This 2026 off-season, one coach football team added 70 new players. That’s right, 70. And almost no one is talking about it. Prairie View A&M football just pulled off one of the wildest roster reloads we have ever seen in this transfer portal era, and it might completely change their program for the long run. So, how did this even happen?
To understand it, you have to start with Tremaine Jackson. You may be asking yourself, who even is Tremaine Jackson? And that’s a valid question. But, he is quickly becoming the mastermind behind Prairie View A&M turning into one of the biggest HBCU football programs heading into the future, and he did it in just his second season. Jackson was hired to Prairie View before the 2025 year after he coached three seasons in D2.
While in D2, he had a record of 30 and 8, won coach of the year in 2024, and helped lead Valdosta State to the D2 National Championship game in ’24. So, he knew how to win, and he proved it in year one at Prairie View. 2025 for these Panthers included a total record of 10 [music] and 4, making the Celebration Bowl, but losing a four-overtime thriller to South Carolina State. And where the team went 7 and 1 in the SWAC, earning him the conference’s coach of the year honor. Jackson and the staff turned a 5-1 program into a 10-1-1, and boasted Prairie View’s best season since 2009.
People across the country started to take notice of what was happening in Texas, and Jackson just started to dive fully into the portal. With Jackson even stating, “I don’t think we can be successful and keep our jobs with a bunch of 18-year-olds.” Jackson wasn’t lying when he said he didn’t want a bunch of 18-year-olds because for the 2026 recruiting class, Prairie View only brought in nine high schoolers, but three of them were rated as three-star recruits by 24/7 Sports. So, even with a lack of high schoolers, they were all quality players. However, when it came to college transfers, there was one rule that the NCAA got rid of that really made this 70-player reload possible.
From 2012 to 2022, college teams were only able to bring in 25 new players per academic year. But, since that rule was no more, it opened the doors to crazy stories like Prairie View. With the ability to bring in more transfers, this is where it got insane. FBS transfers came in with 16 players, FCS transfers were nine players, D2 was also 16 players, with JUCO bringing in the most signings at 19. NAIA and D3 transfers being the other eight for a total of 70 players coming in.
This was one of the biggest roster overhauls we’ve seen in the sport, on par with Deion Sanders’ first year at Colorado. Just like the high schoolers Jackson brought in, these transfers were legit contributors. At the FBS level, you had names such as safety Damani Maxson from Kansas, edge rusher Michael Rawls from Oklahoma State, and safety Cameron Canterbury from Louisiana-Monroe. All three starter-level transfer talents from portal sites. In total, [music] Prairie View pulled players from 13 different FBS programs.
At the FCS level, Georgetown quarterback Dez Thomas II stood out, putting up 1,400 passing yards and 12 total touchdowns. You also had Northern Arizona defensive back Now Imani Harris, who recorded 19 tackles and two pass breakups in just nine games. Then, JUCO standouts were Deion Chase Walker of Blinn Junior College, who had 14 TFLs, Keon Harris from Jones College, who had nine rushing touchdowns in nine games, and Coffeyville defensive back Brandon Hayward, who had 20 tackles and two interceptions. This was a calculated overhaul, pulling talent from every level of college football. [music] But, with a roster this new, the question isn’t how talented they are, it’s whether it can actually work.
So, what does this mean for Prairie View? First, let’s talk about the risk. Bringing in 70 new players sounds exciting, but it almost guarantees one thing, early chemistry issues. This is basically an entirely new team, and that could lead to a slow start, [music] especially in those first few games where unexpected losses could happen. And on top of that, not every transfer is going to hit.
We’ve seen this across college football, guys who look like perfect additions on paper just don’t pan out in the new program or [music] system. The example again is Deion Sanders at Colorado. That massive roster overhaul led to a lot of hype. The first season still ended at 4 and 8. Now, Prairie View’s situation is a little different with Tremaine Jackson and his staff being there a year prior.
But, it shows that a complete reset doesn’t guarantee instant success. So, yeah, this could absolutely backfire, but now let’s flip it to the upside because it’s just as big. Talent-wise, this is an upgrade from last year’s team. You’re bringing in players from the FBS and bigger FCS teams who have already competed at high level, and now they’re stepping into the SWAC, no offense. That alone, though, could raise the ceiling of the team immediately.
And on top of that, you’re hoping those players bring a different mindset like a big program culture that could elevate everything from preparation to expectations at Prairie View. Experience matters, too. These aren’t freshmen learning everything for the first time. These are older players who have been through college, the practices, seen real game speed. The learning curve should be much smaller.
And if this actually [music] works, Prairie View might not even need a traditional rebuild again. This could fast-track them into sustained success. So, what does this mean for the next season and the upcoming [music] season’s results? They’re coming off a SWAC championship and a Celebration Bowl appearance without these transfers. So, the expectation now isn’t just to compete, but to start dominating.
We’re talking about chasing undefeated seasons [music] and establishing themselves as the new powerhouse in HBCU football. At the end of the day, this is either going to be one of the smartest rebuilds in college football or one of the most chaotic experiments we’ve ever seen. Either way, it’s going to be a must-watch. Now, 70 transfers in one off-season just doesn’t happen, and it all comes back to Tremaine Jackson [music] and his vision. So, the real question is, did PV just build a contender overnight or a team that won’t be able to hold itself together?
Because what happens next season could change how not only HBCU programs, but how other colleges build their rosters forever. If you wouldn’t mind hitting the like button, the subscribe button, and hitting the bell notifications. Thank you. >> [music]
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