Edge rusher Tunmise Adeleye transfers to Syracuse, joins 5th different school
UNLV edge rusher Tunmise Adeleye has transferred to Syracuse, CBS Sports reported Monday, joining his fifth different FBS school. Leonardo Eriman | Senior Staff Photographer
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Fran Brown and Co. secured some defensive line reinforcement Monday as former UNLV edge rusher Tunmise Adeleye transferred to Syracuse, CBS Sports reported.
Adeleye, who tallied 6.0 sacks and racked up 43 pressures for the Rebels in the 2025 season, will enter his fifth different FBS program by joining SU.
Per 247Sports, Adeleye came out of high school in Katy, Texas, as a four-star prospect. The site rated him the No. 14 overall recruit in the state of Texas and the nation’s 12th overall defensive lineman. The 6-foot-4, 275-pound pass-rusher boasts a large frame with a sizable wingspan.
His collegiate journey has been that of a journeyman, though. Adeleye committed to Texas A&M and transferred after one season, where he didn’t play much. He then joined Michigan State, where he left after one year, in which former head coach Mel Tucker was fired for inappropriate workplace conduct. Adeleye’s third year of FBS football occurred at Texas State, where for the third season in a row, he totaled fewer than 10 total tackles in a reserve role.
But at his fourth school, UNLV under head coach Dan Mullen, his development skyrocketed. Adeleye played more than he ever has so far in college and earned an All-Mountain West Honorable Mention for his performance spearheading the Rebels’ pass rush.
247Sports ranks him as the No. 46 overall defensive lineman in this year’s transfer-portal cycle. Under Brown and first-year defensive coordinator Vince Kehres, Adeleye has a chance to find structure at his new home in Syracuse — which heavily struggled to pressure quarterbacks in 2025.
Adeleye has two years of eligibility remaining. He was classified as a sophomore last season despite it being his fourth year of college football.
