The transfer portal for the 2024 high school football season has been active.

Meet the first surge of student-athletes who dropped their offseason moves — both into and out of the county — below, and learn their reasons for finding a new home in the new year.

Big names open up offseason moves for Palm Beach County student-athletes

Damon Allen, Jr., DB − Palm Beach Central to West Boca Raton

The Bulls' defense just got deeper.

After putting his name on the radar with a 42-tackle, seven-interception junior campaign at Central, it was time to move on from the Broncos. He also had five pass breakups and two forced fumbles as a big-time impact-maker for Central's secondary stocked with four-star strappers like Tony Williams. If X (formerly Twitter) bios are any indication, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound recruit is still set to star in Central's defensive backfield as Allen makes the move down south to join West Boca sophomore stud Jaydin Broadnax.

Dylan Bennett, So., LB − Cardinal Newman to American Heritage-Plantation

"I have to put myself in a situation that will be better for my future," Bennett said. "I gave Newman everything I had."

The high motor the 5-foot-11, 210-pound Bennett brought to Sam Budnyk Field is certainly one that will be missed by the Crusaders — and appreciated by the five-time state champ Patriots. His freshman campaign was highlighted by 40 tackles — 12 for loss — and three sacks, before a sophomore season where he'd come in second on the stat sheet in tackles with 65 total — 23 for loss — and 10 sacks. Taking after big brother and former Cardinal Newman running back, Henry, now at the University of Kentucky, Bennett's also skilled on the run.

Bennett said, "Although it was a hard decision, it was the right one and I’m ready to win a state championship!"

Heritage-Plantation finished the 2023 season 10-2 in the final four of the Class 2M state championship. The year before, the Patriots were the division's state runner-up.

Samuel J. Bryant III, Jr., OLB − Inlet Grove to Atlantic

"I made the switch because I thought it was a better decision for my future and I trust what they are building over there. And I believe that they will prepare me for the next level," Bryant said.

Going into an Oct. 19 visit from Clewiston, Inlet Grove players had no idea that game would be their last of the 2023 season. An on-field brawl saw Inlet forced to forfeit a district championship game against King's Academy and, ultimately, any hope the team had of reaching the postseason, ending the year 2-7.

Navigating the transfer portal era leaves no chances to be taken for underrecruited and unsigned seniors to be like Bryant, billed at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds. The Hurricanes' last winning record, 7-3, in 2022 was supported by Bryant's 74 tackles — 45 solo and 16 for loss — a team-leading six sacks, plus six quarterback hurries.

Legend Felican, Jr., ATH − Inlet Grove to Atlantic

"I've decided to make the move to Atlantic so that I can showcase the positions that college coaches have been asking to see me in," Felican said.

Felican's career at Inlet Grove was spent serving the Hurricanes as quarterback. An injury-laden freshman year kept the county from seeing Felican's full potential until the 2022 season, when the then-sophomore threw for 1,173 yards in nine games, completing 69% of passes (47-of-68) for nine touchdowns against two interceptions.

Now, the true ATH has found a team that will use him in a way that will help him get to the next level, expecting him to take on new roles at slot receiver, running back, defensive back and returner. For Atlantic, that'll fill in some noteworthy vacancies that followed 2023's playoff route cut short, like University of Massachusetts signee Da'Marion Alberic who led the run game or underrated and unsigned senior DB Tyrique Hollis, and put another target downfield for soon-to-be senior Lincoln Graf, who's been the team's starting quarterback since joining varsity as a freshman.

"I truly believe that with my work ethic and Atlantic's schedule, college coaches will see me at my absolute best."

Branden Hoch, Jr., WR/TE − West Boca Raton to St. Thomas Aquinas

With the big gain on defense that is Allen comes a major loss on offense with the transfer of Hoch.

St. Thomas Aquinas adds a 6-foot-3, 195-pound frame to its pass catchers, one that was second on West Boca's roster in receiving yards with 485 on 22 catches for nine touchdowns as West Boca put together a 9-3 run that saw its first playoff win in program history.

Teddy Hoffman, Jr., ATH − St. Andrew's to Atlantic

"I think coach Murray and the staff at Atlantic are great people and it was the right fit for me," Hoffman said. "I want to come in there and compete from Day 1. I think they will get me ready for the next level and put me in a position to be successful."

A clear answer for who will be the quarterback at Atlantic outweighed the uncertainty of finding the student-athlete who would take the reins from St. Andrew's senior standout and Texas A&M PWO commit Dylan Mayers. Considering the Scots took on the offseason without their future QB1 until he arrived from Georgia that summer, it was fortunate that the team could find the chemistry to forge a playoff run. Having an athlete like Hoffman, who caught 15 touchdowns on 51 catches for 927 yards on offense and posted 28 tackles, two interceptions, and two pass breakups on defense, undoubtedly helped.

Naeshaun Montgomery, Jr., WR − Cardinal Newman to Miami-Central

"I made the switch to Miami Central because I know that they can get me ready for the next level and also because they play the best competition every Friday," Montgomery said.

In 2023, getting games on the schedule was a struggle for Newman, which faced a preseason "recruiting ban" from in-county schools that left the Crusaders looking for competition in and out of the Sunshine State. The team even brought Massachusetts football powerhouse Catholic Memorial down from West Roxbury.

Despite leading Newman's receiver room in touchdowns for the last two years — hauling in eight as a sophomore and five as a junior, playing in nine games each season — Montgomery knows he has yet to get all the looks his elite route-running skills warrant, and he's already seen a difference in the few days he's been a Rocket.

Montgomery explained, "Just by posting that I’m going there it got a lot of attention from schools I didn’t hear from before, and it’ll also boost my stock up knowing that I’ll be playing the best of the best."

Chance Routson, So., QB − Boca Raton to Palm Beach Central

"To be honest, the move wasn’t my decision…it was my mom's," Routson admitted. The former Boca quarterback who propelled the Bobcats to their first district title since 2001 in the fall said his family moved to be closer to his grandfather "before it was too late."

Grateful to be "welcomed into a new home," Routson said, "I’m a strong believer in everything happens for a reason and as a believer in Christ, I believe he has a plan and this is just part of it. If there’s any time to bet on myself, that time is now."

Routson will be competing for the starting job against fellow rising junior Caleb Butler, who saw the Broncos to the Class 4M region championship with 2,149 passing yards for 29 touchdowns, plus two rushing, averaging 195.4 yards per game. Central's Matis Gibson could be another name in the running, bringing the wisdom that comes with being a senior to the pocket, and good legs that could harken back to the days of dual-threat Ahmad Haston, now striving to be QB1 at UMass.

That being said, Routson just might do the same. To get Boca to Class 4M region semifinals for the first time since 2015, Routson accounted for 2,150 passing yards for 20 touchdowns, completing 61% of passes (129 of 211), as well as 599 rushing yards for five scores on the ground.

Emilee Smarr is a sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach football transfers explain why they'll join new teams in 2024