Duke transfer running back Star Thomas has spent the last 24 hours in Knoxville visiting Tennessee. After the trip, Volquest caught up with him to discuss where things stand in his recruitment.

“I enjoyed everything about it,” Thomas said. “Really the coaches and how everything was organized. How they were just honest and true about everything. I really loved it and loved everything about it and Knoxville so we shall see.”

He was able to spend time with running backs coach De’Rail Sims and those two talked about how he would fit into the running back room and the offense.

“He was real and honest about a lot of things,” Thomas said, “He didn’t sugarcoat anything. That’s what I want to be around my last year. Just being around it and seeing there is no faking. It was real from the start.”

So where do things go from here for Thomas? He has no other trips planned after visiting UCF and Tennessee. He loved what he found on Rocky Top.

“Really just relationships and being around the coaches,” Thomas said. “Getting to know coach Heupel, funny guy and being around the running back coach. Just being around the staff and they really showed they liked me and wanted me.”

Watch the full interview below.

Understanding the portal

The winter transfer portal window runs from December 9-28. The spring portal window runs from April 16-25.

Players don’t have to pick a school they are going to during those specific dates but those are the span of dates on when a player can enter the portal.

Those dates don’t apply to graduate transfers who can enter the portal whenever they wish. Also, if there’s a head coaching change, their players are granted an immediate 30-day window during which they can enter the portal. 

Of note, any team playing in a game after Dec 28 (playoffs or regular bowl) gets a five-day window once season ends for those player to enter portal.

So, say a team loses in the CFP first round on Dec 20/21? Their transfer portal window wouldn’t be affected as the regular window ends more than five days after that loss.

Players who enter the portal in the winter window are trying to be somewhere for the spring semester. 

For Tennessee the spring semester starts on January 21which is late compared to many schools around the country. Tennessee a year ago started a winter mini-term class that runs the first three weeks of January. 

Tennessee has benefitted from the portal

The transfer portal can giveth and it can taketh away. For Josh Heupel it’s been much more of a positive than a negative for the Vols when you look at the 2024 season. 

Left tackle Lance Heard has been a fixture on an offense line that has helped the Vols rush for over 2700 yards. Tight end Miles Kitselman has been a terrific portal grab because he is the leader of the tight end room. A room that also includes transfer Holden Staes. 

Defensively, Jermod McCoy has been the best transfer Tennessee has gotten. McCoy is having an All-American season. 

In total, Tennessee added 10 transfers for the current 2024 roster. 

Former Lady Vols basketball coach Kellie Harper pinpointed the end of the second quarter as the reason for Tennessee’s win Thursday.

Harper, who was fired as the Lady Vols coach in April, has begun to make regular appearances in the SEC Network studio this season. She was on the desk again Thursday when No. 15 Tennessee beat Mississippi State 86-73 to kick off “We Back Pat” Week in the SEC.

“Once they got that cushion – they hit three 3s to end the second, they started the third with a three, and they maintained that cushion throughout the second half,” Harper said when asked what impressed her most about the win. “They played comfortable, they played very loose and very free in the that second half. Mississippi State didn’t gain on them – they didn’t lose – but they didn’t gain on them. They just couldn’t keep up.”

The sequence turned a 2-point lead into a nine-point lead at halftime in 1:21. It started with a steal by Talaysia Cooper at the top of the press, and she assisted a wide-open 3-pointer for Jewel Spear. After Tennessee gave up a fast-break layup, Samara Spencer knocked down a 3-pointer in response. Then Cooper snagged another steal in the press, giving the Lady Vols the final shot – and Spencer drained a deep buzzer-beater 3-pointer.

Spear was responsible for the 3-pointer on the first play of the third quarter.

Spencer, who scored 18 points and went 4-for-7 from deep, was interviewed postgame. Harper congratulated Spencer on the win and asked where the senior point guard thought the team could continue to find improvement.

Spencer pointed to the team’s lapses at times and weaker third quarters – the Bulldogs only outscored Tennessee in the third – and said they need to make sure they come out of halftime with the same intensity.

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Spencer also said transition defense was a big focus going into the game after hearing Mississippi State thought it would be successful in transition. Tennessee had one player in position to get back quickly to defend any breakaways, and MSU only outscored UT on fast-break points 21-13.

“Well, we heard that they were talking about how they felt like they could get a lot of transition points, and they did get some transition points, but not as many as they normally get,” Spencer said. “I think that we did a pretty good job at it. We had some lapses, but overall, we kept the game in check in transition.”

Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.