Six Boise State players enter transfer portal

College football’s winter transfer portal opened Monday

Boise State Broncos helmet. / Troy Babbitt-Imagn Images

The winter college football transfer portal window opened Monday, and six Boise State players hopped in to find a new home.

Defensive lineman Demanuel Brown Jr., running back Kaden Dudley, wide receiver Zamondre Merriweather, safety Gabe Tahir, cornerback Khai Taylor and cornerback Dionte Thornton all officially entered the portal on Monday. The winter transfer portal window closes on Dec. 28. 

Brown Jr. is a redshirt freshman edge rusher from Houston’s Dekaney High School. He was a three-star prospect with double-digit offers when he signed with the Broncos in 2023. Brown Jr. did not record any statistics this season.

Dudley is a junior with 16 career carries for 56 yards. A product of Palmer Ridge High School in Monument, Colorado, Dudley was a three-star prospect who chose Boise State over offers from Arizona, Colorado and Washington State, among others. 

Merriweather was a three-star athlete from California’s Valencia High School when he enrolled at Boise State in 2022. The wide receiver never recorded a catch in his three seasons with the Broncos. 

Tahir is a redshirt freshman who tallied one tackle in Boise State’s 37-34 loss at Oregon. Tahir was a three-star prospect coming out of Washington’s Kamiakin High School with double-digit offers. 

Taylor, a redshirt freshman from California power Pittsburg High School, is the biggest loss on paper. He tallied two tackles this year and was expected to compete for a starting role next season. Taylor was a three-star prospect who shined on both sides of the ball for Pittsburg. 

Thornton registered five tackles as a freshman but didn’t record any statistics this season. A three-star prospect coming out of California’s Lawndale High School, Thornton chose the Broncos over offers from Arizona State, California and Kansas.

All six players are no longer with the program and will not participate in any College Football Playoff preparations. 

After winning the Mountain West Football Championship for the second straight season, Boise State (12-1) received the No. 3 overall seed for the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. 

The Broncos earned a first-round bye and will face either No. 11 SMU (11-2) or No. 6 Penn State (11-2) in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve. Boise State has won the Fiesta Bowl three times in program history: 2007, 2010 and 2014. 

The Fiesta Bowl winner advances to the semifinals. 

Junior tailback Ashton Jeanty was named a Heisman Trophy finalist on Monday. Jeanty leads the country in carries (344), rushing yards (2,497) and rushing touchdowns (29) and needs 132 yards in the CFP to break Barry Sanders’ all-time single-season rushing record of 2,628 yards.

MORE BOISE STATE NEWS & ANALYSIS

• Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty named Heisman Trophy finalist

• ‘Thighs-man:’ Ashton Jeanty adds another NIL deal

• College Football Playoff: Easy draw for Penn State? Boise State may feel the same

• What Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, Spencer Danielson said after clinching College Football Playoff berth

• Boise State coach Spencer Danielson: Several Broncos ‘are getting illegally recruited to get in the portal’

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