DB Dillon Tatum leaving Northwestern
The 2025 season has wrapped up. All eyes now turn to the transfer portal.
The portal will be officially open on Jan. 2 – 16, but players began announcing their intentions well before that.
The 2025 transfer class saw 16 players transfer in and 13 players transfer out of Northwestern’s program by the time it was all said and done.
To help you keep track, WildcatReport will tally all of the players coming into or heading out of the Wildcat program in this cycle right here.
Join WildcatReport now for $1 your first week and enjoy a complimentary year of The Athletic – included with your membership. SIGN UP TODAY!
INCOMING TRANSFERS
David Anchondo
Position: Offensive tackle
Years of eligibility remaining: Two
Previous school: Saginaw Valley State (Division II)
Northwestern got their first transfer on Dec. 11, when Division II tackle David Anchondo of Saginaw Valley State announced his commitment. Anchondo, who stands 6-foot-8, visited Northwestern on Dec. 1 and earned his offer on Dec. 2. He also visited Florida Atlantic, and reported interest from “multiple schools at the Power Four and G5 level.”
Anchondo played right tackle at Saginaw Valley State and will likely play the same position at Northwestern.
MORE ON ANCHONDO: ‘Northwestern felt special since Day 1,’ says new tackle transfer David Anchondo | Tackle David Anchondo is Northwestern’s first transfer commit
OUTGOING TRANSFERS
DB Dillon Tatum
Position: Defensive back
Years of eligibility remaining: One
Destination: TBD
Northwestern defensive back Dillon Tatum announced his intention to transfer on New Year’s Day after one season with the Wildcats.
Tatum transferred to Northwestern in 2025 after three years at Michigan State, following NU safeties coach Harlon Barnett, who made the same move. He played in 12 of 13 games for the Wildcats this season, totaling 17 tackles and one pass breakup playing primarily as a reserve safety and nickelback.
Tatum has one year of eligibility remaining after getting injured in the season opener at Michigan State in 2024 and missing the rest of the season.
Albert Kunickis III
Position: Running back
Years of eligibility remaining: One
Destination: TBD
Redshirt junior Albert Kunickis III announced on X on Dec. 29 that he is entering the transfer portal, becoming the second Wildcat to do so, and the first since Northwestern’s bowl win on Dec. 26.
Kunickis is an inspirational story: a player born with one arm that ends just below the elbow who became a star at Lemont (Ill.). He arrived at Northwestern as a preferred walkon in the Class of 2022 but was never able to carve out a role for the Wildcats. He expressed some frustration over his lack of playing time in a Chicago Sun-Times story in 2025, so his transfer doesn’t come as a surprise.
He recorded one carry for three yards in 2024, the lone rush of his career. He did not see action in 2025.
Hayden Wright
Position: Offensive tackle
Years of eligibility remaining: Four
Destination: TBD
Hayden Wright announced his intention to enter the portal on Dec. 15, 11 days before Northwestern’s bowl game. Wright was a three-star recruit from Humble (Tex.) Kingwood in the Class of 2025, committing to the Wildcats late in the cycle on Oct. 29, 2024. He picked the Wildcats over competing offers from Army, Houston, North Texas, Texas State, UTSA and more.
Wright did not play this season at Northwestern and redshirted. The addition of four offensive tackles in Northwestern’s incoming Class of 2026 likely informed his decision.
