LOOK: Texas linebacker Jaden Hullaby announces plans to enter NCAA transfer portal

Texas linebacker Jaden Hullaby has announced he’s entering the transfer portal. In a photo shared on Twitter, Hullaby revealed he’s deciding to move on from the Longhorns.

pic.twitter.com/K14vuuUpsD

— JADEN HULLABY. (@jaden_hullaby) April 28, 2022

“First, I would like to thank God for everything he has done for me, what he’s doing for me, and what he will do for me!” wrote Hullaby. “I would like to thank Coach Herman, Coach Sark and the University of Texas for the great experiences and the great people I have meet during my two years in Austin, Tx.

“To my family, friends, and all my high school coaches; thank you for the continued support, guidance, and for believing in me! With that being said, I am entering my name in the transfer portal.”

A former three-star recruit in the class of 2020, Hullaby was originally recruited as a running back, linebacker and H-back, and was the No. 56 ranked running back in the nation at the time, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. However, Texas had a need at linebacker, so that’s where Hullaby played. The now-former Longhorns defender played his high school football at Mansfield Timberview in Mansfield, Texas. Hullaby was the No. 77 recruit in Texas, and No. 584 overall nationally.

Evidently, Jaden Hullaby didn’t feel like a fit at Texas any longer. Now, he’ll be looking to continue his football career in a different uniform.

More on Jaden Hullaby, transfer portal

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.