Duke safety River Hanson enters the Transfer Portal

Duke Blue Devils safety River Hanson has entered the Transfer Portal.

River Hanson spent just one season, 2023, with the Blue Devils. During that season, Duke went 8-5 and won the Birmingham Bowl. However, following the season, head coach Mike Elko left to become the head coach at Texas A&M. He was then replaced by former Miami head coach Manny Diaz.

In limited playing time, River Hanson was able to take his redshirt while seeing the field. That included making one tackle in the team’s win against Troy.

River Hanson played high school football at Woodward Academy (Georgia, where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 1,257 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

While in high school, River Hanson helped Woodward to four playoff appearances. He also was named an honorable mention all-state as a junior and a three-time all-region pick. On top of that, he played multiple sports in high school, including rugby.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

Duke and the Transfer Portal

The Spring Transfer Portal window is currently open and with that, there has been plenty of movement around college football. That, notably, includes a program like Duke that underwent a coaching change with Manny Diaz taking over.

Duke currently has the 66th-ranked Transfer Portal class in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 College Football Team Transfer Portal Rankings. That class includes 20 players who have left the program this offseason and nine who have entered the program. That number includes River Hanson.

Among the players leaving Duke who have committed to transfer to new teams, six have committed to going to a power conference school. Interestingly, none of those players has committed to follow Mike Elko to Texas A&M at this point. Meanwhile, of the players transferring into the Duke program, two are coming from power conferences and five are moving up from FCS.

One challenge that Manny Diaz is now facing is the need to get his Duke roster to 85 scholarship players, with the team not allowed to carry more than that. It would also put itself at a disadvantage to carry fewer.