Florida Gators OLB T.J. Searcy entering transfer portal
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida Gators outside linebacker T.J. Searcy is entering the transfer portal, he announced on Tuesday. He has two years of eligibility remaining as a sophomore.
Searcy opened the 2024 season as the starting OLB and finished the year with 34 tackles (20 solo), 4.0, tackle-for-loss, 2.0 sacks, two forced fumbles, fumble recovery and a quarterback hurry in 12 games played (four starts).
Searcy was named to the SEC All-Freshman team last season after making 26 tackles (nine solo), 3.5 tackles-for-loss, 0.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries and a forced fumble in 12 appearances.
Searcy is the 12th player to transfer from Florida since the regular season ended, along with cornerback Ja’Keem Jackson, tight ends Arlis Boardingham and Gavin Hill, wide receiver Andy Jean, defensive lineman Kelby Collins, EDGE rushers Jack Pyburn, Justus Boone and Quincy Ivory, linebacker Deuce Spurlock and offensive linemen Christian Williams and Mike Williams.
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.
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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 window for FBS players to enter the portal opens Dec. 9 and closes on Dec. 28.
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