SEC WR Gets Transfer Portal Offer From Vols, Could Visit Soon

Mississippi State wide receiver Rara Thomas officially entered the transfer portal on Monday morning. Since his name hit the portal, he has already picked up offers from Auburn, Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Utah, and multiple others.

Thomas initially announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal on Friday with a message to Mississippi State fans. 

"First I would like to thank God, for without Him, none of this is possible," Thomas wrote. "I would like to thank my family for being my biggest support system and being here with me throughout it all. Thank you to the entire Mississippi State coaching staff for giving me the opportunity to play on this level. To the Bulldog fans, I am forever grateful for each of you for welcoming me into the community and allowing me to call this my home over the past two years. With that being said, after a lot of prayer and self-reflection, I have decided to enter my name into the transfer portal with 2 years of eligibility."

Thomas is already planning visits and will be at Auburn later this weekend, followed by Georgia. Sources have indicated he plans to visit Tennessee as early as next week as well. 

Thomas has been a solid wideout in Mike Leach's air raid offense for his first two seasons of college eligibility. In 2022, Thomas caught 44 passes for 626 yards and seven touchdowns. Over his care

Thomas will have plenty of time to make a decision, but he will likely look to find a home sooner than later. 

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. The early signing period runs from December 21st-23rd this year.