Pittsburgh receiver Jordan Addison officially enters transfer portal

Pittsburgh Panthers wide receiver Jordan Addison officially entered the NCAA Transfer Portal Tuesday, On3’s Matt Zenitz has learned. It was previously reported by Pittsburgh radio host Andrew Fillipponi that Addison planned on leaving the program.

Addison was named the Biletnikoff Award winner last season with the Panthers after finishing the year with 100 receptions for 1,593 yards and 17 touchdowns. Pitt made it all the way to a New Year’s Six Bowl after winning the ACC Championship. However, the Panthers lose starting quarterback Kenny Pickett, who was drafted 20th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2022 NFL Draft.

A former four-star recruit in the class of 2020, Addison played multiple positions at Tuscarora High School in Frederick, Maryland. He was originally recruited as a defensive back, ranking as the No. 17 overall safety in the class according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. He converted to a full-time receiver as a true freshman, finishing with 60 catches for 666 yards and four touchdowns to earn ACC Rookie of the Year runner up.

It should also be noted that Pittsburgh quarterback Joey Yellen, a former four-star recruit himself, entered the transfer portal the same day it was reported Addison intended to. It’s unclear whether the two decisions are related, or if the pair intend to reunite elsewhere.

According to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, USC is a possible destination for Addison. He would join up with head coach Lincoln Riley and quarterback Caleb Williams, forming one of the top offenses in the country.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel says there is already a connection between Addison and Williams, with both of them growing up in the same area. If USC ends up being the pick, the preexisting ties could be a determining factor.

“Jordan Addison is from Fredrick, Maryland,” Thamel said. “Caleb Williams is also from the DC area. There’s ties from that DMV relationship that could help Addision end up at USC.”

Transfer portal background information for Jordan Addison

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.