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Former Illinois defensive back decommits following transfer decision

Nikki Chavanelleby:Nikki Chavanelle•01/18/22•

NikkiChavanelle

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Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Former Illinois defensive back Derrick Smith committed to transfer to Arizona State more than a month ago. However, the 6-foot-2 safety is no longer planning to head to the Copper State.

Smith posted on Monday that “due to some reasons,” he’s now considering other options. An ASU fan asked him earlier in the day when he was heading to the program. He responded: “A lot of changes happened.”

Smith, a Jacksonville, Florida, native, initially signed with the University of Miami as a three-star prospect. He spent two seasons in Coral Gables, tallying a total of 24 tackles before departing for Illinois. Smith sat out the 2019 season before becoming a contributor for the Fighting Illini.

In 2020 and 2021, Derrick Smith posted a combined 39 tackles.

Since the redshirt junior has already transferred once, it’s unclear whether he’ll be immediately eligible to play next season. He graduated from Illinois last month.

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Smith had 16 Division-I offers coming out of Trinity Christian High School.

Transfer portal background

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at 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 goes 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. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request.

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 However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship is no longer valid. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school does not have to reoffer a scholarship.