Tennessee football: No hidden story behind Vols’ Quart’e Sapp leaving for NFL

Tennessee football linebacker Quart’e Sapp is entering the NFL Draft early. Volunteers fans are now trying to read more into this than what’s there.

After four years in the program while playing for two head coaches and three defensive coordinators, Tennessee football linebacker Quart’e Sapp graduated on Friday afternoon. He then announced on Twitter his intentions to enter the NFL Draft despite one year left of eligibility.

Sapp’s announcement shocked many Vols fans, as his NFL Draft stock didn’t seem that high. And it also brought back old memories of what happened earlier in the year when UT lost to the Florida Gators. Jeremy Pruitt claimed he told Sapp to leave the field because he refused to go in the game. A day later, Sapp refuted that, and the two then met before he was back at practice Tuesday.

Throughout the week, Pruitt praised Sapp and touted him as one of the leaders of the program. It was all a bit odd, and quite honestly, I said at the time that Pruitt looked bad in the Sapp situation. However, people are taking that too far now.

There have been rumblings that this rift is a reason for Sapp’s departure. Well, although I criticized Pruitt for his handling of it at the time, I’m the first person to say this is made up drama. Sapp does not need that incident to be a reason for him entering the NFL Draft.

Let’s be clear, there is literally no reason for Sapp to stay. The guy has his degree now. On top of that, he has already missed two full seasons due to injury. What’s the purpose of him staying in college one more year?

The chances of Sapp suffering an injury to kill his draft stock are much higher than him improving his draft stock beyond what it is right now if he stays another year. The traditional argument about staying in college or turning pro early has always hinged on getting your degree or risking injury. Sapp already has his degree, which nullifies the argument for him to stay.

It’s also worth noting that Tennessee football used Darrin Kirkland Jr. and Daniel Bituli more at inside linebacker anyway. A full offseason with JJ Peterson and the arrival of Lakia Henry is only going to make the unit deeper, so Sapp’s playing time could have shrunk even more.

As a result, the only decision for him was to leave for the NFL Draft. The idea that it would be because of some rift he and Pruitt had back in the Florida game is ludicrous at this point. Anybody in Sapp’s situation would be smart to leave for the NFL at this point.