Mississippi State freshman wide receiver J.J. Harrell looks to be set to enter the transfer portal, according to a report from 247 Sports’ Rion Young on Saturday afternoon.
The portal does not open until Monday, Dec. 9, but players are starting to make their intentions known with the regular season closing down this past weekend.
Harrell was originally set to be part of Josh Heupel’s 2024 Tennessee recruiting class. The four-star prospect committed to Tennessee on Feb. 27, 2023, but pulled his commitment on Jun. 5, 2023. Harrell even visited Tennessee during that time for an unofficial visit during the Orange & White spring game in April.
Harrell wound up flipping his commitment to Mississippi State just 15 days after de-committing from Tennessee, content with seeing what he could do in Jeff Lebby’s first year with the Bulldogs’ program.
“Thank you to all of the coaches at Tennessee for all of your time,” Harrell said in his de-commitment post back in June. “I am decommitting from Tennessee, and I would like to reopen my recruitment. I am trusting God to lead my footsteps, and I look forward to finding a place that I can officially call home.”
Battling injuries at times throughout the year, Harrell didn’t record any stats during the Bulldogs’ season and will have four years of eligibility remaining.
Rion Young mentioned in his breaking news article that he had built a relationship with Harrell on the recruiting trail, which ended up in Young breaking the transfer portal story on Saturday afternoon. At the end of the article, though, Young gives a quick mention of who might be in the running for the talented receiver.
“It is going to be interesting to see who gets back on train trying to get Harrell in their locker room,” Young wrote for Gene’s Page. “Tennessee and Ole Miss could very well be right back in the picture.”
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Harrell garnered quite a bit of attention on the recruiting trail before selecting Tennessee and Mississippi State, including from Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Oregon.
The six-foot, 187-pound wide receiver was originally ranked as a four-star prospect in 247 Sports’ 2024 Composite Rankings, also tagged as the No. 36 wide receiver in the class and the No. 6 player from the state of Mississippi.
Could Tennessee be back in play for Harrell after he officially enters the transfer portal next Monday? Only time will tell. While Harrell did mention that his recruitment got “a little overwhelming” in his original de-commitment post, perhaps a year of being in college football could direct him back toward Tennessee.
Mississippi State even visited Knoxville for a late-season game this year, which resulted in a 33-14 loss for the Bulldogs.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Football news.
