Football: Northwestern defensive back and projected starter Jeremiah Lewis enters transfer portal

Northwestern’s sky room has taken a hit.
Redshirt senior defensive back Jeremiah Lewis entered the transfer portal on Tuesday, according to On3sports.
Lewis is the third Wildcat player and first projected starter to enter the portal since former head coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired, which came days after allegations of hazing in the football program were detailed in a report by The Daily.
Lewis’ news comes a day after former NU quarterback Lloyd Yates filed a lawsuit alleging that Associate Head Coach Matt MacPherson witnessed the hazing.
Northwestern defensive back Jeremiah Lewis has entered the transfer portal, @on3sports has learned.
Lewis was a starter last season and ranked third on the team with 70 tackles.https://t.co/Qb2FpW9YkR
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) July 25, 2023
Lewis, who transferred to NU prior to the 2022 season after four years at Duke, led the defensive back room in tackles with 70 — the third-most on the team. Lewis played in all 12 contests last year.
A group that suffered from numerous injuries throughout the season, Lewis’ role continued to increase as the season went on. With over 2,000 snaps played in his collegiate career and the most amongst returners, one would expect Lewis’ name to be in the starting lineup in NU’s first game of the season.
After losing starting defensive backs Cameron Mitchell to the 2023 NFL draft and A.J. Hampton Jr. to the transfer portal earlier in the year, Lewis’s announcement takes away another reliable name for the team’s secondary.
Freshman linebackers Nigel Glover and Justin “Juice” Cryer both announced that they would be transferring from NU on July 17 and July 19, respectively.