Mike Wright reacts to Will Rogers transfer announcement

Mississippi State backup quarterback Mike Wright knows what it’s like to pack your bags and leave for another team in the transfer portal. He came to Starkville from Vanderbilt. Earlier on Friday night, Will Rogers made a statement confirming that he was going to be hitting the transfer portal and leaving Mississippi State, a place that he’s shattered numerous records over the years.

Shortly after the announcement, Wright wished Rogers well via social media.

He posted a picture of himself and Rogers, right beside a picture of Dwayne Wade and LeBron James.

Much love 2🖤

Cityboy🕺🏾 x Cowboy 🤠 #MD https://t.co/Gs6TuzHfNp pic.twitter.com/A7WVqhPODH

— ⁵Mike Wright₅ (@mike5wright) November 24, 2023

Will Rogers statement

“To the Bulldog Family: As all of you know, I love the state of Mississippi. It’s been my honor to play for our state at Mississippi State University. I am thankful to have had the privilege of playing for Coach Leach, a legend and a friend, and for all of the other coaches who believed in me and gave their all to this program,” Rogers wrote.

“My teammates are my brothers for life and over these past 4 years, we created great memories and great moments. We left it all out there. Thanks to the fans who have supported us, through some really good times and through some really hard times. You guys mean more to us than you will ever know. I will carry my time at MSU with me forever, no matter where my path may lead. Hail State! –Will Rogers”

Mississippi State senior quarterback Will Rogers plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. First reported by Matt Zenitz.

Over four seasons in Starkville, Rogers threw for more than 12,000 yards and 94 touchdowns, while completing better than 69 percent of his passes.

As a recruit, he was the No. 590 overall prospect in the 2020 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He also ranked as the nation’s No. 41 quarterback and the No. 19 recruit in Mississippi.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

Transfer portal background information

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.

The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. For example, the 2021-22 cycle started Aug. 1. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle. In comparison, 1,833 Division I basketball players entered the portal during the 2020-21 cycle after totals of 1,020 in 2019-20 and 1,063 in 2018-19.

Track portal activity

While the NCAA transfer portal database is private, the On3 Network has streamlined the reporting process tracking player movement.

If you find yourself asking, ‘How can I track transfer portal activity?’ our well-established network of reporters and contacts across college athletics keeps you up to speed in several ways, from articles written about players as they enter and exit the transfer portal or find their new destination, to our social media channels, to the On3 Transfer Portal.

The transfer portal wire provides a real-time feed of player activity, including basic player profile information, transfer portal ranking and original On3 Industry recruiting ranking, as well as NIL valuation (name, image and likeness).

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and On3Sports Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

On3’s Keegan Pope also contributed to this article.