Alabama punter Jack Martin entering transfer portal as graduate
Alabama is losing a member of their special teams to the transfer portal, as punter Jack Martin revealed on Twitter he’s leaving the Crimson Tide.
“I am officially in the transfer portal,” tweeted Martin. “2 years of eligibility left. I will receive my Bachelors Degree this December.”
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Additionally, Martin thanked the Crimson Tide in a statement he attached to the Tweet.
“I would like to thank the University of Alabama for the opportunity they have given me,” added Martin. “I will be graduating with my degree this December. With that being said, I have officially entered my name into the transfer portal as a graduate transfer with 2 years of eligibility remaining.”
A three-star recruit from the Class of 2019 per the On3 Consensus, Martin originally committed to Troy before eventually taking his talents to the Crimson Tide. Now, he’ll be looking to make an impact elsewhere.
Time will tell what comes next for Jack Martin, but every team needs a punter. He’ll have plenty of options in the transfer portal.
More on Jack Martin, Transfer Portal
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.
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.