Eoghan Kerry announces intention to enter transfer portal

The Colorado Buffaloes are about to lose one of their defensive talents. According to a recent social media post, Buffaloes linebacker Eoghan Kerry plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal. The inside linebacker from Bakersfield, CA, also had a message to fans of the program attached to his announcement.

“Buff Nation, I’ve had a time unlike any other the last year at CU. Wearing the black and gold, running out behind Ralphie, walking down Pearl Street during the stampede, singing Rocky Mountain High after the games. It’s been unforgettable… With that being said, I’ll be entering my name into the transfer portal with three Years of remaining eligibility,” said Kerry via X. 

Kerry, along with tight end Erik Olsen, was a player from the previous regime who elected to stay at Colorado when first year head coach Deion Sanders was hired during the off season. He stuck with the Buffaloes through spring practice but ultimately decided it was not in his best interest to continue to play for the program going forward.

Despite Kerry and Olsen electing to leave the program in June, all players were allowed to stay on scholarship as Colorado students, but they did not count against Sanders’s 85-scholarship player limit. Kerry’s run at Colorado ends with him recording four tackles over 11 games, primarily on special teams during his freshman year in 2022. 

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.