Football player John Raine will enter the transfer portal as a graduate transfer after spending four seasons with the Owls, he announced on Twitter.

Raine caught 38 passes for 343 yards and six touchdowns last season, all career-highs. 

Aspirations were high on Raine for next season after the NCAA granted him another year of eligibility. After star tight end Harrison Bryant graduated, he was expected to be No. 1 on the depth chart. 

I have entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer. I am thankful for everything, FAU. Excited for the next chapter!

— John Raine (@jraine305) April 4, 2020

With the news of his possible transfer, the tight end room is now lacking some experience, but opening up major opportunities for Rahmod Smith, Logan Peterson and Ryan Cameron. 

Another player who should see some playing time next season is recent transfer Lou Dorsey, who played for the University of Illinois in 2017 where he had 22 catches for 395 yards and three touchdowns as a freshman. He transferred in his sophomore season where he ended up at Iowa Western Community College, where he committed to Memphis during the summer, but de-committed just before the start of the season.

Raine entering the transfer portal is a big blow for the offense because of his developing rapport with quarterback Chris Robison and was the only tight end on the roster that had some game-time experience at the position. In what will probably be his last game with FAU, he caught seven passes for 77 yards and a touchdown in the win against SMU at the Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl. 

The tight end position will be a competition to look out for as the football team winds up for next season as their opener will be against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Sept. 3, unless the NCAA makes any changes to the schedule due to the concerns over the coronavirus. 

Zachary Weinberger is the sports editor of the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @ZachWeinberger.