Reflecting on Previous UTSA Football Portal Departures

The transfer portal for NCAA Football officially opened on January 2^nd, 2026. Perhaps somewhat of an anticlimactic event as a plethora of not just highly touted players, but Roadrunner players announced via their social medias they intend to enter the portal ahead of its official opening. What better way to start the new year than to get multiple alerts that your favorite player is switching schools. 

What now seems like beating a broken drum is addressing the changing landscape of NCAA Athletics. There is certainly nothing wrong with a player having more autonomy and opportunity with his or her career. It has quickly turned into the wild, wild, west however. 

Nobody from the top of the P4 to the bottom of FBS is excluded. What once required what seemed like a letter from your congressmember to get out of a National Letter of Intent is now what professional sports free agency would look like with no collective bargaining agreement. 

You have coaches saying their players are being poached. You have announcements that players have “signed new contracts”, twitter pages dedicated to “NIL agents” or companies that will help you find your spot. You hear stories of how players aren’t getting their promised amount. The current state of CFB and the portal is for another day or blog. 

How has it worked out for those players who have left though? Bigger programs can offer depth pieces money that a smaller program is looking to give their QB 1. Programs are dishing out big money only to have a player not work out, get passed up, or the team itself wins seven games. 

One response you often see from fans is “the grass isn’t always greener.” Often it seems that fans track players that have left closer than the current players on their team of choice. It is important to remember that players enter the portal for a wide variety of reasons. We as fans aren’t always privy to that reason. We just see the announcement. 

It is also important to know that players can always come back. Getting to my Baseball roots, UTSA standout Mason Lytle entered the portal only to return and be a huge part of the Roadrunners’ Super Regional run. The player has to enter before the date, but it isn’t a foregone conclusion they leave. 

After that lengthy “introduction” let’s check in on how some Roadrunners who left after 2024 fared in 2025. 

Eddie Lee Marburger – QB – UTSA ➡️ UTRGV

Perhaps the one departure that no one really faulted. ELM certainly put his time in at UTSA. Serving as mostly a backup during his time, he had his moments. I’ll never forget the successful Hail Mary at the end of the 1^sthalf against Army in 2023. Eddie Lee decided to take his talents to be part of UTRGV’s inaugural season. 

Helping UTRGV achieve a successful opening campaign of 9-3 at the FCS level, Marburger played a big part. 

In twelve games, ELM tossed for over 2,700 yards, 31 touchdowns, to only seven interceptions. He had two games, one of which was the Vaqueros program opener, where he threw for at least five touchdowns. His 65% percent completion rate had him right on the edge of above average for college quarterbacks. 

Perhaps the only downside to ELM being out of eligibility is that he doesn’t get to bring his collegiate career full-circle when UTRGV opens the 2026 campaign at the Alamodome. 

Tate Sandell – K – UTSA ➡️ Oklahoma

This one may have stinged the most. Not just because of the season that Tate Sandell had, but more because most Roadrunner fans probably assumed Tate would return for the 2025 season. 

Sandell entered late during the 2^nd portal window, which now doesn’t even exist. Following the first window departure of previous Roadrunner Kicker Chase Allen, his departure left UTSA with no scholarship kickers and scrambling with little to no time left. 

When factoring level of play, Sandell had easily the best season with the change of scenery. To be objective, his grass was certainly greener, taking home hardware. 

Roughly two weeks ago it was announced that Tate Sandell was selected for the Lou Groza award aka, the place kicker of the year award. If that wasn’t enough, Sandell is also the first recipient in Oklahoma Football history. 

The stats that helped Sandell secure the award included a regular season line of 24-26 while being perfect from 40 yards or more. Sandell also made headlines for the length of his pants during his field goal attempts. Kirk Herbstreit may not agree, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. 

Jimmori Robinson – OLB- UTSA ➡️ West Virginia 

Robinson did a wonderful job in helping fill the shoes that were left when Trey Moore departed UTSA following the 2023 season for Texas. There were a handful of key departures that factored into one more year of eligibility with the Diego Pavia rule taking effect with Robinson being one of them. 

Robinson’s season got off to a slow start while he had to spend several weeks addressing an academic eligibility issue. While it was eventually sorted, Robinson did not have the season he was hoping for. Whether that be the jump in competition, the late start, or less forgiveness at a bigger program is unknown. 

Per PFF, Robinson landed in the orange for his overall defensive play receiving a grade of 53.9. For comparison, in 2023 and 2024 at UTSA he graded in the 70s. His rush defense and tackling were two other categories that took a significant dip. At UTSA, he graded out in the low 80s for RDEF and 65.9 for TACK. At WVU, he graded out at 60.2 and 51.2 respectively. 

While it wasn’t a guarantee at the end of ’24 that someone like Robinson could come back, fans were certainly left wondering what type of difference he could have made in 2025. 

Ronald Triplette – EDGE – UTSA ➡️ Georgia Tech 

Like Robinson, Triplette was another who fans were hoping could be a big answer for the pass rush with the gift of one more year of eligibility. Triplette moved to the P4 as well but further south as he ended up at Georgia Tech. 

The Yellow Jackets had a successful season overall. They would finish the regular season at 9-3 and played a tightly contested game against the Big 12 runners-up, losing 25-21 to the BYU Cougars in the fan favorite Pop Tarts Bowl. For Triplette individually, it likely wasn’t the season he was hoping for. 

On PFF, Triplette was another who saw a huge drop in his PFF grades after moving from UTSA to GT. Of the five main areas, his tackling was the only category that held steady. In overall defense, RDEF, and PRSH he dropped anywhere from 18-30 percent. He only registered one sack and seven pressures. 

Kevorian Barnes – RB – UTSA ➡️ TCU 

Barnes’ departure was an interesting one. When he burst on the scene during the 2022 conference championship season, fans had high hopes. The next two seasons however were a downward trajectory in both his production and opportunity. It is possible that folks weren’t surprised to see him enter the portal, and there was curiosity when he ended up north at TCU. 

When you look at his YPC this season at 4.6 it is nothing to scoff at. His overall yards of 443 and just three touchdowns don’t line up, however. There were rumors and talks this season that he was banged up, something that also followed him at UTSA. The first time I saw KB play, I compared his style to Leanord Fournette. It is possible that gritty, hit you head on style wore on KB.

His PFF grades weren’t bad either. His overall offensive grade was green with a 77.4 and his run was even better with a 79. It was however, a small sample size as he only got 98 snaps on running plays. Of the 10 RBLK snaps he got, he didn’t score well, receiving a 57. 

Barnes may have been the culprit of P4 schools only giving you so many chances before moving on. 

Brandon High – RB – UTSA ➡️ Cal

High was the second RB to enter the portal, and another young player Roadrunner fans were high on, (pun intended). With the 2025 season in the rearview mirror, it was a position that UTSA did more than fine with the players who stuck around. Robert Henry and Will Henderson showed off, almost taking bookends with RHIII shining at the beginning and Henderson in the second half of the season. 

High’s departure likely fell under the category of “following your position coach” when Julian Griffin left to California. The Golden Bears finished the season with the same W-L as UTSA at 7-6. For High, the transition was not as similar. 

On PFF I had to “ignore the snap minimum” for High’s grades to show up. That tells you that while it is a small sample size, it was not at all the season he was hoping for. 

Logging just 23 snaps his YPC dropped from 5.4 at UTSA to 3.0 at Cal. His overall offense was a 54. The only category that he graded well in was PBLCK where he saw four opportunities and received a 75. With a head coaching change at Cal, Griffin is currently out of a job, and High is back in the portal. Would he be welcomed back at UTSA?

Martavius French – ILB – UTSA ➡️ Colorado 

French ended up being the “player to be named later” after UTSA secured Owen McCown from CU following the 2022 season. All joking aside, French was another who was given an extra year of eligibility and Roadrunner fans were hopeful he’d stick around. 

It was a disappointing season for both the Buffaloes and French in the 2025 campaign. Colorado finished 3-9 with only one of those wins coming against P4 competition. French saw a huge drop in his snaps and PFF grades. 

French’s snaps were cut in more than half, going from 634 in 2024 at UTSA to 321 in 2025 at CU. At UTSA his DEF, RDEF, and TACK went from the green to either the red or orange. He also saw drops anywhere from 17-26 percent. 

It would be unfair to sit here and blame players for taking what seems like a great opportunity. For the players that a career or let alone chance at post-NCAA FB is a long shot, it is understandable that they take a six-figure offer. It certainly is not “retirement” money but it is enough to get started post college and sets one up well. 

At the same time, I can’t help but wonder what NIL/Rev Share has created will do to the NCAA Football most of us readers grew up watching. Recently there have even been P4 coaches at institutions with endless resources talk about the difficulties navigating the new waters. 

My word of encouragement would be to, continue enjoy watching the sport you love, cheer for the school more than the player, contribute what/how you can, and be prepared for how the sport will continue to change. 

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