Virginia Tech running back Keshawn King enters NCAA transfer portal
Virginia Tech running back Keshawn King has entered the transfer portal, according to On3’s Matt Zenitz. King spent the past four seasons with the Hokies, including as a starter in 2022.
King had his best season at Virginia Tech this past year, leading the team with with 443 yards rushing and three touchdowns in addition to 20 catches for 137 yards. His next best season was as a true freshman in 2019, when he appeared in 11 games to finish with 340 yards rushing with two scores.
Below is the announcement he posted on his Twitter page.
He wrote, “First and foremost I would like to thank the most high for blessing me with this opportunity to play football at Virginia Tech. I would also like to thank the current and previous staff for allowing me to showcase my talents and to be apart of this family. I want to thank my brothers for accepting me and for fighting daily with me through blood, sweat, and tears. Last, but not least, I would like to thank my support system and the fans for sticking with me throughout this journey. After talking it over with my family, I have decided to enter the transfer portal to finish my career. Thank you all, Keshawn King #23.“
Keshawn King played high school football at Oakleaf High in Orange Park, Florida, where he was a four-start prospect. He ranked as the No. 349 overall player in the 2019 cycle according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
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 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.
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 the On3 Transfer Portal.
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.