Four Cats enter the portal to bring the transfer total to five

It was a manic Monday in Evanston as four Northwestern players entered the transfer portal, bringing the total to five Wildcats who have announced their intention to leave the program in the last week.

Four of the five are graduate transfers, while one leaves with three years of eligibility remaining.

Here are brief thumbnail sketches of the Wildcats leaving the program:

Blake, who is leaving Northwestern as a grad transfer, was never able to find a home at Northwestern. A three-star prospect, he chose Northwestern over 13 other offers, including nine from the Power Five. He started out as an offensive lineman at NU but was moved to defensive line and appeared in six games as a backup as a redshirt freshman in 2019. Blake never cracked the rotation, however, and that turned out to be the most action he saw in a single season. He played in five games in 2020, making tackles against Iowa, Illinois and in the Citrus Bowl. The writing was on the wall when Blake appeared in just four games this season. His degree in hand, Blake is no doubt looking for a place he can get some playing time. A drop down to Group of Five or FCS might be in line.

A three-star prospect out of Ohio, Edwards chose the Cats over 24 other offers. Just a sophomore, he is the first transfer announced that does not have his degree. Edwards appeared in only five games during his Northwestern career, including three in 2021 as a depth defensive tackle. His debut came in the Wildcats' win over Wisconsin in 2020, and he made his first career tackle later that season against Illinois. Even with Northwestern's run defense being gashed throughout the season, Edwards still couldn't get steady playing time, so he likely saw the writing on the wall and will look for greener pastures elsewhere.

He'Bert, who dealt with a litany of injuries during his Northwestern career, will leave Northwestern as a grad transfer after four seasons in Evanston. He served as the backup to Peter Skoronski at left tackle in 2021, appearing in six games. He made his debut in 2019, as a redshirt freshman, during the Cats' win over UMass. NU was He'Bert's only Power Five offer out of high school, and he may look to drop down to a lower level to get more consistent playing time.

Northwestern had high hopes for Rivers out of Georgia in 2018, but he was hampered by injuries and was never able to make much of an impact in four seasons, serving as a reserve linebacker and special teams player. Rivers made his college debut as a true freshman on NU's 2018 Big Ten West championship squad, getting his first action against Rutgers and making the first of his five career tackles the next week against Wisconsin. He had his most prolific game on the stat sheet in Northwestern's season-opening win over Maryland in 2020, recording three tackles. Rivers was on and off the inactive list this season and played in just two games, making a tackle against Ohio. Rivers will take his Northwestern degree and look for a new home where he can find more playing time.

Whittaker came to Northwestern as a quarterback and leaves as a tight end. The three-star prospect was an A-list recruit in 2018 despite playing in a Wing-T offense at Rockford (Mich.) that rarely threw the ball. He didn't last long as a quarterback in Evanston, switching to tight end after his freshman season. He moved back to quarterback in 2019 and got his only action as a signal caller in a game against UMass. He opted out of the 2020 season before returning in 2021 as a tight end and playing minimally. He leaves as a grad transfer with one year of eligibility remaining.