A second Northwestern player officially entered the transfer portal last night as a grad-transfer. Running back Albert Kunickis III will play elsewhere next year after four seasons with the Wildcats.

This decision does not come as much of a surprise. The Chicago Sun-Times wrote a story about Kunickis earlier this month reporting that he was "strongly considering" entering the portal after his Northwestern career.

The Daily Northwestern also wrote a profile about Kunickis this season as he wrapped up his time with the 'Cats. Despite receiving limited run in Evanston, he's an undeniable success story -- a football player who was born without a right hand or forearm and made it to the highest level of collegiate competition.

Now, Kunickis will likely search for an opportunity with a different program that will allow him to get more playing time. He was brutally honest about his career in the Sun-Times piece.

‘‘I was hoping by my junior year I’d be one of the main, featured running backs,’’ he said. ‘‘Unfortunately, that’s not real life, not what happened. . . .  It’s definitely been hard, for sure, because I’ve given my all into this. You know what I mean? There’s been a lot of conversations with friends, family back home, like, ‘What’s going on? Why aren’t you in? You tell me you’re dominating practice, but nothing’s coming to show for it.’ I don’t know what to say.’’

A model of perseverance, Kunickis also fought through a torn ACL in 2022. He made it back to practice, and he never gave up on his dream. In an era where players can leave in the portal at any time, that level of commitment for a player spending most game days on the bench is rare.

Kunickis has had four full seasons with the Wildcats, which means he's also had the time to finish up his academic career at the university. Now, he'll likely take his time to figure out the best possible program to finish out his college football career.

The back joins offensive tackle Hayden Wright in the portal, Northwestern's only two exits thus far. There will likely be more in the coming days and weeks, but, in general, David Braun has sounded positive about NU's ability to retain most of its talent in 2026.

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