Portal season is amongst us, and Middle Tennessee has already been hit hard with eight entries. This time, linebacker Drew Francis enters the transfer portal as a graduate transfer, GoMiddle has learned.

The 6’3, 228lb linebacker signed with the Blue Raiders in 2019 out of Knox West High School. He did not see the field much in his first two seasons before having a breakout 2022 campaign where he posted 45 total tackles, 3.5 TFLs, one sack and two pass deflections.

Francis followed that up with another good season where he replicated his 2022 numbers, but his redshirt senior year was supposed to be the big one.

Unfortunately, he suffered an injury in the summer and didn’t see the field until late in the season, when he played in the final three games. Francis fell down the depth chart after his injury and the strong seasons from Parker Hughes, Ammarien Bailey, and Jordan Thomspon.

After a disappointing 2024 with MTSU, he entered the transfer portal with a final year of eligibility as he seeks more playing time with another team.

Middle Tennessee has several young linebackers who will look to fill the void of the redshirt senior linebacker.