Kansas defensive end Bai Jobe is entering the transfer portal after one year with the program, his trainer Sean Cooper announced on X on Sunday night.
Jobe will look for his third school in three seasons, with three years of eligibility remaining. A native of Senegal, he played high school football in Norman, Oklahoma, and was the top player in his state and a four-star recruit entering college. He spent a redshirt year with Michigan State before joining the Jayhawks following the 2024 spring portal window.
Now, he becomes KU’s first scholarship player to depart in the transfer portal after the conclusion of spring football.
The move depletes the Jayhawks further at what was already a position of need, as Jobe had worked behind both Dean Miller at weak-side defensive end and Texas transfer Justice Finkley on the strong side.
Jobe’s lone season playing for the Jayhawks was hampered by a hand injury early in fall camp shortly after he had arrived in Lawrence. He ended up playing 79 defensive snaps in 2024 and 30 more on special teams, according to Pro Football Focus, with nine tackles.
He saw his greatest action in the season finale against Baylor, a performance he recently said made him think, “Oh man, I got to keep working. If I keep working, I’m going to get this.”
“My family back (in) Africa, staying up, staying ’til like 3 a.m., something like that, trying to watch me play, and seeing me on the field like that, that’s the win for me,” he said.
Dakyus Brinkley and Dylan Brooks are among the players who could be in for bigger roles in Jobe’s absence.
KU has also been active in the transfer portal, with defensive ends like Leroy Harris III (Chattanooga), Eddie Kelly (Missouri) and Cam Williams (Georgia State) reporting recent scholarship offers to play for the Jayhawks.
Chance Parker/Special to the Journal-World
