College football: These local high school grads are on the move via the transfer portal

The 6-foot-3, 227-pound Carpenter played in four games for Tulsa last fall, completing four of eight passes for 46 yards and running 11 times for 86 yards.

He was a second-team All-Ohio performer as a senior for the Rams.

J.T. Kitna of Lakota East is also looking for a new home after even less time at his first college. The son of former Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna, who is the coach of the Thunderhawks, enrolled at Bowling Green over the winter and went through spring football with the Falcons but announced last week he is leaving.

In both cases, a coaching change likely played a role in the decision.

Carpenter initially committed to Indiana during his senior season of high school but ended up with Tulsa after the Hoosiers fired head coach Tom Allen at the end of the 2023 campaign. This year he was facing the prospect of playing under another new coach after Tulsa fired Kevin Wilson at the end of last season.

Kitna also found himself under new management as Eddie George replaced Scot Loeffler as head coach in March. That was a more unusual situation as Loeffler abandoned BG to become quarterbacks coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in February.

The group leaving BG after spring practice also includes Shawn Thigpen, a 6-4 receiver from Springfield High School who played in one game over the past two seasons and has three seasons of eligibility left.

He is not the only former Wildcat in the portal. Offensive lineman Rod Green is also looking for another home after a coaching change at Purdue, and he reports Mississippi State among those interested.

Elsewhere in Indiana, multiple local high school grads are leaving Ball State: kicker Jackson Courville (Centerville), running back Christian Davis (Miamisburg) and receiver R.J. Mukes III (Wayne).

Like the Falcons, BSU is under new management this spring after hiring Mike Uremovich to replace Mike Neu, who was fired during his 10th season leading the Cardinals last fall.

The Cardinals previously lost Versailles offensive lineman Taran Tyo, a multi-year starter, to Cincinnati during the winter transfer window.

Also entering the transfer portal this week was cornerback Jordan Jackson of Fairfield, who is leaving West Virginia after the Mountaineers made a coaching change. His twin brother, Josiah, already transferred to Garden City Community College in Kansas according to 247Sports.

Then there is the case of Noah King. A four-star defensive back, he was one of the top prospects in Ohio last fall at Hamilton.

He enrolled at Kansas State over the winter but is back on the market this spring and reports getting major interest from some big-name schools. That includes Miami (Fla.) and Colorado, two schools that have made recruiting the portal a major part of their roster building the past couple of seasons.

Aside from offering unprecedented freedom of movement, the transfer portal also offers players at lower levels greater access to upward mobility.

Majaden Lewis, a defensive lineman from Middletown, may be able to take advantage after a strong freshman season at Division II Findlay. He reports receiving offers from Southern Illinois and Buffalo after playing in 11 games last season with seven starts. He was credited with 7.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.

Also looking to move on from Findlay are running backs Dai’Vantay Young of Dunbar and Daniel Kamara of Centerville.

The spring transfer portal window opened last week and closes Friday, though that only represents a deadline for players to enter their name.

Once they are in, they have as long as they need to find a new school.