Syracuse, N.Y. — Syracuse wide receiver Umari Hatcher has withdrawn his name from the transfer portal and is seeking an extra year of eligibility from the NCAA that would allow him to play next season.
Hatcher is listed as having withdrawn his name from the portal, according to both his agent and a source who has access to the portal.
His agent, Jackson Magnini of Team IFA, said that Hatcher withdrew his name from the portal in anticipation of playing for the Orange next season.
Magnini said the school is currently in the process of applying for a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA on Hatcher’s behalf.
He said that Hatcher has not signed a contract or finalized contact terms with Syracuse, but he anticipates that process moving smoothly once Hatcher has received the waiver and is certain he can play next year.
Magnini said he believes the school’s waiver request is straight-forward and Hatcher will receive the additional year.
Hatcher tore two ligaments (PCL and LCL) in his knee during a game against UConn on Nov. 23, 2024.
The injury ended Hatcher’s season prematurely and also left him with a very short timetable to try to reach full strength for 2025.
Hatcher tried to return but both he and the team assessed that he hadn’t regained all of his physical abilities, Magnini said.
Hatcher played just four snaps on offense this year, all of them against Colgate.
Magnini said the school and Hatcher agreed to shut him down for the season afterward, anticipating that he would pursue a medical redshirt and play college football in 2026.
Magnini said that Hatcher received interest from other schools while his name was in the transfer portal but those conversations never became serious and Hatcher determined a return to SU was his best option.
Hatcher was a starting receiver for the Orange in 2023 and for part of the 2024 season. His most productive year at Syracuse was 2023, when he caught 32 passes for 482 yards.
His return would give the Orange more experience at a position where the team’s veterans have either run out of eligibility or chosen to enter the transfer portal.
The Orange’s top six players in receptions last season are not currently expected to return, including likely transfer departures Darrell Gill Jr. and Johntay Cook.
Tyshawn Russell is likely to be the most productive returner. He had nine catches for 83 yards last year.
Hatcher used a traditional redshirt as a true freshman at Syracuse in 2021, then played the next three seasons.
In practices that were open to reporters early last year, Hatcher wore a bulky brace on his leg and hadn’t seemed to regain all the physical abilities he’d shown during his career.
Magnini said that Hatcher is currently fully medically cleared and healthy.
