The562’s coverage of football in 2024-25 is sponsored by The Terry Donahue Memorial California Showcase.
It’s impossible to be a modern-day college football fan without hearing about the transfer portal, and with each passing season it becomes more prevalent in the NCAA landscape. This year, a significant number of Long Beach natives are in the portal, looking for new places to play in the 2025-26 season.
Former Millikan cornerback Tacario Davis made a name for himself during his time at Arizona, and he’s ranked as the top cornerback in the portal by 247Sports. Davis has been a Second Team All-Conference player in each of the past two seasons with the Wildcats, and was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award in 2024, given to the nation’s top defensive back.
The 6-foot-4 corner is showing NFL potential, and he’ll be honing his craft in the Pacific Northwest after making his commitment to the University of Washington, where he’ll be a senior next season.
Interestingly, Davis may be replacing another cornerback with Long Beach ties as LBCC alum Thaddeus Dixon announced he would be leaving Washington. Dixon started all 12 regular season games for the Huskies and was an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection this past season. He is ranked as the No. 11 corner in the portal by 247 and recently committed to North Carolina.
One of the earliest transfer decisions of this cycle was by former Long Beach Poly offensive lineman Wendell “WoWo” Moe, who is departing Arizona to play at the University of Tennessee next season. Moe started every game on the Wildcats’ offensive line the past two seasons, earning Second Team All-Pac 12 recognition as a redshirt freshman in 2023.
Moe’s most impressive stat is that he’s allowed only one sack in his college career, spanning 1,111 pass blocking snaps. He’ll be blocking for another former Jackrabbit when he gets to Knoxville, with Nico Iamaleava locked in as the starting QB for the Volunteers.
Another former Poly lineman on the move is Tyson Ruffins, who started 9 games at left guard for Nevada last season as a sophomore. He initially committed to Stanford in the transfer portal, but switched his commitment to archrivals Cal, where he’ll be a junior this fall with the Golden Bears.
Linebacker Bryun Parham got in the transfer portal for the second year in a row, moving from Washington to UConn. The Long Beach Poly alum originally signed with San Jose State out of high school, and was a highly productive linebacker for the Spartans, culminating in 106 tackles during the 2023 season. After moving to Washington last year, Parham ended up taking a redshirt season to preserve the year of eligibility, and will join a different pack of Huskies in Connecticut.
Also leaving Washington for a new home is Long Beach native Jason Robinson, Jr., who played two productive seasons as a wide receiver at Long Beach Poly. The speedy wideout is switching coasts, committing to play for Bill Belichick at North Carolina next season as a redshirt freshman.
