Tennessee Football Lands Duke Running Back In Transfer Portal

Photo via Duke Athletics

Tennessee football made a major splash in the transfer portal on Sunday afternoon as Duke running back Star Thomas committed to the Vols, On3’s Hayes Fawcett first reported.

Thomas visited Tennessee late last week before announcing his commitment to Josh Heupel and the Vols for his final season of eligibility.

The Homer, Louisiana native rushed for 871 yards and seven touchdowns on 213 carries during the 2024 season. Thomas also caught 20 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown. His best game of the season came against rival North Carolina when he rushed for 166 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries while also catching two passes for 45 yards and a touchdown.

Thomas earned a 70.1 PFF grade for his play in 2024 at Duke including a 73.8 rushing grade. According to PFF, Thomas had 22 rushes of over 10 yards and had an impressive 612 yards after contact.

247sports ranks Thomas as a three-star transfer, the No. 550 overall player and No. 32 running back in the transfer portal this cycle.

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Thomas started his college career at New Mexico State where he played with Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia. In his two seasons at New Mexico State, Thomas combined to 1,178 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns.

Tennessee is in need of running backs this offseason after losing SEC Offensive Player of the Year Dylan Sampson to the NFL and reserve running backs Cam Seldon and Khalifa Keith to the transfer portal.

The Vols do return two of their top three backs in rising sophomore Peyton Lewis and redshirt sophomore DeSean Bishop. Lewis rushed for 339 yards and three touchdowns last season while Bishop rushed for 455 yards and three touchdowns. Tennessee also added a pair of running backs in its 2025 recruiting class— Daune Morris and Justin Baker.

Thomas will likely pair up with Lewis and Bishop as Tennessee’s top three running backs with the Vols giving all three consistent carries.

The Duke running back is Tennessee’s third transfer commit of the offseason, joining Arizona offensive guard Wendell Moe and Alabama receiver Amari Jefferson.

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