Just days before the December window closes for the college football transfer portal, a Texas Tech starting offensive lineman has decided to enter his name and look for a new opportunity. Sterling Porcher, who started ten games for the Red Raiders in 2024 has decided to explore his options now that a new court ruling could potentially give him one more year of eligibility. Recently, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved a blanket waiver granting an additional year of eligibility to former junior college transfers. That is in response to a November lawsuit brought against the NCAA by Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, who claimed that the NCAA's rule that counts a player's time in junior college toward his overall years of NCAA eligibility unfairly limited his ability to make money from his name, image, and likeness.As a result, players across the nation who have spent time at the JUCO level are benefitting. Porcher, who started his career with two seasons at Iowa Western, is in that boat. The 6-foot-4, 315-pounder played only one season as a Red Raider. A transfer from Middle Tennessee after the 2023 season, the South Carolina native started the first two games of the season at left tackle for Tech before moving inside to left guard for the other eight starts he made this fall. However, there may not be a spot for him in Texas Tech's future plans. This offseason, the Red Raiders have signed three transfer offensive linemen, Howard Sampson from North Carolina, Hunter Zambrano from Illinois State, and Will Jados from Miami (OH) and all three are expected to start next season. What's more, Tech expects center Sheridan Wilson to return next season after starting all 12 games thus far in 2024. Additionally, guard Vinny Sciury is expected to return from a season-ending knee injury to claim a starting spot in 2025 the way he did to open this season. That means Porcher might be the odd man out. What's more, with NCAA roster sizes dropping to 105 players in 2025, programs like Texas Tech might not have the luxury of keeping a senior player like Porcher on the roster if he isn't going to play. After all, the program wants to keep valuable roster spots for younger offensive linemen who need time to develop into future starters down the road. Therefore, the Red Raiders are likely going to see Porcher head to another school to finish out his career even though he could bring some value to the program as a depth piece who has 37 career starts at the FBS level. That's one reality of the new era of college football.

Starting Texas Tech offensive lineman puts name into transfer portal

The 6-foot-4, 315-pounder played only one season as a Red Raider. A transfer from Middle Tennessee after the 2023 season, the South Carolina native started the first two games of the season at left tackle for Tech before moving inside to left guard for the other eight starts he made this fall. However, there may […]

The 6-foot-4, 315-pounder played only one season as a Red Raider. A transfer from Middle Tennessee after the 2023 season, the South Carolina native started the first two games of the season at left tackle for Tech before moving inside to left guard for the other eight starts he made this fall. However, there may not be a spot for him in Texas Tech's future plans. This offseason, the Red Raiders have signed three transfer offensive linemen, Howard Sampson from North Carolina, Hunter Zambrano from Illinois State, and Will Jados from Miami (OH) and all three are expected to start next season. Recently, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved a blanket waiver granting an additional year of eligibility to former junior college transfers. That is in response to a November lawsuit brought against the NCAA by Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, who claimed that the NCAA's rule that counts a player's time in junior college toward his overall years of NCAA eligibility unfairly limited his ability to make money from his name, image, and likeness.Therefore, the Red Raiders are likely going to see Porcher head to another school to finish out his career even though he could bring some value to the program as a depth piece who has 37 career starts at the FBS level. That’s one reality of the new era of college football. What's more, Tech expects center Sheridan Wilson to return next season after starting all 12 games thus far in 2024. Additionally, guard Vinny Sciury is expected to return from a season-ending knee injury to claim a starting spot in 2025 the way he did to open this season. Just days before the December window closes for the college football transfer portal, a Texas Tech starting offensive lineman has decided to enter his name and look for a new opportunity. Sterling Porcher, who started ten games for the Red Raiders in 2024 has decided to explore his options now that a new court ruling could potentially give him one more year of eligibility. Recently, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved a blanket waiver granting an additional year of eligibility to former junior college transfers. That is in response to a November lawsuit brought against the NCAA by Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, who claimed that the NCAA’s rule that counts a player’s time in junior college toward his overall years of NCAA eligibility unfairly limited his ability to make money from his name, image, and likeness.As a result, players across the nation who have spent time at the JUCO level are benefitting. Porcher, who started his career with two seasons at Iowa Western, is in that boat.