Florida A&M DL transfer Gentle Hunt schedules visit to Liberty

Florida A&M transfer defensive lineman Gentle Hunt continues to pick up offers and draw interest from Power 4 programs.

A 2023 All-SWAC second-team selection, the grad transfer has a visit to Liberty scheduled from May 17 to 19th, according to his NIL representatives Chase Moss and Darren Wilson. As a redshirt senior in 2023, he posted 32 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks, all career highs. 

He leaves Florida A&M with 89 total tackles, 24 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks. The 5-foot-11, 290-pound defensive lineman also holds offers from Jacksonville State, Georgia Southern, Old Dominion, Marshall, Western Kentucky, Sam Houston, Miami (OH), Rice, UTEP, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Ball State, Nevada and UMass.

Hunt has been in contact with Houston, Cal, Utah, Kansas State and Oklahoma State. He was a key piece of Florida A&M’s first Southwestern Athletic Conference and Celebration Bowl championships. The High Springs, Fla., native returned a fumble 46 yards for a touchdown as a sophomore in 2021.

What is the transfer portal?

The spring transfer portal window is just 15 days, a crammed period that could reshape the 2024 college football offseason. The portal tool was launched in 2018 to allow athletes to be more involved in the process of transferring. Athletes must notify institutions of their intent to transfer. Each school’s compliance team has 48 hours to put a name into the portal. 

A total of 538 FBS scholarship players put their names in the transfer portal on Day 1 of the winter window in December. That number is not expected to be as high, in part because plenty of high-profile programs are still going through spring practice. 

After an athlete is officially in the portal, there is no rush on making a decision as long as they are properly enrolled at a new institution in time for fall camp. Commitments do not have to be made during the 15-day window. Grad transfers are allowed to enter the portal at any time. 

Roster retention will be crucial for programs, with NIL playing a vital role in keeping rosters together in the new age of college football. Exactly 645 FBS players transferred in last year’s spring window.