Ole Miss defensive end Demon Clowney announces he's entering NCAA transfer portal

Ole Miss defensive end Demon Clowney has announced he intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal. Clowney took to Twitter on Monday morning and announced his plans in a graphic.

“As I move forward with my athletic and academic career, I would like to thank Rebel Nation for making Oxford my home these past 3 years,” Clowney wrote. “I will never forget the memories and relationship I have built here with my teammates and coaches that have become family to me. To have been able to play football with Rebel Nation is something I will forever be grateful for.

“I would like to thank all of my coaches at Ole Miss that have been able to make me into the great player I am today, and for that I will always be grateful for the support behind me while being a Rebel. To all of my teammates who have become brothers, I thank you for your endless support and it has truly been an honor being able to play with you all. With that being said I have decided that it is in my best interest for my future to enter the transfer portal.”

Part of the 2020 recruiting class, Clowney was a four-star prospect by the On3 consensus rating, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Clowney was rated as the No. 13 player at his position and No. 11 player in the state of Maryland.

Clowney played in two games as a true freshman and had two total tackles. In 2021, Clowney had six total tackles and a sack in six games played. But this past season, Clowney played just three games, recording four total tackles and no sacks.

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.