Texas A&M center Matthew Wykoff to enter transfer portal
The Texas A&M offensive line took a hit Wednesday morning as 2022 SEC All-Freshman, Redshirt-Sophomore offensive lineman Matthew Wykoff announced via Twitter he will be entering the transfer portal.
“I will be entering my name into the transfer portal. I am thankful for my time a A&M and the coaching I have received. I will have 3 years of eligibility left,” he tweeted.
Wykoff played high school football at Magnolia (TX) High School, where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 448 overall recruit in the 2021 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
Wykoff redshirted his true freshman season in 2021, appearing in only four games. However, in the 2022 season, due to an injury to fellow center Bryce Foster, Wykoff was vaulted into starting duties for a majority of the season. His performance in the 2022 season earned him SEC All-Freshman honors.
With Foster expected to be back healthy for the 2023 season, there was going to be somewhat of a position battle between the two for the starting center spot. However, Wykoff was reported to have an injury this spring, which likely allowed for Foster to reclaim the starting spot.
PFF #’s for Wykoff…
Wykoff played 569 offensive snaps for the Aggies in 2022, fourth most on the offensive line. At the center position, Wykoff was graded at a 52.15 overall grade. His run blocking was on the positive side, grading out at a 59.8, but pass blocking was an issue at times, finishing the season with a 40.1 grade.
The redshirt sophomore is credited with allowing six quarterback and 16 quarterback hurries on the season.
The transfer portal hits continue for the Aggies
There has not been much talk of the transfer portal with the Aggies since January, when over two dozen players departed the program for new opportunities. Wykoff’s departure brings the total this offseason to nearly 30 players to enter the transfer portal at Texas A&M.
Somewhat surprisingly, Wykoff is only the second offensive lineman to hit the portal, the first being freshman PJ Williams, who left for SMU.
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.
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.