STARKVILLE — Mississippi State seemingly added another receiver to its already impressive room Friday, but that has changed.
Tre Walker, a four-year standout at San Jose State, announced his intention to transfer to MSU for his final year of eligibility via Twitter on Friday. However, just hours after announcing his pledge, Walker backtracked, referencing “an SEC rule” that would prevent him from enrolling.
Under SEC guidelines, players are required to have two years of on-field eligibility to transfer into the Southeastern Conference as an undergraduate transfer. In Walker’s case, he’s not slated to finish his undergraduate coursework until next December and he has just one year of on-field eligibility remaining, thus making his attempted transfer fall outside the conference’s rules.
Walker helped the Trojans to a 7-1 record and the Mountain West title game this year and finished his time at SJSU with 189 career catches for 2,790 yards — both of which rank top-10 in program history.
Had the transfer gone through, Walker, who was supposed to be on scholarship in Starkville, would’ve become the fifth transfer to join MSU over the offseason. Other imports include quarterbacks Jack Abraham (Southern Mississippi), Chance Lovertich (South Alabama) and Jack Kristofek (Sam Houston State). The Bulldogs also added former Central Florida defensive end Randy Charlton.
Heading into next fall, MSU should bring back its top five pass catchers from a season ago assuming senior Osirus Mitchell takes advantage of his extra year of eligibility. Most prominently, the Bulldogs will return dynamic freshman receiver Jaden Walley, who broke Mardye McDole’s single-season freshman receiving record in 2020.
With Walker now out of MSU’s plans, the Bulldogs could add as many as four more players. Those spots are most likely to be used on a plug-and-play prospect at defensive back or defensive end, though a can’t-miss receiver could also be added.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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