Ky Thomas Enters Transfer Portal

Before the Minnesota Gophers Guaranteed Rate Bowl victory against West Virginia, PJ Fleck told media that he expected another wave of transfer portal movement after the game. Well, they say the first one hurts the most and that’s definitely the case here. On Monday morning, redshirt freshman running back Ky Thomas announced his plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal via Twitter.

About an hour later, insider Ryan Burns (GopherIllustrated.com), reported that Ky Thomas had officially submitted his portal application. That means, in all likelihood, he’ll put on another football jersey next season.

Too much talent…

We’ve seen PJ Fleck change minds before. But his standard operation is to disassociate with players who enter the transfer portal. This is a serious blow to the future of Minnesota’s backfield because Thomas looked like a future star.

Ky Thomas broke out as a redshirt freshman in 2021 after injuries to Mohamed Ibrahim, Trey Potts and Bryce Williams paved the way for the 2019 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year to shine. Alongside true freshman running mate, Mar’Keise Irving, Thomas exploded onto the scene once given the opportunity, finishing with 824 yards (5.0 YPC) and 6 touchdowns in 9 total appearances, including his (144 YD, 1 TD) MVP Guaranteed Rate Bowl performance last week.

But with Mohamed Ibrahim and Trey Potts announcing their returns for 2022, the running back room in Minnesota seems to have gotten too crowded with talent for #8. While it’s disappointing, you can hardly blame these young athletes. There are a lot of opportunities out there right now. This post will be updated if Thomas does officially enter the portal.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan