Quarterback called out by Shedeur Sanders reportedly entering NCAA transfer portal

During his last year in college football, Shedeur Sanders found himself in the middle of drama more often than not. When the Colorado Buffaloes defeated the Colorado State Rams by a score of 28-9, he didn’t let quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi off the hook.

Sanders confronted Fowler-Nicolosi after the game, as the Buffaloes quarterback refused to shake the hand of his Rams’ counterpart. Tension could be cut with a knife as the two signal-callers exchanged words, with Shedeur calling out his defeated opponent for speaking ahead of the game.

“You can’t f— with me,” Shedeur told Nicolosi when zeros hit the clock and the game was over at Canvas Stadium. Much time has passed since, Sanders is currently serving as backup quarterback for the Cleveland Browns in the NFL, while Fowler-Nicolosi remains in college football. However, he is now headed for new horizons, as he is no longer in Fort Collins.

As reported by On3’s Pete Nakos, Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi is expected to enter the NCAA transfer portal. The redshirt junior quarterback had been in Colorado State since 2022, when he enrolled at the school as a three-star recruit coming out of Aledo, Texas.

Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi of the Colorado State Rams

Packed his bags

Following head coach Jay Norvell’s firing by Colorado State University, a chain reaction was expected to hit the school in Fort Collins. On that note, Fowler-Nicolosi wasted no time heading for the exit door, but the school has no hard-feelings.

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“Brayden has chosen to step away from the football team for the remainder of the season but he handled everything extremely well,” interim coach Tyson Summers confirmed.

“I’m very proud of him. I will vouch for him to anyone, anywhere, any time. The guy has won a lot of football games here, been here for a long time and he’s had a challenging situation this year. I look forward to nothing but the best for him.”

When does transfer portal open?

The NCAA has adopted a new transfer portal window spanning January 2–16. Since the changes were introduced in October, players from programs that fired their head coaches in September are allowed to use the old portal system, which granted a 30-day window to enter immediately after a coaching change.

Shedeur Sanders #12 of the Cleveland Browns.

Fowler-Nicolosi—and any player at Colorado State looking for a fresh start—won’t enjoy such benefits. Instead, the quarterback must wait until the new year. Nicolosi has another year of eligibility remaining in college football, which he’ll use during the 2026 NCAA campaign.