James Madison QB Alonza Barnett III plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, On3 has learned. Barnett helped led the Dukes to the College Football Playoff in 2025.

Barnett was QB1 all season for James Madison’s 12-2 finish to the season, which came to an end after losing to Oregon 51-34 in the College Football Playoff. He led the Dukes to a Sun Belt Championship after going undefeated in conference play as well.

Statistically, Barnett completed 216-370 (58.4%) of his passing attempts for 2,806 yards. 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He added 127 carries for 589 yards and 15 additional touchdowns on the ground as JMU’s second-leading rusher.

Barnett’s former head coach at JMU, Bob Chesney, is heading to UCLA as the Bruins’ next head coach. Nico Iamaleava, UCLA’s starting quarterback in 2025, has re-signed with the Bruins for next year, making it unclear what’s next for Barnett’s college football journey.

Before college, Barnett was a part of the 2022 recruiting class and was a three-star recruit. He clocked in as the No. 1,786 overall recruit, per the Rivals Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. Barnett was the No. 116 QB in his class and No. 45 player from his home state of North Carolina.

Once the NCAA transfer portal opens on Jan. 2, players can officially enter their names in the NCAA transfer portal and go on to initiate contact with their preferred schools. The portal will be open for 15 days and close on Jan. 16.

Notably, players who are on teams competing in the national championship game are allowed five extra days to make their portal decision. The College Football Playoff championship game will be played on Jan. 19, so the players on those teams will be allowed until Jan. 24 to enter the portal and choose their next school.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.