Former Tennessee Running Back Announces Transfer Destination

Tennessee beat out Auburn last recruiting cycle to land the commitment of East Paulding (Ga.) running back Justin Williams-Thomas. However, he was unable to climb up Tennessee's depth chart to earn meaningful carries this fall, despite making it for Spring practice, yet fellow Freshman Dylan Sampson exploded onto the scene after arriving in the Summer.

"You know, he’s a young player as far as learning and growing," Vols running backs Coach Jerry Mack said on Williams-Thomas earlier this fall. " I think a lot of times when you're a true freshman, you know, especially with a lot of the fanfare coming out of high school, a lot of these guys think they're gonna walk in the door and compete with 20-, 21-year-old men, but everybody develops differently. And I think that's one of the big things Justin is learning as he continues to grow."

Williams-Thomas entered the transfer portal earlier this month, and he now has a new home at Stanford, according to a social media post. 

Williams-Thomas carried the ball 11 times for 37 yards in 2022. He has four years of eligibility remaining. 

Understanding the Transfer Portal and Its Windows

The transfer portal has essentially been the wild West from the outside looking in. However, the NCAA has implemented new windows that take some of the chaos out of the equation.

The window for winter transfers opens on December 5th and runs for 45 consecutive days, while the Spring portal window is shorter and runs from May 1-15th.

A key part to understand during this process is that a player does not have to choose their school during this window, they just have to declare their name to ensure immediate eligibility, unless they are a graduate transfer. In this case, a grad transfer does not apply to these rules.

Most players that enter during this window are looking to get enrolled for the Spring semester at the school of their choosing. For Tennessee, the Spring semester starts on January 23rd. There is also a winter term that spans three weeks after the first of the year.

The biggest impact being seen with the transfer portal is on high school recruits, who are seeing classes shrink due to Division 1 programs flipping their rosters via the portal.