Gophers cornerback Phillip Howard has entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal, a source confirmed Friday.

Howard, a Minneapolis native and Robbinsdale Cooper product, was a redshirt junior for the Gophers this season when he played 11 games. He was on special teams but took some rotations on defense, including making an interception at Rutgers on Oct. 19.

The 5-11, 195-pound Howard was a receiver up until partway through last season, when he made the position switch. He appeared in nine games in 2018 but started seven of 11 games as a freshman in 2017. The former three-star recruit was one of the top prospects in the state for the 2016 class, loaded with local talent like Tyler Johnson and Carter Coughlin. Johnson and Howard were roommates their entire college career, with Johnson exhausting his eligibility this pat season and moving on to the NFL Draft.