With the NCAA transfer portal closing on Jan. 16, the Fresno State football team has eight new faces joining the roster this upcoming season, adding more players on both ends of the field to prepare for the move into the Pac-12.
Safety Taylor Powell and tight end Jake Appleget, both formerly at Northern Illinois University, bring their talents to the Central Valley.
Powell recorded 35 total tackles as well as two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in 12 games last season. On the other side of the ball, Appleget averaged 8.1 yards per catch and recorded a touchdown in nine games.
Fresno State football also welcomed three new edge rushers in Dylan Hampsten and Micah Mosley, both from Sacramento State, and Maverick Noonan, coming in from the University of Nebraska.
Hampsten was named second team all-Big Sky last season, while leading his team with 13.0 tackles for loss and eight sacks. Mosley played 10 games, tallying 11 tackles and one sack as a true freshman.
Noonan played in four games in 2025, where he recorded one tackle and a fumble recovery, which led to a scoring drive for his team.
Quarterback Khristian Martin reunites with his former teammate at the University of Maryland, Ezekiel Avit, now both at Fresno State. Martin completed 11 out of 17 pass attempts for 105 yards and one touchdown last season as a freshman.
Other notable players now on the Fresno State football team include safety Preston Okafor out of Nebraska, as well as kicker Manaki Watanabe out of Ashland University.