Villanova Football Loses Two Starting DBs to Transfer Portal

Villanova Football’s season concluded on Saturday, Dec. 20, and starting defensive backs Zahmir Dawud and Anthony Hawkins hit the transfer portal in the aftermath of their loss to Illinois State.

The two players share an agent, Leo Kohll of United Athlete Sports Agency, who broke the news to outlets like On3, 247Sports and ESPN. Both athletes confirmed their respective reports via retweet.

Dawud, a redshirt sophomore cornerback, made 44 tackles (31 solo) along with 11 pass breakups and interceptions this season. Hawkins, a freshman All-American, made 59 total tackles (41 solo) with four tackles for loss, nine pass breakups, two interceptions and a forced fumble at safety.

Villanova lost all five members of their starting secondary to graduation last season. Beyond Dawud and Hawkins, six of the Wildcats’ 16 defensive backs are out of eligibility, so they’ll have some work to do in both recruiting and the transfer portal in order to shore up the unit.