Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: A Stanford football player walked into a portal...
According to 247Sports.com, Andrew Pryts is the latest to enter his name into the NCAA transfer database. The development doesn’t mean the linebacker is guaranteed to leave as he could always pull his name out. Most times, though, it means a player will ultimately part ways with the program.
Pryts started all 12 games for the Cardinal this season. The redshirt junior led the team in tackles with 71.
All told, the Pennsylvania native played in 26 games during his time at the Pac-12 school.
With Pryts’ impending departure, a whopping 14 Cardinal players have entered the portal this season. Included in that group is one-time starting quarterback KJ Costello (HERE), a pair of starting defensive linemen (HERE), an offensive lineman (HERE) and a wide receiver (HERE).
One of those defensive linemen, Michael Williams, explained to 247Sports.com at least a partial reasoning behind the exceptionally-high exodus numbers:Williams, a two-year starter, told 247Sports that this big run of transfer portal entrants was somewhat expected in Palo Alto. In fact, head coach David Shaw encouraged his players to explore their options knowing how hard it can be to get into graduate school. Williams labeled potential entry into some Stanford graduate programs as “nearly impossible.”
He said Shaw left the door open for the team’s fifth-year seniors to return to school if they want.
“He wants to make the best decisions for us,” Williams said. “He wants us to make the best decisions for ourselves. I appreciate him for it. He actually told me: ‘Visit anywhere you want. Do anything you want to do. Just make the best decision for you. If Stanford is the best decision for you then I know you’ll come.’