EDGE Donovan Westmoreland plans to enter transfer portal

The first domino has fallen for South Carolina this offseason. Just two days after the regular season finale, EDGE/LB Donovan Westmoreland plans to enter the transfer portal, according to 247Sports reporter Matt Zenitz.

Westmoreland confirmed the news to Gamecock Central’s Wes Mitchell.

Westmoreland, a sophomore from Griffin, GA, didn’t record any stats this year. He joined the team in January 2022 as a linebacker. He appeared in seven games as a freshman but didn’t record any stats. He was selected as the Defensive Scout Team Award winner that year, though.

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Donovan Westmoreland South Carolina bio

Sophomore who flashes at times… has pass rushing ability and brings a physical presence… transitioning from linebacker to EDGE this fall… figures to compete for a spot in the rotation and provide some special teams depth.

2022 (Freshman)
True freshman linebacker… enrolled in January and went through spring drills… appeared in seven games… saw action in each of the first five contests, then again in the season’s last two games… did not record any statistics… selected as the Defensive Scout Team Award winner…named to the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll.

HIGH SCHOOL
Graduated from Griffin (Ga.) High School in December 2021… played outside linebacker for the Bears… credited with 71 tackles, 15.0 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks in nine games… also forced four fumbles… the Bears went 4-6 in his senior season under head coach Rusty Easom… ranked as the 40th-best player in the state of Georgia, the 39th-best linebacker in the country and No. 408 overall according to 247Sports Composite… rated as the 59th-best player in the state and the 39th-best outside linebacker by Rivals.

PERSONAL
Donovan L. Westmoreland was born Jan. 15, 2004… is a sport and entertainment management major.

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 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.

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