drive but got banged up as he dove for the goal line. The quarterback remained on the ground for an extra moment after the play but eventually was able to walk back to the sideline.

Fox’s broadcast showed Ward entering the blue medical tent with some trainers moments later, and he ended up walking back to the locker room after an initial evaluation.

Cam Ward injury update

The Titans QB is listed as out of the game with a shoulder injury following the awkward tackle.

Ward dove forward to cross the goal line on a seven-yard rush off of a read-option play to give the Titans an early 7-0 lead, but he landed hard on his shoulder and had a defender land on him after he hit the ground. The result was a quick evaluation on the sideline in his team’s blue medical tent before Ward returned to the locker room with trainers.

Brandon Allen is Ward’s backup in Tennessee, and he entered the game to begin the Titans’ second drive. The first play of that possession was also the first offensive play that Tennessee ran without its rookie quarterback all season. Ward had managed to stay healthy for 17+ weeks before sustaining his shoulder injury on a scoring play to open the game.

Allen will take the Titans the rest of the way in Week 18 with Ward out for the game.

Cam Ward stats

Ward has had an up-and-down rookie season with the Titans this year. Here’s how his numbers looked through 16 starts in 17 weeks:

Completion rate: 320-of-537 (59.6%)
Passing yards: 3,117
Passing touchdowns: 15
Interceptions: 7
Passer rating: 79.8
Sacks: 55 taken for 410 yards lost (both marks lead NFL)
Rushing: 148 yards on 37 attempts (4.0 yards per attempt) and one touchdown

Titans QB depth chart

Tennessee has two quarterbacks on its active roster, and the Titans have another who has been on injured reserve for the entire season.

Cam Ward (out – shoulder)
Brandon Allen
Will Levis (IR – shoulder)

Ward was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and had played every offensive snap for the Titans before his injury on Jan. 4. Allen will take Tennessee to the end of its Sunday game (and the regular season).

Levis has been on season-ending injured reserve since July, when he underwent surgery on his throwing shoulder.

This story will be updated.

The Indianapolis Colts wide receiver was ejected during the third quarter of the Colts’ Jan. 4 game at the Houston Texans.

Pierce was ejected after he caught a pass from Colts QB Riley Leonard in the back of the end zone line. Pierce landed out of bounds and the pass was ruled incomplete. However, Pierce got up and pleaded with the nearby official over what he believed was an apparent penalty on the play. Pierce inadvertently bumped into the official during the discussion and was immediately flagged.

The game officials ejected Pierce for contact with a referee.

Pierce’s disqualification ended a stellar day for the wideout. He had four catches for a season-best 132 and two touchdowns at the time of his exit.

Pierce did appear to apologize to the official following his ejection.

Cowboys rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku was ejected from a game against the Giants.
The ejection occurred after Ezeiruaku pulled the helmet off of Giants lineman Greg Van Roten during a skirmish.
The altercation began after a hit on Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart.

A meaningless Week 18 game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants does not make it immune from tempers running hot.

Cowboys rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku had his rookie season end prematurely when he was ejected for pulling the helmet off Giants offensive lineman Greg Van Roten with 9:52 remaining in the third quarter.

A skirmish between the two teams started following a hit by Cowboys linebacker James Houston on Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart after Dart threw a 13-yard touchdown to Tyrone Tracy. Van Roten would not let go of Cowboys defensive lineman Sam Williams’ facemask.

It wasn’t the first misfortune to befell Ezeiruaku during the game. He had a sack, which would have been his first since Nov. 3, taken off the board when the Cowboys accepted a tripping penalty against New York that negated the play.

Ezeiruaku was taken in the second round (44th overall) by the Cowboys out of Boston College in the 2025 draft.

‘They have every opportunity, like they have up to this point, to be able to make that decision,’ Golding said Jan. 3 in a Fiesta Bowl news conference. ‘Week in and week out, I don’t dictate whether they do that or not. They are not employed by me. Up to this point that’s how it’s been, and that’s my expectation.’

A source with direct knowledge of the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told USA TODAY Sports that offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. will continue coaching Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal against Miami.

No. 6 Ole Miss (13-1) will face No. 10 Miami in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8 (7:30 p.m., ESPN) in in the CFP semifinals. The winner will advance to the national championship on Jan. 19 in Miami vs. the winner of the Jan. 9 Peach Bowl between Indiana and Oregon.

Weis is highest-ranking Ole Miss coach who will follow former coach Lane Kiffin to LSU. Weis, running backs coach Kevin Smith, wide receivers coach George McDonald and tight ends coach Joe Cox have been with Ole Miss and LSU simultaneously.

It’s an odd arrangement that has been successful. Ole Miss has beaten Tulane 41-10 and Georgia 39-34 in the CFP to advance to the Fiesta Bowl.

Golding said communication with Kiffin has been great, and the idea is to retain the outgoing coaches for the Fiesta Bowl and a potential national championship game.

‘The idea is the same guys that have coached the same positions all year will do that in this game like they have up to this point,’ Golding said.

Since LSU is now employing the coaches, and their participation with Ole Miss is part of a gentlemen’s agreement, Golding couldn’t guarantee their status.

‘I don’t know,’ Golding said. ‘Do you know if you are going to show up to work tomorrow? It’s grown people making decisions. I have no idea. We’re going to go out there and spot the ball. We’ve got plenty of people in this building who showed up this morning. We’ll be just fine.’

The transfer portal opened Jan. 2 and schools are trying to add to their rosters.

Conflicting reports about Kevin Smith

247Sports reported Jan. 3 that Smith will leave Ole Miss to be LSU’s running backs coach on a full-time basis. On3 later reported Smith said he planned to finish out with Ole Miss.

Golding said there are plenty of coaches to turn to in event he needs a backup plan. He emphasized that the final result is dictated by players, not play callers. He is not worried about uncertainty spoiling the game plan.

‘It’s going to have no impact on the game, but y’all can keep blowing it up and make it a big deal,’ Golding said.

Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_

The player who was once part of the Karl Anthony-Towns trade to the New York Knicks made his college basketball debut to boos on Saturday, Jan. 3.

James Nnaji debuted for the Baylor men’s basketball in its Big 12 opener. The 7-foot center – who was a second-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft – had five points, four rebounds, two turnovers and picked up four fouls in 16 minutes a 69-63 loss to TCU.

After Nnaji entered the game, he was booed and then was booed subauenrly every time he touched the ball. His first points came on a putback dunk with about nine minutes left in the first half.

‘James did nothing wrong,’ Baylor coach Scott Drew said after the game. ‘Baylor did nothing wrong, and I know he’s human and just making sure he doesn’t feel that. If James was an NBA player today, he would be in the NBA.’

Nnaji played four seasons professionally in Europe before the Detroit Pistons drafted him No. 31 overall as an 18-year-old in the 2023 NBA Draft. Since then, Nnaji’s draft rights have been traded twice, but he has never signed an NBA contract.

Because he never attended an American college, Nnaji has four years of eligibility remaining.

‘James is a great young man,’ Drew said. ‘Grew up playing piano in the church. Mom’s most excited about his opportunity to get a degree. Brother’s a mechanical engineer. Sister’s trying to get a master’s. I thought he did a great job in a short period of time. He hadn’t played a competitive game in seven months, been recovering from an injury.’

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

Another quarterback domino fell on Sunday, Jan. 4, with Old Dominion signal-caller Colton Joseph committing to Wisconsin football in the transfer portal, according to reports by ESPN and On3.

Joseph, a dual-threat, threw for 2,624 yards and 21 touchdowns, while adding 158 rushes for 1,007 yards and 13 touchdowns, for the Monarchs during the 2025 college football season.

The Newport, California native is set to replace Billy Edwards Jr., who Wisconsin added from the transfer portal from Maryland last season. Edwards has since committed to playing at North Carolina.

Joseph will have two years of eligibility remaining after starting the last two seasons for ODU. He has totaled 4,251 yards passing, 1,654 rushing yards, and 56 total touchdowns in that span, leading the Monarchs to a 10-3 record in 2025, the program’s second winning season.

The transfer portal opened on Friday, Jan. 2 and remains open through Jan. 16. Joseph was also set to visit Florida State soon, but it seems that the commitment to the Badgers will likely prevent the visit from happening.

Colton Joseph stats

Here’s a look at Joseph’s stats in his two collegiate seasons with ODU:

2024: 133-of-222 passing (59.9%) for 1,627 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions; 114 rushes for 647 yards and 11 touchdowns
2025: 173-of-290 passing (59.7%) for 2,624 yards, 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions; 158 rushes for 1,007 yards and 13 touchdowns

Colton Joseph recruiting rankings

Joseph was a 3-star recruit in the 2023 recruiting class, per 247Sports’ Composite ratings, coming out of Newport Harbor High in Newport, California. He committed to ODU over offers from Air Force, Army and Navy.

Following his two successful seasons with the Monarchs, Joseph was the No. 155 overall player and the No. 19 quarterback in the 2025 portal rankings.