Former Maryland DL Anthony "Tank" Booker commits to Arkansas

Former Maryland defensive lineman Anthony “Tank” Booker announced that he would be transferring to Arkansas Wednesday night.

The 6-foot-4, 330 pounder will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Booker on why he chose Arkansas

“After entering the portal, Arkansas was one of the first to reach out to me.  I began my research on the program and we were able to schedule a visit in a relatively short period of time. Once I arrived on campus, I felt an instant connection with the coaches and all members of the staff. Schematically, what they run fits the way that I like to play. I instantly bonded with many of the players.  But, ultimately, I feel that we have a chance to be really good.”

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.