Eastern lost one of their strongest returner players to the transfer portal Friday afternoon.

Redshirt sophomore running back MJ Flowers announced on his Instagram account that he will be entering the portal on Dec. 9.

“I wanna give all the glory and praise to my lord and savior Jesus Christ,” Flowers’ post read. “My first three years at EIU have been a blessing of a journey. I want to thank my family, friends, coach Wilkerson, coach Pugh and the entire coaching staff for giving me an opportunity to play at this level. Thank you EIU for making my dream of playing Division 1 college football come true. EIU has given me lifelong brothers and memories that I will forever cherish. With that being said, I have decided to enter the transfer portal with two years of eligibility remaining.”

Flowers, a Cincinnati, Ohio, native, recorded seven rushing touchdowns and three receiving touchdowns this season. Flowers also recorded 865 rushing yards throughout the 2024 season, with his longest rush being 65 yards.

Flowers played in all 12 games, and at the end of the season, Flowers was named part of the Big South-Ohio Valley All-Conference First-Team.

Last season, Flowers was named the 2023 Big South-OVC football offensive freshman of the year, the runner-up for the Jerry Rice FCS Freshman of the Year Award, and First Team Freshman All-American from Stats Perform, Phil Steele and Football Central/SI.

The NCAA transfer portal opens on Dec. 9 and closes on Dec. 28.

Zaria Flippin can be reached at 581-2812 or at zhflippin@eiu.edu.