How Xavier Lucas’s NIL battle with Wisconsin led to his wild transfer to Miami without entering the portal

Wisconsin defensive back Xavier Lucas was a highly-touted recruit coming out of American Heritage High School in South Florida in the Class of 2024. Despite top programs knocking on his door like Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, and more, he opted to head to Madison to play for head coach Luke Fickell. But despite seeing action across seven games as a true freshman, Lucas opted to enter the transfer portal after the season.

However, it’s where things got tricky for Lucas. While Lucas did follow the procedure and submit paperwork to the school’s athletic department to enter the portal, Wisconsin did not uphold its end of the deal. In need of legal assistance to make his move to the portal, Lucas brought on well-respected attorney Darren Heitner, who has been a part of many legal cases in the sports world. Early today, it was announced that Lucas was finally freed and will be heading to the Miami Hurricanes.

In a statement issued by the NCAA this Friday, they stated “NCAA rules do not prevent a student-athlete from unenrolling from an institution, enrolling at a new institution and competing immediately.” To phrase it differently, Wisconsin was violating NCAA rules by not upholding Lucas’ desire to enter the transfer portal.

Also mentioned in an article by the Associated Press, Heitner stated Lucas never received any money white at Wisconsin, clearing up any confusion that the school was holding him back due to financial commitments. 

Now with Lucas moving on back home to play for the Miami Hurricanes, he’ll get an opportunity to shine in a revamped defensive back unit with new defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman joining from Minnesota. With the Hurricanes having a true freshman All-American this past season in OJ Frederique, Miami has a promising young pairing with both players having three years of eligibility remaining.