Update Four: Former Georgia defensive back Jake Pope announced on Monday, Jan. 6 that he will transfer to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas under head coach Dan Mullen according to Athlon Sports.
Update Three: Former Pittsburgh cornerback Ryland Gandy committed to Indiana on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, as reported on 247 Sports.
Update Two: According to 247 Sports, former Buford running back Gabe Ervin, Jr. signed with Kansas State on Friday afternoon.
Update One: Another former Buford player, Ryland Gandy entered the transfer portal. The redshirt sophomore played at the cornerback position for Pittsburgh before entering the portal on Dec. 30.
Original: Seven former football standouts from Buford High School entered the 2025 NCAA football transfer portal. Three of the seven players have announced their new schools, while the other four have yet to announce their future plans.
Ashton Daniels, former quarterback for Stanford entered the transfer portal on Dec. 5. The 6-foot-3, 207-pound junior signed with Auburn University on Dec. 16 while visiting the campus.
During his time at Stanford, Daniels passed for 3,986 yards, 21 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. He amassed 1,117 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns over the course of three seasons.
The Buford High School Class of 2022 grad led the Wolves to three state championships in 2019, 2020 and 2021. He was a three-star recruit according to ON3, 247 and Rivals.
Justice Haynes, a former five-star recruit in the Class of 2023, has spent the last two seasons at the University of Alabama. The 5-foot-11, 210-pound running back entered the transfer portal and was originally predicted to commit to Ole Miss according to ON3. However, on Dec. 24 Haynes announced his decision to sign with Michigan instead.
In his freshman season at Alabama, Haynes made 13 appearances, rushing for 168 yards and two touchdowns. He took the field more in the 2024 season accumulating 448 yards and seven touchdowns rushing and had 17 catches for 99 yards.
Haynes attended Buford High School for his senior year in 2022-2023. He had previously attended Blessed Trinity. During his senior season, Haynes ran for 1,695 yards and had 23 touchdowns in 13 games for the Wolves.
Defensive lineman Matthew Alexander, a redshirt junior who has played for the University of Central Florida for the last four years entered the transfer portal on Dec. 4. Alexander committed to play at Georgia Tech on Saturday, Dec. 21 under former Buford head coach Jess Simpson. Simpson is the current Georgia Tech defensive line coach.
Alexander played in 39 games for Central Florida over the last three seasons. In the 2024 season, he had 35 tackles (four for losses).
During Alexander’s senior season at Buford High School in 2020, he made 36 tackles, three tackles for loss, three sacks and nine quarterback pressures.
On Dec. 2, Gabe Ervin Jr., who has played for the Nebraska Cornhuskers since 2021, entered the transfer portal but has not committed to another school yet. The running back played in eight games in 2024, during which time he had 14 carries for 41 yards and two touchdowns. His collegiate career has been plagued with injuries that impacted three seasons.
While at Buford, Ervin helped win state championships in 2019 and 2020 before graduating in 2021. During his senior year, he rushed for more than 1,000 yards and was named a first-team all-state selection by the Georgia High School Football Daily.
Jake Pope, a safety with the Georgia Bulldogs entered the transfer portal on Dec. 14. He will be looking for his third team in as many years. Before Georgia, Pope was with the Alabama Crimson Tide. He enters the transfer portal with a three-star rating by ON3, 247Sports and Rivals.
Pope was a four-star recruit from Buford High School in the Class of 2022. He helped the Wolves win state championships in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Pope had his breakout season during his junior year where he played safety, wide receiver and kick returner. He amassed 60 tackles (six behind the line), seven touchdown receptions and more than 400 return yards his junior year.
Running back Victor Venn entered the transfer portal on Dec. 9 looking to trade his Liberty uniform for a new one. Before playing at Liberty, Venn was previously with the Colorado Buffaloes. He has yet to announce which school he has decided to transfer to.
Venn, a three-star recruit in the Class of 2022 from Buford, was also part of the three consecutive state championship teams in 2019, 2020, and 2021. During his senior season at Buford, Venn earned all-state and second-team all-region honors.
Alijah Williams, a linebacker at Bowling Green entered the transfer portal on Dec. 9 and has not committed to another program yet. The sophomore redshirted as a freshman in 2023 and played in two games in the 2024 season.
Williams, a Class of 2023 grad from Buford High School was part of the three state championships in 2019, 2020 and 2021. His senior year in 2022, Williams had 55 solo tackles and 23 assisted tackles. He also had nine sacks, seven tackles for losses and 13 QB pressures during the 2022 season which earned him first-team all-county honors.
