For the majority of the offseason, Lance Leipold and the Kansas football program have steered clear of losing talent to the transfer portal. Regardless, all schools are hit by the portal, and the Jayhawks went into the spring transfer portal window expecting a few departures.
Spring practices recently came to a conclusion, and players have a feel for how next year's team will look. Yesterday, the first bunch of Jayhawks went portaling. DE Davion Westmoreland, safety Akili Hubbard, and RB signee Red Martel are departing from KU and searching for a new home in the portal.
Trio of Kansas Jayhawks football players hit the transfer portal
While Westmoreland and Hubbard played minimal roles on the team last season, Martel's exit is somewhat surprising. The Class of 2024 halfback was the No. 80 player at his position on 247 Sports rankings, and he was one of the first players to commit to the Jayhawks' 2024 class. Martel even enrolled early at school.
A potential reason why Martel left could be due to his competition in the backfield. Months after he pledged to Kansas, Texas native Harry Stewart III committed, leaving Martel's future in Lawrence cloudy. While he can still return if he chooses to, that scenario is likely out of the door. The move drops KU's class from 17 to 16 recruits.
Meanwhile, Westmoreland was a CC transfer who struggled to find playing time during his two years with the Jayhawks. He totaled six tackles across a pair of campaigns, appearing in nine of 13 games after redshirting his first season. Leipold recruited him after his time at Hutchinson Community College.
Hubbard was also a JUCO prospect, originating from Golden West College. He never took a snap in his lone season at Kansas and had no role cut out for him with incoming transfer safety Devin Dye. The 6-foot-2 defensive back now looks to finish his collegiate career elsewhere.