Northwestern received news of its third player to officially enter the transfer portal this offseason, as defensive back Dillon Tatum announced his departure today. This year was Tatum's first with the program after three seasons in East Lansing at Michigan State.
Heading into 2025, Tatum was coming off a season-ending injury in his final year with the Spartans. This year, too, he dealt with a few nagging injuries and didn't play the entire season. When he was out there, he was somewhat productive, finishing with 17 total tackles and one pass defended.
Tatum's decision to transfer was likely in an effort to get more assured playing time as he hopes to maximize the time he has left in college football. That's an understandable decision, especially given the injury luck he's had in his career.
From the Northwestern side of things, it's never good to lose depth in the secondary. Tatum was someone they could feel comfortable with getting snaps any given Saturday, and they'll lose that asset.
But this isn't a crippling transfer by any means. When David Braun said he expected close to 100% of the impact players to return, there's a reason he said "close." Tatum also was not nearly as crucial to Northwestern's success as players like Josh Fussell and Robert Fitzgerald.
This does, however, put more pressure one retaining those players. Had Tatum returned, maybe NU could have turned in-house if news of a bigger name exiting the fold were to drop. Now, Northwestern would have to look elsewhere to sure up the position group -- and it maybe should do that regardless of if Tatum is the only portal entrance.
Tatum will certainly have plenty of suitors in the portal. Three seasons ago, he finished seventh on Michigan State's team in tackles. He's a player who contributed to a Big Ten team at a high level early in his career, and he's now a certified veteran. Plenty of teams would be interested in having him around, whether it be to start games or rotate in.
Tatum joins wide receiver Hayden Wright and Albert Kunickis as Northwestern's only three players in the portal. The process is still far from being over, though, and there's plenty of time for more names to enter.
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