North Carolina Central football will look a lot different in 2024.
Three key players from the team that won 19 games in the past two seasons have now hit the transfer portal.
Offensive lineman Torricelli Simpkins, the MEAC Offensive Lineman of The Year, has hit the transfer portal. He made his announcement via X/Twitter on Wednesday. Simpkins has started since his freshman season in 2021.
Simpkins’ transfer portal announcement came around the same time that North Carolina Central football defensive back Jason Chambers announced he would also be entering the transfer portal. Chambers picked off three passes in his sophomore season, while recording 41 total tackles and a fumble recovery.
Edge rusher Kendrick Dujour announced earlier this week that he would be hitting the transfer portal as well. He registered 4.5 sacks in nine games with eight of his 20 tackles going for loss.
These players will have to be replaced in addition to quarterback Davius Richard and running back Latrell Collier, who have both exhausted their eligibility.
NC Central head coach Trei Oliver has said in the past that his philosophy is to build his program with young, high school talent instead of through the transfer portal. While that has worked out great so far, replacing the talent leaving Durham won’t be an easy task as the transfer portal is definitely pulling players out of its pool.