NCAA Approves Instant Eligibility Transfer For Illinois WR Khmari Thompson
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The NCAA again approved the instant eligibility for an Illinois wide receiver.
Whether the Big Ten Conference plays football either in the winter or the spring, Illinois will have the services of a transfer wide receiver Missouri transfer wide receiver transfer Khmari Thompson.
Thompson posted on Twitter Friday afternoon that the NCAA Eligibility Center granted him a transfer waiver to be immediately eligible after he left Missouri for the Illini program this offseason.
“Thank you to the NCAA for granting me immediate eligibility and allowing me to play football this fall or when we are granted to play,” Thompson tweeted. “I will not comment on the waiver, but I look forward to a great 2020 season with my team and accomplishing our goals.”
The 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds was one of seven transfer additions for Illinois, which has become the Power Five Conference version of ‘Transfer Portal U’, this offseason. He joined wide receivers Brian Hightower (Miami-Fla.), Desmond Dan (New Mexico State), offensive linemen Blake Jeresaty (Wofford) and Brevyn Jones (Mississippi State), defensive lineman Chinedu Udeogu (California) and defensive tackle Roderick Perry (South Carolina State) as Division I prospects 2020 commitment preparing to play for the Illini whenever the season next begins.
However, with the new NCAA eligibility ruling this summer, Thompson could play and treat a winter or spring season like a redshirt campaign but then still have the possibility of three additional seasons in an Illini uniform. Thompson will be seen as the speed option from the slot position in offensive coordinator Rod Smith’s offense but at 6-foot-2 is a much bigger target than Kyron Cumby at that spot. Thompson’s instant eligibility helps relieve the loss of veteran target Ricky Smalling after he left the Illini program this summer for what sources close to the program told Illini Now/SI was an off-the-field issue.
The Illinois coaching staff sees Thompson as still a raw prospect as he did not play high school football as a sophomore or junior to focus on track and field, but saw his recruitment garner serious attention when he accounted for 1,000 receiving yards with 12 touchdowns as a senior at Central Gwinnett High School in Lawrenceville, Ga. After that successful senior season, Thompson picked Missouri over Kansas State, Purdue, Illinois and Old Dominion.