North Carolina lands transfer commitment from East Tennessee State corner Alijah Huzzie

Just a few hours after landing the commitment of former Coastal Carolina center Willie Lampkin, the North Carolina Tar Heels have added another transfer. Former East Tennessee State cornerback Alijah Huzzie announced his commitment to UNC on Sunday.

Huzzie has two years of eligibility remaining. He tallied 59 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, six interceptions, 16 pass break-ups and 22 passes defended this season.

The Franklin, Ga. native started all 11 games for the Bucs in 2022. He led all FCS players in passes defended and was third in interceptions per game, while his six interceptions were tied for second-most among FCS players. For his performance this season, Huzzie earned first-team FCS All-American from the Associated Press.

Extremely blessed to call this place home! I’m excited to begin my new chapter as a TarHeel…#Committed #GoTarheels 💙💙#TarHeelNation pic.twitter.com/RsBW065sdA

— Alijah_23 (@23Alijah) December 18, 2022

Huzzie, 5-foot-11, 188 pounds, was a standout at Heard County High School. After entering the transfer portal, he earned offers from Colorado State, Akron and App State before announcing his commitment to the Tar Heels.

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

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 starts with the 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.

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 However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship is no longer valid. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school does not have to cover their scholarship.

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 for a “do not contact” tag on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want contact from schools unless they initiate the communication.

Track transfer portal activity

While the NCAA transfer portal database is private, the On3 Network has streamlined the reporting process tracking player movement.

If you find yourself asking, ‘How can I track transfer portal activity?’ our well-established network of reporters and contacts across college athletics keeps you up to speed in several ways, from articles written about players as they enter and exit the transfer portal or find their new destination, to our social media channels, to our Transfer Portal Wire.

The transfer portal wire provides a real-time feed of player activity, including basic player profile information, transfer portal ranking and original On3 Consensus recruiting ranking, as well as NIL valuation (name, image and likeness).

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and senior national college football reporter Matt Zenitz’s Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.