The Miami Hurricanes are just over one week from playing their first game of the season (against Florida in Orlando during Week 0). Nigel Bethel will not be with the Hurricanes. Instead, Bethel will be evaluating his options after announcing he has entered his name into the NCAA’s transfer portal.
Bethel, a redshirt freshman cornerback, announced with a brief statement on his Twitter account on Friday afternoon he has put his name in the transfer portal and that his recruitment is now officially open.
— Nigel Bethel Jr (@F5_nigel) August 16, 2019
With this decision being made so close to the start of the season, it may seem likely there was not going to be any significant role for Bethel in the defensive lineup this fall. Miami is not slated to release any game notes or possible depth charts for the season opener until next week.
Bethel was a three-star addition to Miami’s Class of 2018. He appeared in one game during the 2018 season, which allows him to preserve his redshirt year of eligibility under the NCAA’s revised redshirt rule that went into effect last season. Bethel will have to sit out the 2019 season if he is able to transfer to another FBS program on short notice, which will leave him with three years of eligibility beginning in 2020. Bethel can begin playing this fall if he lands at a lower division school, which would give him four years of eligibility on the field.