Former Clemson linebacker commits to new school

Former Clemson linebacker LaVonta Bentley has found his new home.

Bentley has committed to Colorado, he announced on social media Monday morning.

The Alabama native will play for new Colorado coach Deion Sanders, who accepted the Colorado job earlier this month.

Bentley is transferring to Colorado after spending four years at Clemson.

He appeared in all 13 games for the Tigers this season, finishing with 21 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and a sack. He was particularly useful in short-yardage situations for the Tigers defense.

LaVonta Bentley appeared in 11 games last season, making a pair of starts. The hard-hitting linebacker appeared in 40 games during his time at Clemson.

Bentley signed with the Tigers as a four-star recruit in the class of 2019.

Clemson will return a pair of starters at linebacker in 2023 in sophomores Barrett Carter and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. While those two will be back, junior linebacker Trenton Simpson is turning pro and will enter the NFL draft.

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 starts with the 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.

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 However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship is no longer valid.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 cover their scholarship.

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.