Top 10 transfer portal impact players of Week 0

NCAAF College Football
August 31, 2026
Beau Pribula (22 - Central York), Billy Edwards Jr. (21 - Lake Braddock), Cardinal Sports Report, Da'Shawn Martin (24 - Springfield), Davis Warren (20 - Loyola), Elijah Kinsler (24 - Bergen Catholic), Inside Carolina, Jackson Arnold (23 - Guyer), Jaylin Carter (25 - Lowndes), Jelani Thurman (23 - Langston Hughes), Luke Weaver (21 - East Union), Marcus Stokes (23 - Nease), Memphis Tigers Network, North Carolina Tar Heels Network, On3, On3 Football, San Jose State Spartans, San Jose State Spartans Football, Sports, Stanford Cardinal Network, Tiger Sports Report, Transfer Portal College Football, Transfer Portal Home, UNLV Rebels, UNLV Rebels Football, Virginia Cavaliers, Virginia Cavaliers Football

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In the new era of college football, the transfer portal has become a significant component of roster construction. Throughout the 2026 college football season, On3 is breaking down the top 10 transfer portal impact players based on weekly performances. Here are the most impactful transfer portal players from Week 0:

1. Virginia QB Beau Pribula

Former Penn State and Missouri transfer Beau Pribula looked comfortable in his Virginia debut on Saturday. After a whirlwind experience in January trying to find his transfer destination — he made six visits before landing with the Cavaliers — he had one of the best games of his career against NC State. Pribula rushed for a career-best 110 yards and averaged 7.3 yards per carry. He completed 9 of 11 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns, and he wasn’t intercepted. Virginia cruised to a 34-8 win over the Wolfpack.

2. Stanford QB Davis Warren

Davis Warren made his first start at Stanford on Saturday, marking his first college start since finishing the 2024 season at Michigan. He missed the 2025 season with a knee injury and won the Stanford starting job this summer after transferring in. Warren threw for 310 yards and a touchdown in the win over Hawaii, setting a career-high in passing yards. He engineered a game-winning drive, too, responding to Hawaii’s three fourth-quarter touchdowns. Warren was 22 for 34 passing, including 5 for 5 for 58 yards on the game-winning drive.

3. North Carolina TE Jelani Thurman

A former four-star recruit, Jelani Thurman totaled just 144 receiving yards in three seasons at Ohio State. On Saturday in Dublin with North Carolina, Thurman emerged as the top target in the passing game for the Tar Heels. He finished with four catches for 94 yards, averaging 23.5 yards per catch. The 6-foot-6, 250-pound tight end was a problem for the TCU defense in the 15-10 win.

Jelani Thurman is DOMINATING early pic.twitter.com/vYirJyUNLC
— SleeperCFB (@SleeperCFB) August 29, 2026

4. Memphis QB Marcus Stokes

A former Florida commit, West Florida transfer Marcus Stokes made his FBS debut Saturday night in Las Vegas. Stokes beat out former Ohio State and South Carolina transfer Air Noland for the starting job in August. The Memphis quarterback was 15 of 26 for 223 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 45 yards. That included a 48-yard pass to open the second half and erasing a third-quarter deficit to win 27-21 over UNLV.

5. Memphis DL Elijah Kinsler

After only playing in eight games the last two seasons, Elijah Kinsler had his breakout game on Saturday. The former West Virginia and Southern Miss transfer posted eight tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss in the win over UNLV. He was a key piece of a six-sack night for the Tigers, holding UNLV to only 25 yards in the fourth quarter on Saturday night.

6. UNLV QB Jackson Arnold

The former five-star recruit landed at UNLV this offseason after stops at Oklahoma and Auburn. Jackson Arnold had one of his best college games to date on Saturday night, accounting for three touchdowns. He completed 25 of 37 passes for 291 yards while also leading the Rebels with 54 rushing yards and a score. Arnold was sacked multiple times on the game’s final drive, as UNLV couldn’t put together a game-winning drive.

7. Memphis RB Jaylin Carter

Another key piece of Charles Huff’s new roster in Memphis, Jaylin Carter had a 36-yard touchdown run in the Tigers’ win in Las Vegas on Saturday night. A former Southern Miss transfer, he carried the ball 15 times for 97 yards and averaged 6.5 yards per carry in the win.

8. North Carolina QB Billy Edwards

After missing most of the 2025 season with an injury at Wisconsin, Billy Edwards hit the transfer portal in January and landed at North Carolina. A former Maryland transfer, Edwards was looking for a restart and found it in Chapel Hill with Bill Belichick. The quarterback was not perfect in Saturday’s 15-10 win over TCU in Dublin, but he managed the game cleanly. He finished 16 of 28 for 232 yards passing.

9. Virginia WR Da’Shawn Martin

Kent State transfer Da’Shawn Martin did not rack up catches in Saturday’s win, but the one catch made a difference. He was on the receiving end of a 47-yard touchdown from Pribula, pushing the lead over the Wolfpack to three scores. He had 33 catches for 507 yards last season with the Golden Flashes.

10. San Jose State QB Luke Weaver

The Hawaii transfer was solid in his San Jose State debut on Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles. Luke Weaver finished 21 of 32 for 234 yards and two touchdowns, finishing with a 65.6% completion percentage. USC won 42-26, but the Spartans tried to rally in the fourth quarter.

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