Transfer Tracker: Ex-Miss. State QB Keytaon Thompson commits to Virginia

Virginia was looking for some more help at the quarterback position as it looks to replace starter Bryce Perkins and the Cavaliers got it on Friday in the form of former Rivals100 quarterback Keytaon Thompson. The Class of 2017 prospect spent the last three season at Mississippi State, where he was primarily a backup under two different coaches.

Thompson entered the portal last summer, only to pull his name out and stay with the Bulldogs, but following a disappointing season and a coaching change, Thompson recently went back on the market and didn't last long before landing at Virginia.

Thompson, who is expected to be a graduate transfer, will have two seasons of eligibility remaining when he arrives in Charlottesville.

Thompson is now ranked No. 9 in our updated 2019-20 Transfer Quarterback Rankings.

TRANSFER TRACKER CENTRAL

Thompson committed to Mississippi State in Dec. 2015 over Tennessee, Missouri and several others. LSU jumped into the mix late, but Thompson stuck with the Bulldogs.

Thompson saw spot playing time as a freshman, appearing in 10 games and throwing for 388 yards and rushing for another 446 yards. He started Week 1 of the 2018 season with then-starter Nick Fitzgerald suspended and tied a school record with seven total touchdowns. While he seemed destined to take over the reins this fall, things changed when graduate transfer Tommy Stevens joined the program after the spring and won the job. Thompson entered the portal briefly in August, only to withdraw his name and return to the Bulldogs. Even when Stevens went down with an injury, it was freshman Garrett Shrader that saw playing time instead of Thompson.

Thompson finished his Mississippi State career with 846 yards passing with eight touchdowns and three interceptions as well as 672 yards rushing and 10 scores.

"Thompson has always had a live arm and athletic ability so he has potential at Virginia where Bryce Perkins flourished. His size, the experience he has against SEC teams and his overall skillset will allow him to push as a starter in the ACC. I this is a good fit as the Virginia offense suits his skill set and he won’t be asked to take over games. Bronco Mendenhall does a solid job with quarterbacks with Robert Anae bringing them along." -- National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell

Impact Rating: 7.1 out of 10

The Transfer Portal continues to change the way college football programs recruit and mange their rosters so we here at Rivals.com continue to evolve our coverage. Each time a player of note enters the portal, we will examine their potential impact on the college football landscape and assign an impact rating, both when they enter the portal and when they choose a destination. The scale is from 1-10 and the description below explains the scoring scale.

1.1-4.0 — Not a big impact expected, likely a non-starter and down the bench depth player.

4.1- 6.0 — A solid impact can be expected in the right scenario and has the potential to battle for a starting job.

6.1-9.0. — A high impact player who won’t change a program but will certainly be a very good contributor and starter.

9.1- 9.9 — A very high impact player who should start the moment he steps on the field and will change the outlook of a program immediately.

10 — A franchise transfer who has a chance to be an All American and one of the elite players in college football.