Stanford Football Loses Recent Signing to Transfer Portal

The roster turnover continues for Stanford amid recent events. With head coach Troy Taylor being fired and Frank Reich replacing him in the interim, players are now allowed to enter the transfer portal even though the official spring portal period has not opened yet.

Stanford has already lost a couple of key players, with wide receiver Emmett Mosley V and edge rusher David Bailey announcing their intentions to enter the portal.

Now it appears that the Cardinal will see their defense lose even more talent, with safety Julian Neal announcing that he is planning to enter the portal. Neal, who transferred from Fresno State in December, will opt instead to re-enter the portal before ever taking a snap for Stanford and continue to explore his options.

Neal's addition was huge at the time as it not only gave Stanford some much-needed depth, but it gave the Cardinal a rising star who could have potentially taken his game to the next level with Stanford.

As a junior for the Bulldogs last season, the San Francisco native put together career highs in all categories, finishing with 35 total tackles, five passes defended, a sack and two interceptions.

Expected to play a key role this season for the Cardinal, losing Neal puts the program in a bit of a pickle heading into the season. While, for now the Cardinal are expected to retain its starting safeties from last year in Mitch Leigber and Scotty Edwards, with Jay Green back and healthy, Neal's versatility made him the perfect fit for the defensive scheme.

Despite being primarily a safety, Neal's pass defending skills would have allowed him to shift more into a cornerback-like role while his ability to fly to the ball and make tackles made him a perfect candidate to line up as a hybrid linebacker.

Expected to be one of the top players available during the spring portal period, Neal should expect to generate a lot of interest from premier Power Four schools, where defensive back needy teams could look to him first.

Among schools that could go all-in in trying to acquire his services include Cincinnati, Kansas State, West Virginia, Northwestern and Virginia-- all programs that showed considerable interest in him during his initial portal process.

Neal is still finishing up his studies at Fresno State, which gives him some time to weigh his options before making a decision. However, it is expected that Neal will have that decision sooner rather than later, so he can enroll at his new school and begin practicing with his new program immediately.

Not having Neal may sting for Stanford, but since Reich's arrival, the theme has constantly been to continue to move forward. Even in the midst of the roster exodus, the mentality and focus is not expected to change. Finishing 3-9 in four straight seasons, the Cardinal will be a team on a mission as they look to return to national prominence.