Alabama wide receiver enters NCAA Transfer Portal

Quite a few players from Alabama have entered the NCAA Transfer Portal following the Crimson Tide’s loss in the National Championship to Georgia. That does not appear to be coming to an end, as Alabama wide receiver Javon Baker has entered the transfer portal, according to On3’s Matt Zenitz.

Baker has caught nine passes in his two years at Alabama, including seven this season for 101 yards and a touchdown. He has not caught a pass since Alabama’s win over New Mexico State on November 13.

Baker is far from the only loss for Alabama after the season. Many valuable contributors are set to leave the program. Jameson Williams will be entering the NFL Draft, and Jahleel Billingsley has also entered the portal. Many other valuable pieces of the passing offense are set to be faced with tough decisions in the coming days and weeks.

Baker shared a message on Twitter about his decision, where he simply thanked Alabama.

Thank you @AlabamaFTBL For everything I’m a ryde out forever❤️🖤🤘🏾 pic.twitter.com/3oVBOpEKdB

— 5 (@javondbaker7) January 14, 2022

Alabama transfer portal background information 

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be  contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.

The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. For example, the 2021-22 cycle started Aug. 1. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle. In comparison, 1,833 Division I basketball players entered the portal during the 2020-21 cycle after totals of 1,020 in 2019-20 and 1,063 in 2018-19.