Clemson quarterback Billy Wiles announces intention to enter transfer portal

Clemson quarterback Billy Wiles plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, he announced Sunday via Twitter. A member of the 2021 class who redshirted his first season with the Tigers, he will have three years of eligibility remaining.

“Spending two seasons with Clemson football was an absolute dream come true and something I will cherish forever,” Wiles wrote in his tweet. “Learning from coach Swinney, coach Streeter, and everybody on the staff has been life changing. The bonds that were created with my teammates will be lifelong, and I am forever grateful for my brothers.

“After a lot of consideration, I have decided to enter the transfer portal with three years of eligibility remaining. The Clemson family has been nothing short of spectacular and there really is something special in these hills. I am forever grateful.”

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— Billy Wiles (@billywiles8) December 4, 2022

An Ashburn, Virginia, native, Wiles walked on to Clemson out of Stone Bridge High School, where he won a state championship as a senior. He managed to throw a touchdown pass despite playing just 11 snaps his true freshman season, and was awarded with a scholarship for the 2022 season.

Below is some background information on the transfer portal to keep in mind as Billy Wiles makes his decision. 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.