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Duke transfer RB Star Thomas commits to Tennessee

Matt Connollyby:Matt Connolly•about 9 hours•

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Star Thomas
(© Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images)

Tennessee has landed a big-time playmaker out of the NCAA Transfer Portal. Former Duke running back Star Thomas has committed to the Vols, per On3’s Hayes Fawcett.

Thomas is joining the Tennessee program after serving as the top running back for the Blue Devils in 2024.

This past season, Star Thomas appeared in 12 games for the Blue Devils, carrying the ball 213 times for 871 yards and seven touchdowns. He also caught 20 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown.

He will help replace Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson, who is off to the NFL Draft.

Thomas began his college career playing at Coffeyville Community College. He then transferred to New Mexico State and played multiple seasons there before playing the 2024 season with Duke.

Thomas is one of countless players nationwide impacted by the NCAA granting a waiver to players who had played junior college football in the wake of the Diego Pavia court case, giving players who played junior college football an additional year of eligibility while it pends.

The Louisiana native put up impressive numbers during his time with the Aggies, rushing for 1,173 yards and nine touchdowns over two seasons. Thomas was named second-team All-Conference USA in 2023 after rushing for 653 yards on 112 carries. He averaged 5.8 yards per rush and had four touchdowns on the year.

Thomas attended Homer High School in Homer, Louisiana prior to beginning his college career.

He spent one year at Coffeyville Community College before transferring to New Mexico State. During his one season at the community college, Star Thomas topped the 100-yard mark twice, while helping Coffeyville to the 2021 KJCCC Conference Championship.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

More on Star Thomas committing to Tennessee

Star Thomas is joining a Tennessee rushing attack that was the best in the SEC in 2024. The Vols led the conference at 225.85 yards per game.

Dylan Sampson was a big part of that as he earned SEC Offensive Player of the Year honors after finishing the 2024 campaign with 1,491 rushing yards on 258 attempts with 22 rush TDS.

As you can tell by his impressive numbers, Sampson was a huge reason why Tennessee was able to reach the College Football Playoff this season. However, it all came to a disappointing end for the Volunteers, as they were blown out by the Ohio State Buckeyes on the road in Columbus during the First Round.

Sampson had two carries for six yards in the first quarter for the Vols, but then he didn’t return until early in the third quarter, when he had a catch for 2 yards. That was due to an injury, stemming from Tennessee’s victory over Vanderbilt, that he re-aggravated during this past weekend’s contest.