FAMU football coach Willie Simmons hopeful star Isaiah Land remains with Rattlers

FAMU's Isaiah Land, named the 2021 Buck Buchanan Award winner as the best defensive player in FCS football, has entered the transfer portal.

FAMU coach Willie Simmons confirmed Land's decision to the Democrat Sunday.

Simmons, however, is hopeful that his star linebacker/defensive end remains with the Rattlers for his redshirt senior season.

Schools are free to contact a player without restriction once their name appears in the portal. Players can also redraw their names from the portal.

Simmons said he talked to Land earlier Sunday.

"There are a lot of moving parts with the portal," Simmons said. "We as coaches don't have a hand in it. Right now we are in a fact-finding stage ourselves. Obviously, I would love for him to stay."

Land – a 6-foot-4, 215-pounder who was born in Buffalo and played high school football at Grayson High, northeast of Atlanta - led the nation with 19 sacks last season as a redshirt junior. He also tallied 25.5 tackles for loss.

Land was the first Rattler and fifth HBCU player to win the FSC National Defensive Player of the Year award in its 27-year history.

He finished first in the voting over linebacker Troy Andersen of Montana State by 22 points. Anderson was a second-round draft pick by the Atlanta Falcons in the this year's NFL Draft.

Land was also named the SWAC Defensive Player of the Year.

Land did not participate in FAMU's recently-concluded spring drills as he recovered from a hip injury.

He was part of Simmons' first recruiting class at FAMU in 2018.

Reach Jim Henry at jjhenry@tallahassee.com.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU star, FSC Defensive POY Isaiah Land enters the transfer portal