The Spire

Brendan Grudberg ’28

Staff Writer

The dust is starting to settle on the 2026 NCAA Football transfer window, as thousands of players from all over the country have found new homes over the month of January in what can aptly be called the biggest game of musical chairs of the year. 

Right there in the mix are our lovable Holy Cross Crusaders, who, despite being on the fringes of all the financial disputes that define this era of college football, have had some serious roster turnover over the past month. Keeping track of collegiate sports teams is nearly impossible these days – you forget about the team following the season and you realize your favorite player has already been enrolled at Southern Villanova State for a month. 

I can deliberate on each individual transfer and their impact, but the reality is, many of these individuals seeking other opportunities won’t make or break the Crusaders’ 2026 season. Instead, I hope to highlight the most important things the casual Holy Cross football fan should know about their involvement in the portal.

The ‘Backs…Aren’t Back

The three position groups that saw the most significant transfers in my opinion happen to be ones that allow me to make that corny header – defensive back, running back, and linebacker. 

Highly coveted jersey numbers 0, 1, and 2 will be available next season (who made the rule that lower number = cooler?), as starting defensive back trio Caiden Newsome (Soph., Akron), Cam Jones (Jr., Toledo), and Eli Thompson (Jr., Ohio), have all found new homes in the MAC, an FBS conference which will be a considerable step above the Patriot League, but a step that these three can easily make. Jones (1st) and Thompson (2nd) were Patriot League All-Conference honorees for 2025, and Newsome has starter experience with an extra year of eligibility under his belt. 

This is by far the position group that will have the most questions surrounding its capability, but to supplement, Holy Cross head football coach Dan Curran secured commitments from two FBS defensive backs in the portal in Chase Fountain (Jr., UCONN), and JuJu Tackie Jr. (So., Wake Forest). 

These two will bring much needed experience alongside returning Junior Chisom Onwuzurigbo, plus hunger for playing time after not getting much at their previous schools.

The linebacker room also takes a significant hit, as Lathan Croley (So., JMU), and First Team All-Patriot honoree Cam Santee (Jr., UNLV) have each hit the road. 

The main incoming replacement is Jalen Rambert, a redshirt sophomore from Wofford College coming off an All-SoCon selection. Rambert should slide in well alongside returning Junior linebacker Carlo Crocetti, but it’s tough to overstate how much those two, Santee especially, will be missed.

The rushing leaderboard will also look a lot different, as the team’s top three rushers from 2025 will be wearing different uniforms. The big one here is Jayden Clerveaux’s departure to the MAC’s Central Michigan, as he’s the only one of the three who wasn’t a senior (the seniors technically COULD have played another year in purple but we’ll get to that). 

Of course there were some counter moves in the portal, with Datrell Jones (Boston College) and Jake Croce (D-II Saint Anselm) each punching down and up a level, respectively, to fill this glaring void with their two years of remaining eligibility. 

But how about some promotions from within? First-year running back Joseph Williams had an awesome debut in 2025, primarily used as a receiving back, and I expect his sophomore campaign to include more all-around impact.

Renovation in the Trenches

Two more position groups that were affected by the portal were (literally) the biggest ones: offensive and defensive line. Defensive tackles Brice Stevenson (Jr., Iowa) and Jordan Pritchard-Sewell (So., Youngstown State) each hit the road before their four years were up, and senior offensive lineman Joe Metzger has elected to spend his fifth year elsewhere (likely a very high profile program). 

It could have been even worse, as First Team All-Patriot right guard Cam Nolan entered the portal himself for his fifth year, but ultimately decided to stick around for the rare graduate season on The Hill. The logical replacement for Joe Metzger will be Kuba Tyszka, a redshirt Sophomore from FCS powerhouse North Dakota who will likely play offensive guard. 

The Crusaders also secured a commitment from Massachusetts native Theo Batchedler, a redshirt freshman from FBS Old Dominion who is returning home with a new opportunity to make an impact. 

On the defensive line, commitments from Brady Fodor (UConn, R-So.), Aidan Horodnik (So., Stonehill), and Gabriel Flores (R-Fr.) give the Crusaders plenty of options at defensive tackle, and redshirt freshman edge rusher Rushane Vilane comes in from the Kentucky Wildcats to give the Crusaders more high Division-1 experience.

More QB Competition?

Injuries meant that Holy Cross used three different starting quarterbacks last year, and after none of the young gunslingers proved themselves as the clear option going forward, a fourth one was added to the mix. 

Redshirt Sophomore David Lynch comes in from Pitt, having made 3 appearances and one start in his three years there. This marks the second straight offseason that Holy Cross has landed a quarterback from a Power-5 school (Cal Swanson, 2025), and it should be an interesting discussion on who will get the starting role come August.

The Inherent Limitations of “The ‘College’”

This is a topic that deserves its own article, but to keep it short, Holy Cross’s sports teams are limited by the fact that we are a COLLEGE, not a University. Many of the seniors on this year’s team DO have an extra year of eligibility thanks to redshirting rules, but are spending those fifth years elsewhere. 

Those include wide receiver Max Mosey (Rice), offensive lineman Joe Metzger, running back Nyeoti Punni, edge rusher Christian Ross, and more. It’s not the case for every senior– star offensive lineman Cam Nolan is back for his fifth year–but the majority of Holy Cross graduate athletes just don’t see the purpose in taking extra classes when there’s no graduate degree to work towards. 

The same goes for incoming transfer students – fifth year players have no incentive to come to Holy Cross. This isn’t an issue the college needs to resolve — we are an academics-focused institution after all — but it’s unfortunate that the most experienced players both in-house and on the market just don’t see Holy Cross as a viable option. There’s also the lack of NIL incentives, which is another can of worms I don’t need to open right now…

Husky → Crusader Pipeline?

An interesting fact about the Crusaders’ 2026 transfer class is that three of the 15 incoming transfers documented on the @hcrossfb Twitter account come from UConn. I could not find any updates on if Holy Cross had hired a UConn coach following their head coach’s departure, but interesting nonetheless. 

These three players – defensive tackle Brady Fodor, defensive lineman Cooper Ackerman, and the aforementioned defensive back Chase Fountain – are coming to Worcester with built-in chemistry and having experienced some very solid Huskies seasons at a higher level.

So, there you have it. While many familiar faces are leaving The Hill in an unprecedented manner, the current state of college sports has given each team ebbs and flows until they settle where they are ultimately destined to be. 

That is to say, Holy Cross will be just fine. With players from all different backgrounds coming in for the 2026 season, Coach Curran will have all sorts of tools at his disposal to turn this ship around, and only time will tell how well a job he does.

Featured image courtesy of Holy Cross Athletics