CFB players who have decided to use their redshirt and transfer following 2024 season
By Sam Fariss
College football players used to patiently wait their turns to become the starter at whatever position they play. Key words? Used to. Now, if an athlete feels like he isn't getting enough playing time, he decides to pack up and leave.
Now that most teams have played four games, players who have seen game time must decide if they want to use their redshirt to preserve their year of eligibility. This way, if they decide to transfer, the athlete doesn't lose out on a year of collegiate football and can basically start the season from scratch somewhere else.
While this isn't a common decision for players to make, it is becoming less and less unusual to see athletes declare that they are taking a redshirt on their own accord.
So far this year, here are the college football players who have announced they are utilizing their redshirt and plan to transfer following the 2024 season:
One of the most shocking headlines people have read this season was the announcement that quarterback Matthew Sluka was leaving the UNLV Rebels after leading the team to a 3-0 start. The reason? His NIL deals weren't coming in because there was no contract in place.
Ahead of the Rebels' fourth game of the season, Sluka announced he would be utilizing his redshirt for the remainder of the year. He has yet to announce if he will enter the transfer portal at the end of the season or not.
Just a few days after Sluka's announcement, teammate Michael Allen announced he would also use his redshirt and sit out the remainder of the 2024 season.
However, unlike Sluka, Allen's departure from the UNLV Rebels is supposedly not tied to Name, Image, and Likeness deals.
Before his announcement, Allen had received 19 carries and produced 108 yards for the Rebels.
Once again, Bear Alexander has announced that his name will be in the transfer portal at the end of the season.
After his freshman season, which he spent at Georgia, Alexander entered the portal and transferred to play for the USC Trojans. Once again, Alexander isn't happy with the number of snaps he's seeing so, back to the portal he goes.
After seeing the field for just 21 defensive plays against the Michigan Wolverines, Alexander announced he would take his redshirt to preserve the year of eligibility once again.
Before the Washington Huskies kicked off on Friday of Week 5, linebacker Bryun Parham announced that he would take a seat for the rest of the year and enter his name in the transfer portal after the season concluded.
After playing three years for San Jose State, Parham transferred to the Huskies for the 2024 season. However, Parham only earned 11 tackles through Washington's first four games and felt like his talents were going underutilized.