Alabama guard Javion Cohen announces he plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal

Alabama offensive guard Javion Cohen told On3’s Hayes Fawcett on Sunday evening that he will enter the NCAA Transfer Portal.

The 6-foot-4, 320-offensive guard from Phenix City, Alabama was a two-year starter at Alabama. In the 2020 recruiting cycle, Cohen held a total of 35 scholarship offers including Auburn, Florida, Oklahoma, and many others. According to the On3 Consensus Rankings, he was rated as a four-star prospect and the No. 28 ranked offensive tackle prospect in America coming out of high school.

BREAKING: Alabama Offensive Guard Javion Cohen tells me he will enter the transfer portal.

The 6’4 320 OG from Phenix City, AL was a two year starter at Alabama.

The 2020 recruit held a total of 35 offers including Auburn, Florida, Oklahoma, and others.https://t.co/U7u1XDAH6V pic.twitter.com/CJMgF3vfYG

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) December 5, 2022

Cohen’s announcement on Sunday evening reads: “I want to first thank my heavenly father for all of the blessings he has bestowed upon me. Without him I am nothing! Second, I would like to thank my support system for being there for me throughout everything. You know who you are. Lastly, I would like to thank Coach Saban, his staff, and the entire University of Alabama for supporting me these past three years. It has been a hell of a ride and I am thankful for the memories and brotherhood I have created over my time here. With all that being said, I would like to announce I am entering the transfer portal with 2 years of eligibility remaining. —Javion Cohen“

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 must 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 during the 2020-21 cycle after totals of 1,020 in 2019-20 and 1,063 in 2018-19.