Alabama WR Christian Leary plans to enter NCAA transfer portal

Alabama wide receiver Christian Leary has announced his plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal. He previously spent multiple seasons with the Crimson Tide.

“I want to thank The University of Alabama and the coaching staff for an unforgettable 2 years,” Leary wrote in a statement published to social media. “Thank you for the opportunity and the knowledge I have gained throughout that time, in saying that I will be entering the transfer portal.”

I want to thank The University of Alabama and the coaching staff for an unforgettable 2 years. Thank you for the opportunity and the knowledge I have gained throughout that time, in saying that I will be entering the transfer portal.

— Christian Leary (@ChristianLeary4) November 30, 2022

This season, Leary caught one pass for six yards. It was in Alabama’s season-opening win against Utah State.

In the 2021 campaign, Leary saw played both offense and special teams. He also caught an 11-yard touchdown against Arkansas.

Leary played high school football at Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater, where he was a four-star recruit. He was the No. 59 overall prospect and No. 8 wide receiver in the 2021 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

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.