Syracuse transfer defensive back Darian Chestnut commits to LSU Tigers

Syracuse transfer defensive back Darian “Duce” Chesnut was searching for a new home in the transfer portal this offseason. He finally found one on Sunday evening. Chestnut announced that he has officially committed to the LSU Tigers, he announced on his Twitter page.

#Committed 🐯💜💛 pic.twitter.com/5Djts7C0Kf

— Darian “Duce” Chestnut (@BallgameDuce) January 8, 2023

Chesnut played for two seasons at Syracuse, and he earned himself a spot on the On3 Freshman All-American Team following the 2021 season. During his freshman year, he started in every game for the Orange, racking up three interceptions and eight pass breakups.

He’s one of the most highly coveted prospects in the portal. According to the 2023 On3 Transfer Portal Rankings, Chesnut is currently ranked as the No. 7 defensive back prospect in the transfer portal.

Following the 2022 season, he put his name in the transfer portal.

During his two seasons with the Orange, Chestnut racked up 83 total tackles, five tackles for loss, and four interceptions.

Coming out of Camden High School (Camden, New Jersey), he was rated as the No. 467 overall prospect in the country, according to the On3 Consensus Rankings for the 2021 cycle.

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.

Track portal activity

While the NCAA transfer portal database is private, the On3 Network has streamlined the reporting process tracking player movement.

If you find yourself asking, ‘How can I track transfer portal activity?’ our well-established network of reporters and contacts across college athletics keeps you up to speed in several ways, from articles written about players as they enter and exit the transfer portal or find their new destination, to our social media channels, to the On3 Transfer Portal.

The transfer portal wire provides a real-time feed of player activity, including basic player profile information, transfer portal ranking and original On3 Consensus recruiting ranking, as well as NIL valuation (name, image and likeness).

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and senior national college football reporter Matt Zenitz’s Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.