Major Williams seemed on the verge of returning to the Power 5 ranks after a successful spring 2021 season at Iowa Central Community College.

The cornerback from Florida originally signed with Virginia as a three-star prospect in the Class of 2019. And, after a detour to junior college, he was once again in demand, ranked No. 25 among junior college recruits by 247Sports.

That’s when the “amazing journey,” as Williams calls it, took some interesting turns.

Tennessee and Utah offered but ended up backing off when they landed transfers.

Disappointed, Williams committed to Youngstown State, a highly successful FCS program that won four national titles in the 1990s with Jim Tressel as coach.

“Then I got a call two days before signing day saying I couldn’t sign anymore because someone else had taken my scholarship,” Williams said. “It hit me hard.”

Williams ended up signing in February 2022 with Carson-Newman, a Division II school in Jefferson City, Tenn.

So how does a prospect slip that far down the college football food chain, so close to playing in the SEC or Pac-12 only to end up without an offer from a Division I program?

You can blame, in part, the transfer portal, which is making it more difficult for junior college transfers to find a coveted spot at a Power 5 program.