Jeremiah Byers, Fentrell Cypress share feeling of entering transfer portal, receiving interest

The Florida State Seminoles were active and successful in the transfer portal this offseason, landing three players ranked in the top 10 of On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings. Two of those players are cornerback Fentrell Cypress and offensive tackle Jeremiah Byers, who both recently spoke about their experiences of being recruited out of the transfer portal and ending up in Tallahassee.

“For me I’ll say it was kind of surprising, just how much hype I was getting during the moment but at the same time it was a blessing and overwhelming too. But I just tried to take it day by day and go through the process and just thankful for this blessing that God’s given me,” Cypress said. “So overall it was overwhelming but I was still thankful and it helped me out a lot just going through each school and figuring out what I wanted and what would help me become a better man on and off the field.”

Last season at Virginia, Cypress had 39 tackles and 13 pass breakups, earning all-conference honors from a variety of publications. He chose to stay within the conference following his entrance to the transfer portal, but Byers made the jump from Conference USA to the ACC with his decision.

“Overall for me going through the transfer process at the initial start of it it was hard, I didn’t think I was going to get anything at first. And then when you hit the portal and you’re just sitting there waiting and then your first phone call is Mike Norvell you’re like okay, now it’s real,” Byers said.

Byers even shared a story about his transfer portal recruiting experience with ties to one of the most notable football movies in recent history.

“So it was a blessing, it was a blessing but it was also very hectic, like my mom said it all the time she felt like Sandra Bullock off the Blind Side, like the revolving door at the house and everything. But it was a fun process but I was ready for it to be over with I ain’t gonna lie,” Byers said.

He was also asked what it was like receiving his first offer out of the transfer portal versus his first offer out of high school, detailing his unique football journey in the process.

“I would I felt like the first offer was bigger to me just because of the story behind it, I didn’t have the five-star, the four-star, all of that coming out of high school,” Byers said. “And so me having to grind to get that one offer from UTEP, I feel like that was the foundation for me.” But then when I did it this time it was just like okay, now I am getting that notoriety and it’s like okay how do you manage this? Because I never had it, but at the end of the day it was all a process.”

From under-recruited prospect to highly touted transfer portal recruit, Byers sheds a positive light on the transfer portal that is not as commonly discussed. As he and Cypress will look to make an immediate impact on a Seminoles team that has high expectations heading into the 2023 season.

“I was blessed to be in this position, blessed that Florida State was able to put me in the position where I had the opportunity to play at this level. So everything was just a blessing to me honestly,” Byers said.