On Sunday, Rich Rodriguez and the West Virginia Mountaineers continued their solid work in the transfer portal with the addition of Akron defensive back Devonte Golden-Nelson.
Golden-Nelson, a 5-foot-10 junior from Memphis, Tennessee, spent the past three seasons with the Akron Zips, where he developed into one of the team’s top corners.
In three seasons with the program, the Tennessee native posted 66 total tackles, eight pass breakups, and two interceptions. Golden-Nelson originally started his career at Memphis in 2020, but did not see the field and chose to transfer to Akron in 2022. He chose the Tigers over offers from nine different schools, including Tennessee, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Indiana, South Carolina, and more.
Coming out of Memphis University School in the Class of 2020, Golden-Nelson was listed as a three-star prospect by the 247Sports index and the nation’s 984th-ranked prospect. He also checked in as the 78th-ranked player at his position and the 29th-ranked player at his position.
With his commitment, Golden-Nelson became the Mountaineers’ eighth defensive back addition, alongside Michael Coats Jr., Justin Harrington, William Davis, Fred Perry, Derek Carter, Jordan Walker, and Jordan Scruggs.
The transfer portal officially opened on Monday, December 9, 2024, and closed on Saturday, December 28, except for players on teams who play bowl games after the window closes. According to NCAA data, 2,273 FBS football players entered the transfer portal in 2023-24 school year, with 1,558 (68.5%) undergraduates and 715 (31.5%) graduate transfers. Of the entrants, 57% reported that they enrolled in another school, 8% withdrew their names from the portal, and 35% are still active, transferred to a non-NCAA school, or left their sport.
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