Texas fifth-year safety Jalen Catalon has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal

Texas safety Jalen Catalon has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal

Texas safety Jalen Catalon has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal. A member of the class of 2019, this fall marked Catalon’s fifth season of college football.

A DFW area native, Catalon attended Mansfield High School before signing with Arkansas over Oklahoma, TCU, and Texas. Catalon was rated by 247Sports as a four-star prospect, the No. 23 safety in the nation, and the No. 29 overall prospect in the state of Texas.

In Catalon’s four years with the Razorbacks, he saw action in 21 games, making 16 starts for the Hogs as he amassed 159 tackles, 81 solo tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 5 interceptions, 14 pass breakups, and 3 forced fumbles. Catalon was named to the 2020 All-SEC First Team among several other impressive accolades he accumulated during his time in Fayetteville.

Catalon’s lone year with Texas saw him play in eight of the Longhorns’ thirteen games, with his last appearance for the Burnt Orange coming on senior night vs. Texas Tech.

The fifth year safety is listed in the NCAA Transfer Portal as a graduate transfer.

What is the NCAA transfer portal?

The portal is an online database that players will enter their name into if they decide to pursue a transfer. Players notify their current school’s compliance office that they wish to put their name into the portal — typically, players’ names show up within 48 hours. Coaches have access to the database and can contact any player who has entered.

When will the transfer portal open?

Technically, players can enter the portal at any time. But unless they do so within their sport’s official “windows,” they will have to sit out one season. College football has two windows: one following the regular season and one following spring practice. The fall portal window opens Dec. 3, one day after conference championship games. It will remain open for 30 days, closing at the end of the day on Jan. 1, 2024.

Prior to this school year, players had 45 days to enter their name in the portal following the end of the regular season. The NCAA amended that rule this fall, cutting down the window to 30 days.

Is a player forced to leave his school after entering the portal?

No. In fact, players sometimes withdraw their names from the portal and end up staying with their respective programs.

Oftentimes, however, the decision to enter the portal comes with some amount of displeasure on either the player’s side or the program’s side. Most players who enter the portal do not return to their previous school, and they’re often removed from the team immediately upon entering.

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